Estate of Frank Johnson - Page 129




                                       - 57 -                                         
          safe deposit story was inconsistent, tentative, and appeared to             
          have been scripted.                                                         
               In his deposition, Joe testified that he was not present               
          when Katherine and Jack allegedly emptied their father’s safe               
          deposit box, but he saw the contents on a bed in Katherine’s                
          motel room.  He stated that he saw only gold coins, and that, on            
          his urging, Katherine later returned those coins to Edward’s safe           
          deposit box.  Joe further testified that Edward had only $1,500             
          at the time of his hospitalization, and that Jack asked Joe to              
          help pay Edward’s medical expenses.                                         
               Chuck was not present in New York City at the time Katherine           
          and Jack emptied Edward’s safe deposit box.  Thus, he had no                
          first-hand knowledge as to the contents of Edward’s safe deposit            
          box or as to the ultimate disposition of those contents.                    
          Although Chuck testified generally about his father’s financial             
          dealings and accumulation of cash, he did not quantify the amount           
          of money or the value of property that his father had accumulated           
          over his lifetime, how much money Edward had at the time of his             
          hospitalization, or how much of that money, if any, Edward gave             
          to Katherine.  The objective evidence does not support Chuck’s              
          testimony that Edward was highly successful in his welding                  
          business or that he dealt heavily in property and livestock.                

               23(...continued)                                                       
          any one of them could have assumed custody of Edward’s property             
          subsequent to Tina’s return home.                                           





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