David Milberg
An ex-Lehman Brothers hotshot is accused of biting, kicking
and pulling the hair of his estranged wife inside their lavish Manhattan co-op.
David Milberg, 50, who was vice president at the failed bank
and now runs a private investment firm, is set to go on trial for attempted
assault after the alleged April 1 incident, which the mother of his children
says involved him using 'both of his hands to forcefully push me onto a
chair... causing bruising and substantial pain.'
Melinda Milberg, 50, told authorities she 'then observed (my
husband) grab me by the hair and strike my head against the chair multiple
times... causing my hair to come out of my head.'
According to the New York Daily News, prosecutors dropped
the charges to lesser misdemeanors Monday to force a bench trial, while Mr
Milberg's lawyer had been fighting for the higher charges so a jury would hear
the case.
The banker allegedly admitted to police that he 'bit her
arm' but insisted 'I fell into a trap. This is what she wanted.'
The couple's 14-year-old daughter, who was allegedly at the
Upper West Side pad at the time, may be called to testify against her father,
the Daily News reported.
But Mr Milberg's lawyer insists his wife trumped up the
accusations to win leverage in the couple's nasty, multimillion divorce case.
The lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, told the newspaper Mrs
Milberg's 'antics have deprived Mr Milberg of any meaningful contact with his
own children.'
In the split, the couple are fighting over custody as well
as access to a 400-acre country club of which they are members.
David Aronson, Mr Milberg's divorce lawyer, said the
estranged couple could both be 'at the country club at the same time as long as
Mr Milberg understands he has to stay away from his wife and not approach her
and not speak to her.'
But Mrs Milberg's attorney said that was inconceivable as
the possibility of seeing their father at the posh club was a 'really a
frightening thought' to the couple's two kids.
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