Countywide : Gionis Loses Bid to Visit Daughter

Dr. Thomas Gionis, accused of hiring two men to beat up his then-wife, Aissa Wayne, and her boyfriend, Monday lost a bid to visit his 2-year-old daughter without court-appointed monitors present.

Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Owen denied Gionis’ request for unmonitored visits with his daughter Anastasia. The judge issued a one-sentence written ruling that did not explain his decision.

Gionis’ lawyer, Catherine A. Vincent, said she was disappointed in the decision and would ask Owen to reconsider.

Judi A. Curtin, an attorney assigned to represent the child, said she thinks monitored visits are in Anastasia’s best interests. The idea behind supervised visits is to protect Anastasia in the event her father decided to flee and take the girl with him, Curtin said.

Vincent said Gionis is facing difficulties because he has filed for bankruptcy protection and can no longer afford to pay the monitors. He owes about $10,000 to the company that employs them, Vincent said.

“By ordering continuation of the monitors, the judge has effectively cut off (Gionis’) visits with his daughter,” Vincent said.

If Owen refuses to change his ruling, Vincent said, she will probably ask him to have the county pay for the monitors.

Gionis, 36, a Pomona surgeon, faces trial in February on charges that he hired two men to beat up Wayne and then-boyfriend Roger Luby outside Luby’s gated home in Newport Beach on Oct. 3, 1988.

Earlier in the custody dispute, Gionis had custody of Anastasia after a judge ruled that Wayne--the daughter of the late actor John Wayne--was too “emotionally immature” to raise the child. But Wayne regained custody after criminal charges were filed against Gionis. Gionis is allowed several visits per month.