Criminal Justice
Lawyer: Kaye Scholer Partner Quickly Returned for Kids Ousted from Car
Posted Apr 27, 2009, 07:43 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A lawyer for the Kaye Scholer bankruptcy partner who made national headlines last week for ordering her sparring children from the car is telling his client’s side of the story—and emphasizing that the mother quickly returned to pick up her two girls.
Madlyn Primoff, 45, pleaded not guilty to endangering a child last Monday. Authorities said Primoff ousted her 10- and 12-year-old daughters from her car, but allowed the 12-year-old back in. A passerby saw the younger girl crying, bought her ice cream, and contacted police, according to the early reports.
Now Primoff’s lawyer, Vincent Briccetti, says his client simply drove around the block after ordering the girls out of the car, the Associated Press reports. When she returned, both girls were gone.
The 10-year-old was taken in hand by the passerby and the 12-year-old had begun the 3-mile walk home, Briccetti said. He said Primoff returned home to get her husband when she couldn’t find the girls, and they found the older daughter walking home. When they couldn’t find the younger girl, they reported her missing.
“She wasn't abandoning her children,'' Briccetti said of Primoff. ''She expected to find her children.''
The Westchester County Journal News reviewed a taped call to police from Primoff. The newspaper says she spoke in a “controlled and calm tone.”
"Hi, my daughter is missing," Primoff reportedly said. "My two daughters were together on White Plains Road, and, my older one came home first and the younger one is missing."
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