Michael Volpe Investigates (private feed for sbmotheroftwo@gmail.com)

The Unknown special report: reform in Idaho

The momentum for family court reform continues.Richard Luthmann and I previously interviewed Arizona Republican State Senator Mark Finchem and Arizona Republican State Representative Rachel Keshel, who head the ad hoc joint legislative committee on family court orders. This time we sat down with Idaho Republican State Representative Tammy Nichols, who co-chairs the Idaho Child Custody and Domestic Relations Task Force, which had its first hearing on July 7, 2025. This interview covered many topics, including my belief that Meridian, Idaho Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea made a serious misstatement when he claimed custodial interference, which is a crime, is a civil matter in the last hearing. Everyone should check out the whole interview, but for the summary, I want to focus on some of the best legislative ideas she proposed during the interview. An Anti-SLAPP like system for false allegationsState Senator Nichols said that a big problem is false allegations, but there’s never any consequences. She talked about legislation to hold false allegations of abuse accountable. At that point, I interrupted her. While well-meaning, I worry about such a law creating a chilling effect on people reporting abuse. How would she balance that, I asked her. Senator Nichols said she envisioned an anti-SLAPP like system which identifies the especially egregious false allegations and creates a system to quickly deal with those. SLAPP, or Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, is a lawsuit like the one filed by Jeremy Hales that is meritless and designed to chill free speech. In anti-SLAPP legislation, someone targeted with a SLAPP suit can file an anti-SLAPP motion and a hearing is held quickly. At that point, the plaintiff has to meet a minimum threshold of evidence, or the case is thrown out. This legislation would work the same way. If this anti-SLAPP like motion was filed, a hearing is held quickly, and the alleged false accuser would present evidence which would need to meet a minimum threshold. If it doesn’t, that person would be deemed a false accuser, with real consequences. Parent’s right to a speedy trialAt another point in the interview, State Senator Nichols talked about how cases could go on for years. She said that there needs to be a time limit. While she never used the term, I asked her if she was suggesting a parent’s right to a speedy trial, just like the sixth amendment protects criminalsThis is what she was talking about. This is something I’ve already proposed. Child custody cases have a way of dragging out, and the courts love it.Lawyers make money, other court appointees make money: it’s how the system works.Courts will not speed up the process by choice, only by force.As such, upon reading that passage above, I had an epiphany.Courts should be required to hold a custody trial no more than one year after the petition is filed.I’ve since amended my thought process because parents like to avoid service. So, I would propose a law which requires a custody trial to start no more than a year after the initial petition is served. Time limits on temporary ordersSenator Nichols identified a problem with Arizona State Senator Mark Finchem and Arizona State Representative Rachel Keshel have also been hammering away at. Draconian temporary orders, which last years. Temporary orders can’t be appealed, but they are abused my many judges, like Judge David Knutson in Minnesota who issued the order above temporarily banning both parents from seeing their kids. That lasted from September 7, 2012 to April 19, 2013, when he issued another temporary order, this time only banning the mother from seeing her kids. Senator Nichols wants to put a time limit on temporary orders. Cap on expensesDuring the broadcast, I mentioned, “I think we’re all free marketeers, but is a solution putting a hard cap on expenses?”This was something that Senator Nichols said she favored. “Putting a cap on things, and maybe the number of times something can be used.” She told us. Senator Nichols then went on to state that she heard people were ordered to have up to six psychological evaluations. Limiting the number court appointees is something I favor as well; however, I don’t believe it goes far enough. I think a total abolition of all court appointees is necessary for true reform in the system. This is the law I’d write. In the State of Idaho, the court shall not appoint a guardian ad litem, parenting time evaluator, psychological evaluator, or any other court appointee. During divorce and child custody, the court shall only hear from the two parents, their attorneys if they have one, and any witnesses and evidence the parties may introduce.We also debated the merits of presumed 50/50, which Rich favors but I don’t. Idaho has a vaguer standard. In Florida, Rich’s home state, there is 50/50 presumption. As I’ve said, this is a model which failed in Australia, and that country reversed the law in 2023. Australian Member of Parliament Graham Perrette had the best argument against presumed 50/50.Check out the previous interviews with Senator Finchem and Representative Keshel below. This is a public episode. 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Michael Volpe Investigates special report: the parental alienation trap in Bonner County, Idaho

When Heidi Moreland spoke in front of the Idaho Child Custody and Domestic Relations Task Force on Monday July 7, 2025, she was treated like a victim. “I endured seventeen years in an abusive, and this time my children and I face even more abuse from the family court system,” she told the task force. Inside the courtroom Magistrate Tera Harden, she was treated like the perpetrator of vicious psychological abuse. Magistrate Harden concluded that Heidi’s two children with her ex-husband, Bill Moreland, hated their dad for no good reason, and Heidi was responsible. Heidi was accused of parental alienation. Not satisfied with the label itself, Magistrate Harden said, “this is one of the most extreme cases of parental alienation I have ever seen.” Though Heidi’s children- currently 15 and 16- have lived with her their entire lives, Magistrate Harden has temporarily suspended all contact, issuing an eight week “blackout period.” Magistrate Harden threw the kitchen sink at Heidi in this June 2025 hearing. At one point, she blamed Heidi for a post which Tina Swithin at One Mom’s Battle put online in November 2024. Though her case isn’t mentioned in the post, Heidi told me she was blamed by Magistrate Harden for its publication. Tina Swithin provided me this statement about the situation. The post you referenced was not about any specific family or case. One Mom’s Battle regularly highlights judges, commissioners, magistrates, and chancellors whose names come to our attention for relying on the unscientific concept of “parental alienation” or for ordering children into highly controversial reunification treatments or programs.This particular judge came to my attention when I was contacted by a mental health professional in Idaho who asked to remain anonymous. They shared that it was widely known in the area that this judge supports “alienation” claims, a legal strategy often used by abusive parents. This professional was seeking guidance on how to navigate the situation given the small-town dynamics and concerns for child safety.My post was intended to address broader systemic issues in family court practices, rather than commenting on any single family’s circumstances. If this post was used against a mother in a child custody case, it should be considered a gross injustice.While Magistrate Harden was condemning Tina’s post, she was also relying heavily on quacks to make her determination. Magistrate Harden said she relied heavily on Robert Evans’ report in making her determination, calling him, “a very well respected, very well-known expert, as it relates to parental alienation.”Except, Evans is a notorious quack who was exposed in a 2021 cross-examination by Richard Ducote. Chills ran up the spine of witnesses as Evans purported parental alienation to be a ‘phenomenon’ and potentially more harmful than a father intentionally breaking the arms and the legs of, or poisoning, his child. Evans appeared oblivious to the absurdity of his words as he then testified that parental alienation was potentially more harmful to a four-year-old child than a father’s rape of that child.He goes on to describe an alienating parent’s behaviour.“It could just be using the word him.” Evans testifies.“It’s ‘him’ on the phone or ‘he’s’ here.”“Another one is communicating directly to the child that the other parent is abusive or dangerous through your actions. In other words, getting law enforcement involved, doing well-care visits, filing abuse allegations, with child protection organisations, that’s very common”.Evans describes a typical scenario involving an alienating parent – a mother reports child abuse to a paediatrician. She tells them the other parent is abusive and neglectful, and the paediatrician pays particular attention. In the warped world of parental alienation, reporting the abusive behaviour is more harmful to the child than the actual abuse.Magistrate Harden also plans on using the services of Randy Rand, Heidi said. Magistrate Harden may use his reunification camp torture, Family Bridges, in the future, Heidi told me.Reunification camps have been banned in multiple states like Arizona, Utah, and California. Rand has an expired license, and many of his so-called patients said his treatment is tantamount to torture. I previously interviewed Tori Nielsen about Rand. When she wasn’t heaping praise on Drs. Rand and Evans, Magistrate Harden was violating Heidi’s religious liberty. “It appears that there are some interesting religious beliefs in which Mr. Moreland was called evil and requested to repent. What I did not see was Mr. Moreland being given any grace or any forgiveness- which was incredibly troubling.” She said. Heidi told me she is the same religious denomination as Magistrate Harden, and that this characterization came from selectively released text messages, void of all context.Magistrate Harden claimed she saw no evidence of abuse despite both children sending letters describing incidents of fat shaming, driving recklessly purposefully, bouts of rage, and more. There was even a volleyball game incident where Heidi’s daughter suffered a panic attack because her father arrived unexpectedly. Heidi told me she was keeping score and was unable to interject until late. Heidi said her daughter asked her father not to attend sporting events, but in this case, he showed up anyway. After Heidi’s son politely asked him to leave, Heidi said that Bill Moreland began acting belligerently. That scene led to Heidi’s daughter’s panic attack. Magistrate Harden saw it differently, “There’s not a safer, more neutral environment that a sporting event, but the kids were more worried that their mother would be upset with them than being happy their father was there.” I reached out to Bill’s attorney, Jeremi Ossman, and the guardian ad litem, Kacey Wall.Neither responded to me, but Heidi told me that she was informed that Ossman had filed my email to him in the court record. That email is below. my name is Michael Volpe. I'm an investigative journalist, and I run this site.I am finishing a story about this custody case and I believe your firm represents Mr. Moreland.First, I noticed that Randy Rand and Robert Evans were involved. Mr. Rand is unlciensed (sic) and his reunification therapy has been banned in several states, including in Arizona where I interviewed Tori Nielsen, a victim.Robert Evans is a notorious character in that world as well.This brings me to a larger point. This case was decided on parental alienation, a bogus psychological determination which is not recognized by anyone but family courts.The judge said that there was no abuse, but Ms. Moreland insists there is. Also, these kids are teenagers. Is it really believable that teenagers could be swayed if your client was a perfectly fit dad? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelvolpe.substack.com/subscribe

The Unknown Episode 46

Richard Luthmann and I were back for the 46th episode of The Unknown We discussed the America Party, Tucker Carlson’s interview with the Iranian president, and the Diddy verdict in the current events segment. In the What the Hales segment starting thirty-seven minutes in, we talked about the recent revelations that Jeremy Hales lawyer, Randall Shochet, has a long history of deceit. Then, fifty-six minutes in, we discussed the first hearing from the Idaho Child Custody and Domestic Relation Task Force hearing on July 7, 2025. Whereas Arizona’s committee- the precursor to Idaho- generally held hearings by asking people to testify for three to seven minutes, the Idaho hearing had more structure. There were two names I recognized. Magistrate Kyle Schou is an Ada County judge, and I watched one of his hearings in May. He was behaved and professional that day, however, the case file showed he allowed an abuser unfettered access to his children. In November 2024, Mitchell Wood, according to testimony that day, threw his kids out of his home. Soon after, he demanded they return; when they refused, he filed for contempt against his ex-wife, Kelly O’Toole, whom he abused during their marriage. Schou granted his motion, and Mitchell had the children full time when the hearing took place. Kelly’s lawyer, Ron Brilliant, argued effectively that Mitchell’s custody time had been made up, and Magistrate Schou ordered the parties back to their original agreement- 50/50. Only he said that would happen after he wrote the order, which he still has not. While Schou presented a rosy picture during his testimony, this was contrasted with the passionate testimony of the parents, during the 1-4PM session. Kelly testified, stating, “I have been accused of alienation, a theory supported like law. Family court has turned my life into a nightmare.” Kelly further stated that she spent over $30,000 in the last four months, trying to overturn the mess Magistrate Schou made. Along with Kelly, Veronica Baiz- who testified in Arizona- also testified, noting she is currently in front of Magistrate Schou. She’s been kept away from two of her kids for well over a year. She said that her ex-boyfriend, Kyle Engels, has been violating their court order, taking away the little time she’s supposed to spend with their two children. The court has done nothing to enforce its own court order; she told the committee. Also testifying was Dr. Bandy Lee, who also testified at a recent Arizona ad hoc committee hearing. Arizona Republican State Senator Mark Finchem and Arizona Republican State Representative Rachel Keshel chair that committee, and Senator Finchem testified on Monday. One theme Senator Finchem has repeated in his Arizona hearings is the misuse of temporary court orders. Vickie Devai, in her Idaho testimony, testified that she has been on a temporary court order for about a year and a half. Several women testified that failure to investigate child abuse and molestation has caused irreparable harm in their cases. Nicky Adams testified that she received documents from a whistleblower showing emails and other communications which proved that police were actively covering up, rather than investigating, the child abuse her children had disclosed. “I have a prosecutor emailing an officer if my daughters have ever reported abuse. That officer said no. Four weeks prior to that email, my daughters told me that the abuse was increasing.” She said. She said that a police officer laughed at her after she reported abuse. “I have been told by the police they’re not going to investigate the corruption and concealing of this,” Nicky stated. Aubrey Shawn followed Adams and said her husband was arrested for domestic violence in 2015. She said her husband retaliated against her after she filed for divorce. The court ordered her to have a psychological evaluation, and she was accused of being unstable. She has lost access to her children, she said. The task force has already announced a follow up hearing on July 31. The full hearing is below. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelvolpe.substack.com/subscribe

The Unknown Episode 45

It was another jam-packed episode of The Unknown. Richard Luthmann and I discussed the possibility for lasting peace in the Middle East, President Trump’s record on the first amendment, and the latest on the Sean Combs’ trial in the current event segment. What the HalesThe What the Hales segment started thirty-seven minutes in, as Richard explained how Bongino Vs. Daily Beast applies to the second frivolous lawsuit filed by Jeremy Hales. Dan Bongino, currently the FBI Deputy Director, filed a frivolous lawsuit against the Daily Beast. In it, he tried to pawn off defamation claims as other torts like violations of the Langham Act and the Unfair Trade Practices Act. That’s exactly what Hales is doing in his lawsuit. Weeks refers to Lisa from Two Lee’s in a Pod. The statements are those made on her podcast. While Hales claims these violate the Unfair Trade Practices Act, they are really alleged defamatory statements couched as other violations. This is exactly what Bongino tried and failed to do. The family court reform movementAbout 1:07:00 in, we discussed the latest developments in the family court reform movement. For weeks, I have been saying that Idaho is flirting with forming a committee similar to the Arizona ad hoc joint legislative committee on family court orders. For weeks, folks in Idaho have been saying it’s close and even a done deal. As recently as last week, I appeared on Anomic Age, still skeptical that the committee would form. Then, earlier this week, the announcement was made. In May, I flew to Idaho to cover cases and meet with politicians. The two I met with were Republican State Senator Tammy Nichols and Republican State Representative Heather Scott, and both are co-chairing the task force. Richard and I previously interviewed Arizona Republican State Senator Mark Finchem and Republican State Representative Rachel Keshel, the co-chairs of the Arizona ad hoc committee. We hope to interview one or more of the members of the Idaho task force as well. The Idaho task force will have a hearing on Monday July 7, 2025. In addition, North Dakota has also created a task force to examine family court. Litigants in both states are encouraged to reach out to their respective task forces. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelvolpe.substack.com/subscribe

Michael Volpe Investigates special report: cops gone wild

What if a dirty cop massaged the system to have you falsely arrested? What if that arrest was used as leverage in your child custody case? What if the cop was doing it because he's sleeping with your children's mother? I spoke with Mickey Berlianshik and Julio Trejo, both targeted in such a scheme. Both told me that their exes got dubious restraining order, and then each coopted a cop to falsely have them arrested for violating that restraining order. Julio said that a car matching his description was seen near his ex-girlfriend’s home, and that was enough to trigger a scheme to have him arrested. After he was assigned to the case, which involved an injunction against the woman's ex-boyfriend, in June 2023, Perez developed a romantic interest in the woman and pursued a relationship with her. He arrested the ex-boyfriend, Julio Trejo, a month later on charges of aggravated stalking and violating a temporary injunction. Trejo was accused of contacting the ex-girlfriend from an unknown number and driving past her house. He denied the latter allegation.Mickey said he was falsely accused of assaulting his ex-wife during a visit. In both cases, their exes were helped by a dirty cop- Vlad Green in Mickey’s case and Pedro Perez in Julio’s case- who triggered the false arrest. Julio only discovered the scheme when found numerous incriminating messages on an Apple Watch. "The false arrest of Trejo was orchestrated by the City of Homestead Police Department, officer Perez, and Trejo's then partner and the mother of his children," the lawsuit reads, going on to say that officer Perez and Trejo's ex-girlfriend arranged for Trejo's arrest "so he would miss a family court hearing and lose custody of his children.""Officer's Perez actions, including the lack of probable cause for arrest, were unreasonable and in violation of Trejo's constitutional rights, including the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures," the lawsuit states.Months after his arrest, Trejo discovered some of the romantic text messages on his son's Apple Watch, which had once belonged to his ex. As New Times reported in April 2024, Trejo filed a complaint with the department over his arrest and Perez's behavior, questioning whether the arrest was related to the detective's romantic pursuit.Mickey told me that he refused any deals and took his case to trial. Testimony at trial show that the arresting officer failed to check if there was an outstanding restraining order, and it was shown that Green and Mickey’s ex-wife met the night before she filed to discuss details of the case. I reached out to the Homestead Police Department- which employs Perez- and the New York Police Department- which employs Green- but neither responded to an email for comment. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Mickey, declined to comment, stating the case was under seal after a not guilty verdict. Mickey and Julio’s frustration continued when they filed complaints with internal affairs. Mickey said his complaint remains under investigation about three years after it was filed. Julio told me that Homestead dragged its feet in investigating his complaint, and when an investigation started, he was informed that months of text messages had been mysteriously destroyed. Julio said Perez got a slap on the wrist- a three-day suspension and a demotion to beat cop. Julio discovered a pattern of Perez preying on vulnerable women and using police resources to help them in corrupt ways, but he said the Homestead Police Department refused to look at this evidence because he had sued them by the time this was discovered. Even worse for Mickey, he said despite his triumph in criminal court, it has done little to help him in his custody case. Shortly after being arrested, he was given a deleterious custody order. Since his exoneration, Mickey said court has been stalled waiting on a forensic report. The deleterious order remains in place. Julio and Mickey aren’t th only ones facing such a scheme. Joseph Goldstein is a New York Times reporter who had his story written about in the New York Post. On Sept. 2, 2022, Goun filed for divorce — and according to the lawsuit, broke into Goldstein’s family’s apartment in Brooklyn, where the pair had previously lived, to “obtain evidence to use against Mr. Goldstein in the divorce proceeding.”On Oct. 8, 2022, the troubled marriage devolved into a spat at their home while their two children, ages 4 and 6, were inside the apartment, court documents claim.Goun called 911 and told cops that Goldstein slammed a door on her and bruised her arm — but her account of the encounter changed after she conferred with Newman about how to make felony charges stick during a phone call from the scene, the lawsuit alleges.“The officer’s conclusion was unambiguous: Mr. Goldstein had not committed a crime and would not be arrested,’’ the complaint states.Goldstein has filed suit like Mickey and Julio, and the allegations in his lawsuit look similar to Julio’s and Mickey’s. Both Mickey and Julio believe there is a systemic problem in American policing with cops interceding in a corrupt way in child custody cases. Check out Lauren Haidon’s story for another example of cops behaving badly and interjecting in child custody cases. Update:I erroneously initially stated that the incriminating messages Julio found were found on an iPhone, when it was on an Apple Watch. That has been fixed. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelvolpe.substack.com/subscribe