A Long Island man is fighting one of the longest divorce cases in New York state history, with no end in sight to the grueling, decade-plus battle with his estranged wife.
Joseph Yerushalmi, 73, has been trying to divorce his wife, Malka, for 14 years and claims in a suit that she’s bilking him of millions as he ekes by on Social Security.
“My wife is a gold digger and simply won’t let me go,” Yerushalmi said. “I just want this to be over with.”
Yerushalmi, a former attorney who had offices in Israel and Amsterdam, said 66-year-old Malka has been postponing the inevitable for years.
“I’m trying to protect myself against vicious activities of lawyers who are paid by my rich estranged wife,” he said. “The court is totally indifferent, and entertains her postponements all of the time.”
A lawyer for Malka Yerushalmi said the allegations against her are false, but wouldn’t elaborate.
The divorce battle has been delayed by a number of motions, and a trial scheduled for 2013 was postponed. Meanwhile, Joseph Yerushalmi is living in a Great Neck mansion he can’t afford and can’t sell until the settlement is made.
“I’m imprisoned in a big house . . . I am retired with no income but social security to pay this tremendous amount of money,” he said.
During the proceedings, Yerushalmi has paid Malka an average of $15,000 a month in maintenance and legal fees, court papers say.
The lawsuit also claims that Malka falsified her net worth and has concealed that she is entitled to more than $1.2 million from her father’s California estate.
“I can’t afford my own legal fees but I have to pay for her attorneys when she is so rich,” Joseph said.