Exhibit A: Letter from Lars and Cruks to Arthur Reit, Esq., May 4, 1999.
Dear Mr. Reit:
We regret to inform you that upon careful review of your performance during the provisional period of employment The Firm has decided that you do not meet its needs at this time. Please accept this letter as formal Notice of Termination (L & C Emp. Man. Ch. 14 sec. 32a(1)(ii)). We have taken the liberty of packing your belongings and shipping them to you Airborne. You should receive them within the next twenty-four hours.
Of course, we wish you the very best in your legal career. Should you require our assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us. You may use the office phone number and the services of your secretary, Bettina Martin, for the next two weeks to answer your calls.
Again, I wish you the very best and remain
Sincerely yours,
/s/
Peter Lars
Exhibit B: Letter from Hon. Rocco Pozzo, Chief Judge, New York City Parking Violations Bureau, to Arthur Reit, Esq., June 21, 1999.
Dear Mr. Reit:
Congratulations! You have successfully completed your training for the position of New York City Parking Ticket Judge. Your personnel file has been forwarded to the Department of Investigation for final review and approval. You must appear at the D.O.I.., 91 Beaver Street, N.Y., N.Y., on June 25, 1999, 10:00 a.m. for fingerprinting. You must bring with you two forms of photo I.D. and a blank money order for $74.00.
Welcome to the PVB!*
Very truly yours,
/s/
Hon. Rocco Pozzo
*subject to D.O.I. approval.
Exhibit C: Statement of Enisycla Padia Brown, D.O.I. Fingerprint Technician, August 19, 1999.
ss.: State of New York
County of New York
Enisycla Padia Brown, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
1. I reside at 451 Grunthal Street, Brooklyn, New York, and am currently employed as a Fingerprint Technician with the N.Y.C. Department of Investigation.
2. On June 25, 1999 at 10:00 a.m., upon information and belief, I performed routine fingerprinting on one Arthur Reit, Esq., SS # 062-44-6229, for the position of Parking Ticket Judge. The purported Mr. Reit arrived promptly at the appointed hour with two forms of photo I..D. and blank $74.00 money order. I personally checked the articles of identification. I believed at that time based on my expertise in the field and upon information and belief that they were genuine, and an accurate representation of the purported Mr. Reit. Following routine D.O.I. procedures I compared Mr. Reit’s signature against the signatures on the photo I.D.’s and the signatures on file with D.O.I. and identified at least eleven matching characteristics (D.O.I. protocol 73-11), the most revealing and peculiar being how he seems to cross out the whole signature when crossing his t’s at the end. I then proceeded to make two sets of fingerprints for each hand, as well as palm and full handprints utilizing F.B.I. forms 3546 and 3547. These were then sealed in the appropriate tamper-proof glassine envelope, gov. iss. 4935A6B, and sent via courier to the state lab for processing.
3. Mr. Reit appeared to be his stated age of 32 years, seven months, 16 days, and his height (5'11"), weight (185 lbs.) and facial features (hazel, brown) matched our D.O.I. profile. He acted more or less appropriately throughout, although he avoided eye contact and appeared somewhat nervous. He kept repeating the phrase: “Book’em, Danno,” referring to me as “Sgt. Friday,” and asked to speak to his lawyer: “You dirty rat, I’ll never talk. You’ll have to kill me first.” I felt this inane banter was to break the tension and elicit a response. Of course, none was forthcoming (D.O.I. protocol 64-27). Mr. Reit eventually quieted down. However, the shaking of Mr. Reit’s hands, more than typical, was a significant problem and required three sets of repeat prints. After fingerprinting, the usual Q & A ensued, utilizing N.Y.C. D.O.I. forms 1696 E and F. Mr. Reit answered all questions fully and without hesitation, except for question 3(d) regarding marital status, wherein he did not seem quite sure of himself, finally stating he was engaged to be imminently married to one Deirdre Mutasche. This information was verified pursuant to D.O.I. procedures. Tax return authorizations and financials were obtained and routed for review.
4. In all, this was a routine and unexceptional meeting, except perhaps when the purported Mr. Reit was leaving. We exchanged good-byes and Mr. Reit headed for the door then turned back, looked me squarely in the eyes and said, “What if the report comes back and the prints aren’t mine? I mean, what if they’re really somebody else’s? Like I’m really Andy Kaufman, or Elvis, or Byron Goldfarb, or somebody?” And then he laughed, like it was all a big joke, and left. I made the appropriate notation (prot. 61-66) and forwarded the entire file to Tax Verifications.
WHEREFORE, Enisycla Padia Brown swears under penalty of perjury that the above statement is true, except for those matters stated to be upon information and belief, which she believes to be true.
/s/_________________________________
Sworn to this 19th
day of August, 1999.
Exhibit D: Transcript of cellular phone call from Arthur Reit, Esq. to Bettina Martin, Lars & Cruks, June 25, 1999, 10:46 a.m.
BM: Lars & Cruks, Mr. Reit’s line. Bettina Martin speaking.
AR: Bet . . . it’s m . . . Ar . . . chchch, Ar . . . ghghgh, th . . . Rrr . . . I a . . . mmm . . .
BM: I’m sorry. We have a bad connection. Mr. Reit is not here. May I take a message?
AR: Bet . . . It’s (inaudible). It’s mmm . . . (inaudible).
BM: I’m sorry. You’re breaking up. Mr. Reit is no longer with us.
AR: BET! NO! It’s mm I’m . . . Go . .. . Da . . . Fu . . . Sh . . . (expletives deleted . . . deleted . . . deleted).
BM: Please try again. Goodbye.
Exhibit E: Transcription of office notes of medical examination of Arthur Reit, Esq. by Cameron Jannsen, M.D., Mount Pleasant Medical Group, June 25, 1999.
6-25-99
1:30 p.m.
Pt appears unscheduled office visit c/o “I am not myself.” Headaches, light-headed, dizzy, vertigo, slightly nauseous. States fine till today when fingerprinted for new job (r/o possible allergic reaction??). Describes feeling “out of body, beside myself, like I’m floating up in the air looking down at me through the wrong end of a telescope?” Describes auditory dysfunction “like I’m hearing everything through those paper cups connected with twine we played with when we were kids?”
Routine physical exam performed. 32 yo non-smoker, parents deceased father colon cancer 52, mother breast cancer 58, no sibs, engaged to be married next week, 5'11" 183 lbs. Appears stated age and in good health slight fever oriented x3, blood and urine samples taken, no organic physiological basis for symptoms found. R/o possible anxiety disorder 2d to new job? imminent marriage? Rx X Strength Tylenol, Valium 5 mg as needed, not to exceed 3x per day. Referral made to psych group.
DICTATED BUT NOT READ
Exhibit F: Letter from Supervising Investigator Donald Adams, N.Y.C. Dept. of Investigation, to Arthur Reit, Esq., June 30, 1999.
Dear Sir/Madam:
We regret to inform you that you have been found unsuitable for employment with The City of New York at this time.
The reason for this determination is:
· Failure to provide required information (see below)
· Failure to pass routine background check (see below)
· Other (see below)*
* FINGERPRINT RECORDS REVEAL YOU ARE NOT ARTHUR REIT.
Thank you for your interest in employment with The City of New York, an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Very truly yours,
/s/
Donald Adams,
Supervising Investigator
Exhibit G: Letter from Ling Chiching, Inquiries Staff Module 16, N.Y.C. Bureau of Vital Statistics, to Arthur Reit, Esq., July 7, 1999.
Dear Mr. Reit:
In response to yours of July 1, we regret to inform you we cannot issue proof of live birth because the information requested was purged from our database by FREUD (Fully Reflexive Elimination of Unnecessary Data) Procedure on June 25, 1999 at 10:24 a.m.
However, pursuant to the broad nature of your request, we undertook a review of our Death Certificate files and you will be happy to know we could find no record of you there, either.
We hope this information is of assistance to you. We regret that due to budgetary constraints we cannot return the statutory fee as you suggested. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of further assistance in the future.
Ling Chiching
Inquiries Specialist
Exhibit H: Letter from Rabbi Mordecai Schnurman to Arthur Reit, Esq., July 12, 1999.
Dear Mr. Reit:
It was a wonderful surprise to hear from you
.
In answer to your inquiry, I am almost seventy-five now, and whatever records there may have been were destroyed long ago. I can feel the desperation in the tone of your letter.. However, you must understand that it is highly unusual for a client to come back after so long. I wish I could say definitively that I remember you, but alas, it was thirty-two years ago! Of course, back then I was the most sought-after mohel in Williamsburg. And in those days I might perform two dozen circumcisions in a month, none distinguishable in my mind from another, except, perhaps, for the food. There was one in particular, I recall, around the time about which you inquire, where a Japanese chef prepared kosher sushi. Quite ahead of its time, that one was. If you could tell me something about the menu maybe it would jog my memory.
Indeed, I had quite a reputation in those days. Everybody wanted a Schnurman. Families that relocated and then had a second son would go to great lengths to have me fly out to do the bris so that the boys would ‘match.’ The Israeli Ambassador to Australia once called with such a request. Beautiful country, out back. Perhaps if you could send me a photo, maybe from childhood, it might help. Even a current picture, sufficiently detailed, might be of assistance; better still a plaster cast. My work, as I said, was quite distinctive, and I am sure that I could recognize a Schnurman even with my eyes closed.
Let me know how you wish to proceed, and best of luck in your search.
/s/
Rabbi Mordecai Schnurman
Exhibit I: Letter from Deirdre Mutasche to Arthur Reit, Esq., hand delivered by Maid of Honor Nancy Hardy to Best Man Thomas Drew, July 12, 1999.
My Dearest Arthur,
I know that there is no way you can ever forgive me. You must believe that I fully intended to be there, Arthur, at your side.
What happened that day? I dressed. Mother and Aunt Enid attended to me, and wouldn’t let me see myself until every last detail was in place. ‘How beautiful,’ they kept saying, ‘how beautiful.’ They pulled the veil down over me, told me to close my eyes and walked me over to the mirror, one of those old-fashioned ones with wings, then counted ‘one, two, three.’ And while they were counting, I was filled with the warm, wonderful image of you and I, Arthur, standing at the altar together. And then, when I opened my eyes, I was still there, but you were gone! The crystal gems sewn into my veil seemed like stars shining in someone else’s sky; not mine, not ours. And I knew at that moment, Arthur, I know how crazy this sounds, and how much you must hurt, but I knew that my future could not be with you; that you were not you, Arthur, not the you I created in my childish fantasies, but someone I didn’t even know; that the you I thought you were doesn’t really exist at all.
Perhaps only long into the future will all this make any sense to either of us, Arthur, perhaps not. But whatever the future holds for us both, I know right now that this is the right thing, the right thing for us both. There was no time to call, no way to explain.. I am so sorry. I can never make it up to you.
God bless you, Arthur Reit whomever you are, whomever you turn out to be. I will always love the memory of you, the memory of the man I thought you were, the man I invented in my mind, and can only hope that one day you will understand and forgive. Oh. Mother asked me to remind you to return the watch when you get a chance, and she’ll return the ring.
Always,
/s/
Dee Dee
Exhibit J: Notice of Petition In Re: 110 Lexington Avenue Associates v. John Doe, July 14, 1999.
Civil Court of the City of New York
County of New York
________________________________________
:
110 Lexington Avenue Associates, :
: :
PETITIONER, : Notice of Petition
:
v. : Index No. 24856-99
:
JOHN DOE, occupant of 110 Lexington Avenue, :
Apt. 4F, :
:
RESPONDENT. :
________________________________________ :
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that you are hereby summoned to appear at the Civil Court of the City of New York, County of New York, 111 Centre Street, New York, New York at IAS part 61A thereof before the Hon. Rose R.Rosenstein on the 16 day of August, 1999 at 9:30 o’clock in the forenoon or as soon thereafter as counsel can be heard to answer a petition of eviction.
THE BASIS FOR THE PETITION IS:
The occupant of 110 Lexington Avenue, Apt. 4F is not the signatory to the lease, Arthur Reit, but an illegal occupant or squatter referred to herein as JOHN DOE.
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that your failure to appear and answer this petition may result in a warrant for your eviction.
Very truly yours,
Lars & Cruks,
Attorneys at Law
11 Park Lane
New York, N.Y. 10007
By: Robert Cruks
Exhibit K: Excerpt from Psychiatric Report of Dr. Felix Mendelsohn to Zurich American Insurance Company re: Arthur Reit, Esq., July 17, 1999.
Conclusion
In sum, then, this 32 year-old attorney presents with poor hygiene, flat affect, anhedonia, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite and inability to maintain important interpersonal relationships. He has no surviving family and is quite isolated. The patient complains of persistent, repetitive ‘all or nothing’ nightmares involving rats (e.g., a rat bites him in the jugular vein; he can leave it there and die of rabies or yank it off and bleed to death--during one session he spotted a pigeon on the window sill and became visibly disgusted, calling it a ‘rat with wings’). He has recently suffered the breakdown of his engagement (indeed, he was left at the altar), is apparently being evicted from his apartment, and a few weeks ago became unemployed for the fifth time in six years.
Most of these symptoms seem to indicate a moderate to severe anxiety disorder. However, he is persistent in the belief that the cause of all his difficulties is that he is not Arthur Reit at all, but ‘someone else’; that if he can only find this ‘someone else’ all his troubles will be over. This belief is quite perplexing in this patient who, although troubled, is rational and appropriate in all other regards (except for his refusal to take meds), and can only be called a psychotic feature.
Diagnosis
Axis I: Moderate to severe anxiety disorder with psychotic features (i.e., self delusional?).
Axis II: None.
Recommendation
Patient would benefit from intensive psychotherapy, at least three times per week, and authorization is requested for same. Rx: Prozac 15 mg, three times per day (refused). In light of patient’s refusal to be compliant with prescribed meds the situation for this unfortunate young man can only be called serious. Without therapeutic support patient could represent a danger to himself, although it is highly unlikely that this sensitive, somewhat masochistic young man could represent a danger to others. Please rush the review process and authorize treatment ASAP.
Yours, etc.
/s/
Dr. Felix Mendelsohn
Exhibit L: Report of Police Contact, P.O. John O’Doylie NYPD, 106th Precinct, New York, New York, July 21, 1999.
REPORT OF POLICE CONTACT
DATE TIME P.O. PCT
7/21/99 3:46 a.m. J. O’Doylie 106
COMPLAINANT ADDRESS PHONE #
Arthur Reit NONE NONE
COMPLAINT:
Complainant Arthur Reit, thin, unshaven 32 y.o. former atty reports to 106 stating he was evicted from his apartment and all his belongings were lost when the landlord tossed them into the street—wishes to file missing person report on himself. When informed this was impossible, comp. became agitated, argumentative and demanded to speak to my supervisor, then requested an APB be issued on one Arthur Reit, Esq. Appropriate referral made to Bellevue Psychiatric, refused. Provided with homeless shelter info. Pct. Commander advised.
/s/
Exhibit M: Transcript of Taped Interview with Harry Green, Private Investigator, by Det. Sean Reagan, 106th Pct., August 19, 1999.
HG: I wanna speak to my lawyer. I wanna speak with Peter Lars. You can’t question me about a client. It’s privileged.
SR: Harry. How long do we know each other? You know there’s no privilege. The only privilege you’ve got, Harry, is the privilege of talking to me. Here. Have a jellybean. Feel better? Now, tell me about the kid.
HG: What’s to tell? I thought the kid was mixed-up, crazy. He showed up the end of July looking wild. He was living in the park out by 86 Street. Boy, did he smell! Told me this nutty story—he wasn’t him, he was somebody else, lost everything, apartment, job, fiancÈ, everything. Had no money. Couldn’t access his own bank accounts, credit cards stopped. Total meltdown. Could I help him. Then he gave me his watch. Raymond Weil. 18k. Engraved: “To our future son-in-law.” Real nice piece. Said he got it as an engagement present.
SR: You still got the watch?
HG: Pawned it. Got the ticket right here. Hey, I earned it.
SR: So, Harry, what’d you do then?
HG: So I felt kinda bad for the kid.
SR: C’mon, Harry.
HG: No, this time I really did. It was all so crazy, I knew it, but something just didn’t add up. And then there was his eyes.
SR: His eyes?
HG: His eyes were telling me the truth. So I decided to check it out.
SR: And?
HG: And the kid wasn’t lying. Took a lot of digging. Turn out was the kid wasn’t himself at all, but some crapped-out writer type named Lipschutz. Wrote a collection of stories and a novel, some kind of cult thing in the early nineties called “The Right Thing” about a young lawyer. Got good reviews, then he got blocked and dropped off the map. Just like that.
SR: How’d you find out?
HG: You know I’m not going to tell you that. You wanna lock me up, lock me up.
SR: What next?
HG: So the kid came around a few days later, bloodthirsty for information. And I gave it to him.
SR: What exactly did you tell him, Harry? It’s important.
HG: I told him who he was.
SR: And?
HG: And gave him his address. He insisted. Christ, it’s not a crime. Shit. He could’ve looked himself up in the phone book, for God’s sake.
SR: Seen him since?
HG: Hey, so what’s this all about, anyway? Can I keep the watch?
Exhibit N: Summary of Statement of Priti Verdanastani, landlady, 65 West 11th Street, New York, N.Y., August 16, 1999.
Mr. Lipschutz. A very private man, a sad man; a very good tenant, except for the garbage. He would stay in his room all the time, writing, I think, and then throw it all away, Hefty bags full of it. He paid the rent the fifteenth of the month. Left cash in an envelope under my door, upstairs. I don’t think I’d actually seen him for months. Yes, I do remember that day, because I think he had a visitor. Yes, the first I ever remember. Well, I never saw the man. I heard loud voices, that’s how I know. It was like an argument. About 2:30 in the morning. He instructed me that if anyone ever came I was to tell them he was dead. I don’t know why. My first thought when it woke me up was that he was having a nightmare, the poor soul. I don’t know what they were saying, it made no sense. “You’re not me,” “I’m not you.” Craziness. Then I thought he might be drunk. Well, the fifteenth of the month came, and no rent. I knocked a couple of times, but there was no answer and I didn’t like to bother him. Finally it got quite worrisome. I didn’t know what to do, and I needed the money, so I used my pass key and went in. Oh, it was so horrible, truly horrible, the smell, everything tossed, topsy-turvy, and Mr. Lipschutz laying there on the floor on his back, his face, the anguish, his eyes bulging, it was so horrible! I’ll never forget it as long as I live! And the pen, yes, the gold pen, the note, the bloody note… Thank you, yes, it is all too much. How soon can I show the apartment again? And what about the August rent?
Exhibit O: Excerpt from Certificate of Death #153628594-0043-99 of Byron Goldfarb, filed August 17, 1999, 11:16 A.M.
CERTIFICATE OF DEATH
1. NAME OF DECEASED Homer Artemis Lipschutz_
(Type or print) (First Name) (Middle Name) (Last Name)
2. PLACE OF DEATH: New York City
BOROUGH: Manhattan
3. DATE AND HOUR: August 7, 1999 2:30 A..M.
4. SEX: Male
I hereby certify that I attended the body of the deceased who died of traumatic injury (specify): The deceased died of a stab wound to the heart.
WITNESS my hand this 17th day of August, 1999.
Name of Physician: Frederico G. Vitale, M.D.
/s/___________________
Exhibit P: Reproduction of Typewritten Note affixed to the chest of Byron Goldfarb with Zausner and Blausner “True Writer” Platinum and Gold Roller Ball Pen.
I cannot go on it is all too much I despise my self what I have become the ineptitude the impotency that is my life I am a fraud an impostor the shame the doubt the guilt overwhelms me perhaps in death there is peace perhaps in death there is life a better life perhaps in death I will find my self
(Unsigned)
Exhibit Q: Excerpt from Report of Fingerprints taken from Zausner and Blausner “True Writer” Platinum and Gold Roller Ball Pen, item #4627, batch #683, crime scene #85673-99; In Re Byron Goldfarb, Homicide Victim.
Item #4627 Zausner and Blausner “True Writer” Platinum and Gold Roller Ball Pen was removed from the chest cavity of the victim and dusted for fingerprints. Three identifiable prints: right thumb, right middle and right index finger, as well as a portion of the right palm were lifted and at least eleven characteristics were identified matching the fingerprints of the victim, Byron Goldfarb. No other prints identified.
Exhibit R: Partial Inventory of Crime Scene #85673-99, residence of one Byron Goldfarb, deceased, 65 W. 11th Street, basement studio apt. (writing area).
ß 1 mahogany roll top writing desk
ß 1 black leather “judge’s” swivel chair (arms repaired with duct tape)
ß 14 Dixon Ticonderoga #2 lead pencils, erasers chewed
ß 1 brown scuffed leather brief bag containing a six-page short short story, entitled “A Brief Case”
ß 1 half-eaten bologna sandwich
ß 1 framed photograph of J.D. Salinger inscribed “Thanks, Homer,” signed “Holden.”
ß 1 Royal manual typewriter, circa 1952, with the letters ‘u’ and ‘i’ missing
ß 1 copy of “Three Novels,” Samuel Beckett, open to page 181, with the passage underlined: “For then I shall speak of the things that remain in my possession…. It will be a kind of inventory.”
ß 1 oversized brown Naugahyde scrapbook, selective contents:
Publisher’s Weekly, November 4, 1989, “What is The Right Thing, Anyway?”
New York Times, October 16, 1990, “The Lipschutz Variations: Play as Punishment.”
Paris Review, September 24, 1991 “The Imploding Stories of Homer Lipschutz. Literary Phenomenon or Cheap Cop Out?”
New York Observer, December 12, 1992, “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t: The Short Fiction of Byron Goldfarb.”
New York Times Review of Books, cover story, May 5, 1994, “Where Have You Gone, Byron Goldfarb?”
ß 1 large black wire mesh waste basket containing 126 tightly crumpled sheets with the words “INVESTIGATION FILE” typed in upper case letters at the top
ß 1 9x14 center tab manila folder containing 14 typewritten pages and labeled “INVESTIGATION FILE” in indelible black marker on the front.