Patrick Zoccole made this outcry in describing his experiences with Pennsylvania's Mercer County family court and domestic relations offices.
Where too many of these fathers suffer silently, however, Zoccole, after months of court delays and persecution, acted. In early August, 1995, in company with his father and mother, he had a two-and-a-half hour meeting with Emmett Mahon, special assistant in the offices of Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum.
Luckily, unlike most legislative personnel, Mahon did not kis him off with polite sympathy. Rather, he answered Zoccole's allegations of good ol' boy influence- peddling, lawyers' conflict of interest, and court bias and inaction by promising a bonafide investigation by qualified federal officials.
Zoccole's problems with his wife Michelle arose unexpectedly in July, two years ago.
One night we had been honey-ing and dear-ing each other, and the next day, she picked up and left for her grandmother's, saying she needed her "space."For a while, the estranged couple shared their two children, Rachel, five, and Elizabeth, three, informally. When one day Rachel cried over the phone that she had not seen her mother in three days, Zoccole peremptorily took the children out of the grandmother's house.
The next day, Michelle showed up with an ex parte "temporary" child custody order from County Judge Michael Wherry directing Zoccole to turn the children over to her. Rachel, screaming, ran behind the house. Michelle, pursuing, tackled her.
The "temporary" order stood for 17 months until past January, 1995, when Judge Wherry listened to Michelle's lengthy testimony during an eight-hour hearing. Then, without allowing Zoccole to speak, the Judge said, "I can see that both of you are good parents. You work out the custody between you." Because the couple never did come to an agreement, a further custody hearing was set for September 27, 1995.
Shortly after obtaining the "temporary" order, Michelle sued for a support increase. Judge Wherry responding by jumping monthly payments for the $18,000-a-year contractor from $240 to $800. Unable to meet the imposition, Zoccole, while continuing to remit the lesser sum, has fallen some $6,000 in arrears.
Because of the arrearage, Judge Wherry has scheduled a contempt hearing for September 5, 1995. Will Zoccole go to jail? Quite possibly.
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