Myerson Case Is About Greed, Prosecutor Says

The trial that New York’s tabloids have labeled the “Bess Mess” began Tuesday with all the elements of a TV miniseries.

There was the former Miss America who, prosecutors charged, deliberately lied to the mayor of New York City.

There was the defense lawyer who countered that the government simply had been sold a bill of goods by a vindictive wife.

Use of Alias Charged

There were charges of secret phone calls using an alias, stories of lavish entertaining and differing versions of how a previously unemployable judge’s daughter suddenly found herself holding a prestigious city job.

Avidly watching it all, taking notes on former Miss America Bess Myerson’s demeanor (restrained) and her wardrobe (a black and white striped suit over a red blouse) were rows of reporters and authors.

Myerson, who was crowned Miss America in 1945 and who once was a role model for millions of career women, went on trial with her boyfriend, Carl (Andy) Capasso, a contractor, and former state court Judge Hortense W. Gabel.

Judge’s Daughter Hired

All are charged with participating in a scheme in which Gabel allegedly reduced the total of Capasso’s alimony and child support payments and Myerson, in return, hired the judge’s daughter, Sukhreet, to be her assistant when Myerson was New York City’s cultural affairs commissioner.

Federal prosecutor David Lawrence said that the case is about “money, greed and abuse of power” and told the jury: “The defendants entered into a conspiracy to break the law, to abuse high positions . . . . The purpose of the fraudulent scheme was to corrupt the courthouse.”

Scornfully, he referred to Capasso as a “millionaire sewer contractor” and Myerson as “his mistress.”

At the heart of the government’s case is the contention that Myerson and Capasso played on Gabel’s concern for her 34-year-old daughter while the judge was hearing Capasso’s challenge to his temporary alimony and child support payments.

‘Shared Obsession’

“The evidence will show the divorce became their shared obsession,” Lawrence said of Myerson and Capasso. “They complained about the money, the cost of the divorce case, the legal fees.”

The prosecutor charged that, with Capasso bankrolling the effort, Myerson sought to ingratiate herself with Judge Gabel, inviting her to expensive dinners and to weekends at Capasso’s estate on Long Island. As the alleged scheme progressed, Lawrence said, Myerson would telephone the judge’s unlisted number using the alias “Mrs. Robinson” (the older woman in the movie “The Graduate”) when discussing business.

As part of the “recruitment operation,” the prosecution said, Myerson began to take an interest in Sukhreet Gabel’s employment problems, hiring a professional writer to polish her resume and eventually giving her a $19,000-a-year job.

Judge Called ‘Bought’

“It is an unfortunate case because all of these people know the difference between right and wrong,” the prosecutor told the jury. “The person who allowed herself to be bought was Judge Gabel.”

Prosecutors charged also that Myerson later lied in a letter to Mayor Edward I. Koch about Sukhreet Gabel’s qualifications and still later sought to stop her from testifying.

Defense lawyers--in a preview of tactics they will follow in what is expected to be a two-month trial--told the jury that Gabel merely “shifted” money from alimony to child support in the bitter divorce case and that the hiring by Myerson of Sukhreet Gabel was a “stupid act” but not illegal.

Wife Seen as Vindictive

The lawyers characterized Capasso’s wife, Nancy, as vindictive and charged that she had sold the prosecutor a bill of goods.

Defense lawyer Jay Goldberg told the jury that Nancy Capasso had warned her husband: “Remember, Andy, you and Bess remember: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Goldberg charged also that Capasso’s former chauffeur and Mrs. Capasso had talked on the phone about the chauffeur’s trial testimony and said that a recording of that call would be played for the jurors. Goldberg quoted Capasso’s ex-wife as telling the servant: “It’s going to be such fun. He’ll have a heart attack, and that will be the end of it. It will be fun.”