By Richard Luthmann
David Weigel, a Wall Street fiduciary and devoted father, is embroiled in a heart-wrenching battle against what he claims is systemic corruption in the Manhattan Family Court. At the core of his struggle is the exposure of his wife’s unethical divorce lawyer. Weigel exposes Family Court practices that have transformed his divorce proceedings into a prolonged, agonizing ordeal, taking a significant emotional toll on his family.
Our investigation, which involved a thorough review of documents and interviews with litigants, lawyers, and insiders at the New York City Divorce Courts, has found substantial evidence supporting Weigel’s claims. This article explains David Weigel’s battle against one of Manhattan’s most duplicitous divorce attorneys: Daniel B. Nottes.
A Fleeting Resolution
David Weigel
Three months ago, Weigel and Georgina Dimasin, his hopeful ex-wife, were seemingly on the path to settling their decade-long divorce acrimony. For their children’s sake, they decided to end the bloodletting. After seeing his children three times in two and a half years, Weigel got his kids back. They signed two family agreements and stipulations, the latest in March.
Their intent was clear. They would continue to co-parent and rebuild relationships. David would make regular monthly expense payments and cover other needs up to twice the NYS limit. They agreed to withdraw the New York action with a written roadmap to divorce through mediation and arbitration. They could finalize the divorce in the near future, potentially in Connecticut, where Dimasin and the children now reside.
Both were in lock-step after several train rides and family dinners in January and February. They wanted a divorce, but they also wanted to escape the abyss of Foley Square, the New York State Supreme Court, and the influence of Attorney Daniel Nottes even more. Nottes had represented Dimasin, and she finally came to the realization that her lawyer was doing more harm than good, and the money paying for him was food out of their children’s mouths.
“Georgie realized that there was no pot of money other than what she and I would earn going forward,” Weigel said.
As part of the March stipulation, Georgie dismissed Daniel Nottes as her lawyer and decided to proceed on her own. After all, she had agreed to a rubber stamp ending the Manhattan Divorce Court proceedings and the money sive.
David thought his family was clear. But one crucial element was missing from the negotiated agreement—no stated payday for the Midtown Manhattan shyster. It was just enough to allow Nottes the daylight to weasel himself back in.
Things went well for about a month – until late April. Attorney Nottes looped back in with Georgie. He returned after his short hiatus despite being dismissed for an attorney-client relationship that remained “irretrievably broken” for less than forty days. Weigel objected vehemently to Nottes’ return and to the effective one-sided cancellation of the Family Agreement resolving the divorce court hostilities, filing papers asking Justice Dawson to ensure that Dimasin wasn’t a victim of “Stockholm syndrome.” That motion remains pending.
Nottes’ motivations – fees, finishing the job, self-preservation, or a combination thereof – are up for debate. What is clear is that Nottes returned committed to using every dirty trick in his dark playbook, devised by “The Misery Broker” himself.
Last month, authorities in Connecticut arrested Weigel, a Columbia University Business School salutatorian and top fiduciary asset manager, on two-year-old harassment charges. Georgina’s “on again, off again” boyfriend, Saurav Chatterjee, had previously lodged the “Lazarus-like” misdemeanor complaint.
“I now have nuisance criminal charges to contend with in Connecticut on top of everything else. [Georgie and I] had a perfect working relationship until the last court date,” Weigel noted. “Then Nottes and the boyfriend came back, and everything fell apart.”
The Wall Street guru says it was clearly by design. Daniel Nottes had never left.
Old Lawyer, New Lows
Attorney Daniel B. Nottes
For several months, Weigel, a self-styled “Parental Alienation Warrior,” has used the courts and social media to document his attempts to rid his family of the scourge of the high-profile Manhattan lawyer who also sees clients in the Hamptons, according to his website.
Proceeding pro se, Weigel has documented dozens upon dozens of allegedly “misleading statements, uncorrected half-truths, and outright lies” in filed court documents.
“These are all ethical violations, while Nottes stoops to new depths in his dishonest behavior and consistent frauds upon this court,” Weigel said. “His acts have been unearthed by the press through independent investigation and reported on multiple occasions, highlighting the sheer injustice of his actions.”
Despite the ongoing turmoil, Weigel remains hopeful that he can still persuade Georgie to appeal to reason. He has made numerous desperate attempts to settle the case amicably, aiming to end the conflict once and for all – for the sake of his children. He offered Dimasin a generous settlement that included financial support and a significant share of his fiduciary asset management business.
“I recently offered her an outrageous amount of generosity to give the kids what they need,” Weigel said. “Besides $5,000 a month, the full payment of college, and $1.3 million over 13 years, I said I would also give her 25% of my business.”
Dimasin initially showed interest in the settlement but later backed out, influenced again by Nottes, Weigel believes. The Wall Street virtuoso also maintains that Nottes’ return to the case coincided with her boyfriend Chatterjee’s reappearance in Dimasin’s life, suggesting a coordinated effort to keep the conflict alive backed by hundreds of emails, text messages, and phone calls between the lawyer and the conflicted co-schemer.
“Somehow, these people are all immune to their heinous actions and the harm they cause. If you work at a fertilizer plant long enough, you get used to the smell,” Weigel said. “Where are the repercussions for their proven false allegations?”
For Weigel, Nottes is not just a wrongdoer—he is a malevolent force. However, the system he operates in—the divorce and family courts in New York City—is even more corrupt in Weigel’s experience. He accuses Nottes of unethical practices that have transformed his divorce proceedings into a living nightmare. He says Family Court corruption drowns out his claims because it is the standard operating procedure.
Learning From the Top While Racing to the Bottom
Raul Felder, Esq.
The notorious divorce attorney Raul Felder, known as “The Misery Broker,” trained Nottes and taught him to utilize the court system to his clients’ advantage. Felder represented clients such as Rudy Giuliani, Robin Givens, Carol Channing, Riddick Bowe, the former Mrs. Carl Sagan, the former Mrs. Tom Clancy, the former Mrs. Patrick Ewing, and the former Mrs. Martin Scorsese.
Felder was among the most well-respected and well-connected NYC Attorneys in his heyday. In 2003, the Governor appointed him to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which elected Felder its Chair in 2006. The position only helped him to cultivate a more favorable relationship with the judiciary.
Nottes has curried a similarly cozy relationship with the Manhattan and Brooklyn matrimonial bench. Weigel says Nottes uses underhanded tactics to exploit these judicial relationships and harm litigation opponents.
“Why do these judges allow Nottes to manipulate the system?” Weigel asks.
Nottes has several judicial allies in Manhattan, and Brooklyn Justice Lorna J. McAllister. Weigel claims they unwittingly support Nottes’ unethical actions. He says Nottes obtains ex parte orders to deceive these friendly judges, securing baseless, one-sided rulings that heavily favor his clients. At the same time, his opponents are not heard. He then delays proceedings, sometimes for years, to keep the conflict—and his fees—ongoing.
“Why does Daniel Nottes only sit in front of two matrimonial judges?” Weigel questioned. “Isn’t that against the whole lottery system? What does that say by itself?”
Claims Corroborated: Weigel Exposes Family Court
Brooklyn Supreme and Family Court
When we investigated Weigel’s assertions, we considered the possibility that they were “sour grapes.” Upon even cursory scrutiny, however, it becomes clear that the Wall Street fiduciary identifies alarming trends.
Brooklyn Supreme Court has six matrimonial parts. They are Part 5F (Hon. Rachel A. Adams), Part 5J (Hon. Theresa Ciccotto), Part 5L (Hon. Lorna J. McAllister), Part 5A (Hon. Eric Prus), Part 5Q (Hon. Joanne D. Quinones), and Part 5G (Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine).
When Weigel mentions a “lottery,” he refers to “the wheel” or the random assignment of cases to judges in the court system. This process should ensure that Attorney Nottes’ divorce cases are roughly evenly distributed among the six Justices.
The NYS Case Electronic Filing (NYSCEF) system allows anyone to search court assignments correlated with an attorney’s case. We reviewed Nottes’ Kings County cases and their assigned judges:
Whitcombe v. Smith (McAllister)
Lowy v. Lowy (McAllister)
Oksenberg v. Oksenberg (Ciccotto)
Crocker C. v. Anne R. (Sunshine)
Paneth v. Mashiach-Paneth (McAllister)
Haber v. Haber (McAllister)
Zelenka v. Hertz (McAllister)
Kahan v. Weber (Ciccotto)
Pierpont v. Pierpont (Ciccotto)
Glauber v. Glauber (Ciccotto)
Forman v. Forman (McAllister)
Boiangiu v. Boiangiu (McAllister)
Thomas v. Rasmussen (Ciccotto)
Newman v. Newman (McAllister)
Itzkowitz v. Itzkowitz (Adams)
Hirschfeld v. Fisch (Gonzales)
Majeed v. Majeed (Prus)
Bonini v. Bonini (McAllister)
Barra v. Barra (McAllister)
Attorney Nottes has twenty cases assigned to judges in Brooklyn. Six judges handle these cases. Justice McAllister received FIFTY PERCENT of Nottes’ cases; Justice Ciccotto received twenty-five percent. The case distribution is more even-handed in Manhattan, where Nottes currently uses the IDVC “safety valve.”
We spoke to an insider at the New York State Courts on the condition of anonymity. They said Nottes’ Kings County matrimonial assignments were irregular, and the consensus is that politics plays a role.
“Justice McAllister was unfamiliar with matrimonial when she first took the bench. [Nottes] helped her by getting her the forms and giving her an idea of what to do. He has carte blanche with her,” the source said.
We spoke to a Brooklyn matrimonial attorney who made similar statements.
“Nottes always gets Friday afternoon appearances. I am a religious Jew, and they are very inconvenient. I am at the point that I ask whether they even need me because Nottes talks 90% of the time anyway,” the attorney source said. Weigel’s preliminary AI results show that he and/or his attorneys were only permitted to speak roughly sixteen percent of the time on all transcripts examined.
We requested clarification from Lucien Chalfen at the New York State Office of Court Administration. As of press time, we received no response.
Nottes’ Tactics in Domestic Violence Court
Allegations Without Evidence: Family Court “Silver Bullet” Tactics
Justice Dawson oversees the Manhattan Integrated Domestic Violence Court (IDVC). These special parts handle all related cases involving a single family with domestic violence as the underlying issue. The Court seeks to provide a comprehensive approach to case resolution, increase offender accountability, ensure victim safety, integrate the delivery of social services, and eliminate inconsistent and conflicting judicial orders.
Weigel says Attorney Nottes and others have a well-documented modus operandi. They coach clients to make false claims of domestic violence in order to land the case in IDVC. These tactics, known as the “toilet bowl trick” and “silver bullet tactics,” aim to have the opposing spouse arrested, charged, and barred from the house and the children, further exacerbating the matrimonial conflict. Weigel says Nottes initially succeeded.
“I was unfairly tagged as a wife-beater and thrown into the Manhattan IDVC Part,” Weigel described. “Nottes does this to all his male adversaries. Make a false claim of domestic violence, and you’ll be arrested or, at a minimum, moved in front of Justice Dawson.”
Weigel says that there are no domestic violence charges. None were ever alleged in the prior forty-five years of his life, and all attempts by this cabal have been dismissed years ago. However, the case remains in the IDVC Part by Nottes’ design. Like the Hotel California, once a case enters, it can never leave.
Additionally, there is clear psychological literature showing the harmful effects of false allegations as a form of psychological abuse. A. Tom Horvath, Ph.D., is a California-licensed and board-certified clinical psychologist (American Board of Professional Psychology). He specializes in Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
“Anger and rage are the rational response to this level of psychological abuse,” Dr. Horvath said, referring to the Weigel matter.
According to Dr. Horvath’s clinical observations gleaned over nearly 40 years of clinical practice, Weigel has faced a calculated, time-tested strategy that leads to the complete destruction of the target individual over ninety percent of the time.
“This is what I’ve been up against,” Weigel stated. “Nottes teaches his clients to create chaos, hoping to provoke a reaction that makes the other parent look abusive or unreasonable. Show me the guy who can watch a scoundrel harm his kids – often for life – and NOT be angry. There’s your psycho.”
Low Standard of Evidence in Abuse Claims Exploited in “Silver Bullet Divorce” Trend
Ample literature also exists about Silver Bullet strategies that paint the opposing spouse as unstable and dangerous, using false narratives to gain the upper hand in divorce battles. The little-known fact is that you do not need evidence in divorce–just a reasonable fear.
Weigel says Attorney Nottes is a master at manufacturing reasonable fear.
“I am not only convinced, but I have also over 1,600 files on the NYSCEF system substantiating that Nottes suggested, planned, and abetted in the four previous criminal allegations – all dismissed – and is utilizing this same playbook today,” Weigel said.
Weigel and others previously labeled Attorney Nottes a “Designer Child Trafficker.” The “Designer” term, in part, refers to this calculated legal strategy to tag one spouse, usually the husband, as violent and, therefore, dangerous.
As recently as last month, Nottes requested “protective measures” and Weigel’s possible incarceration. Nottes’ plea to the Court stems from his declared fear for his safety in the face of Weigel’s social media activity.
“Mr. Weigel posted to his public Facebook page a statement that could be perceived as a threat,” Nottes wrote to Justice Dawson. “Given Mr. Weigel’s threats, I am asking the Court to permit me to appear virtually… I am concerned and scared for my safety.”
Nottes’ claims smack of grandstanding. The tenor of his email suggests he expects to be a human victim of an iPhone App run amok. In our investigation, we found no credible threats of physical harm to Mr. Nottes. Weigel did say, “I will not stop until I have your license hanging from my office wall.” He also made an off-color joke when Mr. Nottes “repeatedly used his child to further delay tactics.”
“I asked Nottes about his new child and what size hooves she had. It was a bad joke, but he brings it up to the Judge every chance he gets,” Weigel said.
David Weigel is a devoted father, a diligent fiduciary, a Columbia Business School Salutatorian, and a true friend to many. The only charges ever levied against him came from the Fashion Police – until Daniel Nottes came along.
“Maybe he’s worried I might show up to court in my pink shoes, and the fashion police will be forced to respond,” Weigel said. “But seriously, Nottes is doing this in the face of known grave danger to my children. His failure to disclose material facts prevents the Court from making decisions in [their] best interests.”
Weigel claims Nottes lards his statements to the Court with lies. We obtained this recent communication:
On Fri, May 24, 2024, 5:43 PM Daniel Nottes <dbnottes@dbnottes.com> wrote:
Dear Justice Dawson,
Good afternoon. As the Court may recall, we were re-engaged by Ms. Weigel in this matter. We are writing to the Court because we need thirty (30) days to answer Mr. Weigel’s motion…Unfortunately, I am not in a position to answer the motion at this time and need more time due to circumstances beyond my control and those impacting Ms. Weigel. She has been under extreme stress and mental pressure primarily resulting from the constant extortion and bullying she has experienced and continues to experience from Mr. Weigel. Since October Mr. Weigel has posted a barrage of reprehensible public Facebook messages denigrating her, reaching out to her employers and friends, exposing the children to his vile messaging on public social media — and most recently threatening her job unless she acquiesce to his demands that the IDV case be ended and she drop this case. This is pure extortion and also constitutes multiple, repeated violations of this Court’s Final Order of Protection and this court’s TRO which expressly prohibits this very conduct. Additionally, Ms. Weigel fell and hit her head two weeks ago and subsequently needed to spend time with a primary care physician who is referring her to a neurologist. She needs time to collect herself in order to provide me, her counsel, with the information we requested of her in order to prepare her affidavit and provide the court with the back-up exhibits. More recently, Ms. Weigel was hospitalized on Tuesday of this week, and at the same time, Mr. Weigel was arrested (again), this time by the local police in Connecticut. I have told Ms. Weigel was we need to answer the motion, and which is along the lines of the issues and areas of concern Your Honor expressed when we recently appeared – and without this information from Ms. Weigel we are unable to prepare proper papers and/or effectively represent our client under these difficult and unforeseen circumstances. Accordingly, and given these circumstances, I am asking for thirty (30) days which will in no way prejudice Mr. Weigel who continues in his course of conduct violating this Court’s Final Order of Protection and TRO even this week on Wednesday with his latest public social media post that will forever remain on the web for all to see, including these children.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Dan Nottes
Daniel B. Nottes, Esq.
[emphasis added]
In response to Nottes, Weigel was compelled to disclose to the Court what really happened.
“Mrs. Weigel was in an alcoholic binge,” Weigel reported. “Ambulance transportation and detox intake to the hospital was required by the first responders on the scene.”
Weigel says the ongoing legal battles, particularly Nottes’ tactics, have severely affected his children. He detailed how Nottes influenced his ex-wife’s actions, compromising their children’s well-being. It was their daughter who discovered the mother on an alcoholic binge, requiring emergency medical intervention.
Further, Weigel believes Justice Dawson overlooks the children’s need for stability and the emotional toll of constant conflict due to systemic biases in the IDVC. This includes presumptive “dangerousness” and the pretextual curtailment of liberties because the IDVC Judges have criminal enforcement powers.
“This situation plays into the hand of the likes of Daniel Nottes. Justice Dawson’s courtroom is a fertile playing field for those who would engage in sharp activity that smacks of the criminal,” Weigel said.
The Wall Street veteran continues to keep his eyes on the real focus despite all of Mr. Nottes’ distractions.
“My children are the real victims here,” Weigel lamented. “They’ve been used as tools in this profit machine, and it’s heartbreaking.”
Weigel says now that Nottes is back in the fold, Georgina Dimasin and her boyfriend, Saurav Chatterjee, are back to creating false narratives against him. This manipulation previously led to multiple false arrests and strained his relationship with his children, and he worries it might happen again. Chatterjee reportedly is himself a misfit, having no relationship with his own mother or only son.
“Georgina is failing to provide the emotional sustenance our children need,” Weigel explained. “She’s been manipulated by Nottes and Chatterjee, who are upset that I am telling the truth about them and their collusion.”
Is Nottes’ Return ‘Self-Preservation’?
Weigel says Nottes’ actions and claims are self-preservation for his alleged highly unethical actions. He’s not alone.
“The only reason Nottes is back on the Weigel case is to cover his tracks. I’ve been doing this for thirty years and bet my bottom dollar on it. If a client like that were to go ‘off the reservation,’ he’d have his ticket pulled,” said a seasoned Manhattan Divorce lawyer who currently opposes Nottes in a matter and wished to have their name withheld.
The NYC lawyer says he has observed Nottes and “others of his ilk” long enough to see the clear patterns.
“Lawyers cannot be party to or advise their clients to engage in dishonest, fraudulent, or criminal behavior. Law licenses do not shield these activities from scrutiny. Bad operators ultimately get jammed up. And it is their clients that usually do them in,” the lawyer said
Nottes has a discernable pattern in matrimonial cases. He takes advantage of friendly judges, clogged matrimonial dockets, and the Office of Court Administration’s (OCA) “standards and goals,” or the time benchmarks for pending legal matters. For N.Y.S. Supreme Court contested matrimonials, the time is 12 months. For Family Court cases, standards and goals are 180 days. These are the pre-pandemic guidelines the court system is now returning to. This iteration of the Weigel case began in 2019 before Justice Damwson and is in its sixth year.
“His modus operandi is simple. He gets his cases in front of ‘his’ judges and then brings baseless ex-parte applications. It’s trial by ambush,” the Manhattan attorney said.
Then, Nottes’ tactics revert to delay, regularly “blowing past” the standards and goals times and using “every excuse in the book.”
“Once the one-sided Order is in place, Nottes does everything to avoid the courtroom. That way, when the application is heard months later, he can argue the baseless prior decision is now the status quo and shouldn’t be changed,” the lawyer source said.
This tactic is significant in family court cases. Absent domestic violence, courts presume that the status quo ante is in the child’s best interests for the stability of the children. Usually, the applicable period is one year to establish a status quo.
The source alleges Nottes has improperly used delay tactics to reach the one-year mark after he had secured an ex parte order for child support, visitation, and/or custody on multiple occasions.
“The other side has not had an opportunity to be heard for over a year. They have complied faithfully with the Court’s Order despite disagreeing. Because of [Nottes’] tactics, by the time they finally get in front of the Supreme Court Justice, it’s an uphill battle because now he argues that the status quo is firmly in place,” the Manhattan lawyer said. “He’s manipulated his own presumption and avoided the merits. And the judges are loathe to tip the apple cart, even though it’s a fundamentally unfair denial of due process.”
We contacted Attorney Nottes prior to publication with a request for comment on these detailed points. As of press time, no response had been received.
The Fight for Fairness Against Systemic Family Court Corruption
Despite the challenges, Weigel remains committed to his fight. He has documented every interaction and event, creating a detailed record that he hopes will expose the truth. He continues to file motions and appeals, challenging the Court’s decisions and Nottes’ conduct.
Weigel’s mission extends beyond his personal battle. He aims to expose systemic corruption within the family court system and protect other parents and children from similar ordeals. He has connected with other advocates and is building a coalition to push for reform.
“This isn’t just about me,” Weigel insisted. “It’s about ensuring that no other parent has to go through what I’m going through. It’s about fairness and justice for all.”
Designer Child Trafficking: Why are the Family Courts Immune?
This court battle features the personal grievances between Weigel and Nottes and larger accusations of systemic corruption in the family court system. Weigel and another father, Robert Emert, have together claimed that family courts operate akin to criminal enterprises, focusing mainly on the unjust treatment and alleged child trafficking conducted under the guise of legal proceedings.
“Dave Weigel and I have unveiled substantial evidence pointing to what could only be described as designer child trafficking, orchestrated by those within the system,” Emert stated.
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their ongoing project aims to prove systemic abuse and trafficking within the family courts.
“I have been sought out and contacted by numerous of Mr. Nottes’ previous victims,” Weigel said. “This behavior is not only a pattern but a modus operandi of this rogue and disgraced officer of the court.”
Weigel’s struggle has also highlighted issues within the family court system, including closed courtrooms and a lack of transparency. Several of Weigel’s family members and supporters described attempts to attend a scheduled May court hearing before Justice Dawson.
“The hearing was first in the courtroom at 10:00 A.M. Then, it was rescheduled for 3:00 P.M. Then, there was no court appearance at all,” the Weigel supporter said.
Attorney Nottes’ “fears” prompted a change from an in-person to a virtual court hearing. Weigel’s supporters received a Microsoft Teams login and telephone call-in but couldn’t attend due to “technical difficulties” and no response from Justice Dawson and her court personnel. Weigel’s Facebook feed shows at least twenty individuals who tried to virtually attend the hearing, raising serious questions as to the propriety of the “difficulties” and the N.Y.S. Court System’s actual commitment to the transparency of judicial proceedings.
Some of Weigel’s supporters in waiting included prominent NYC attorneys, one of whom secured Weigel’s April 2023 release from Riker’s Island when a “mistake in the system” erroneously landed him there for 82-and-a-half hours. Weigel believes it was no mistake, but a Daniel Nottes design.
“The NYS Courts operate like a secret ‘Star Chamber,’” one supporter stated. “It is a disgrace.”
Weigel has called for open courtrooms and accountability, arguing that the public has a right to know what happens in these proceedings.
“The eye of vigilance is the only way to keep everyone honest,” he said. “When I only have sixteen percent of the available time to make my case in the courtroom, I am compelled to make my own permanent record.”
Weigel Exposes Family Court Against All Odds
David Weigel’s battle against a corrupt family court system and Attorney Daniel Nottes is a testament to his determination and resilience. Many, when faced with the same predicament, lose all hope. And that is by design.
Stay Out of Family Court At All Costs: The $ystem Is Intentionally Broken
Despite the ongoing conflict, he remains steadfast in his quest for justice. He hopes for a resolution to bring about meaningful change for him and his family.
“I need to protect my kids. To do that we must hold accountable the people that deserve to be,” Weigel declared. “I’m a father first. This fight is far from over.”
