Greenwich June Gsmith Pdf

Attorney Michael Jones
PART 1: UNSOLVED MURDERS of GREENWICH
Opposite: Zachary, Gregory
and Josh during the
videotaped depositions
that Jones conducted.
(Rusty Kofman is
not pictured.)

The case of the
honeymooner
who disappeared
may be unsolved,
but it is far from
cold. Officals
are closer than
ever to making
an arrest. Here,
exclusive new
information from
the man who
is determined
to find out
who killed Jennifer and
George on their

Mystery at sea
George Smith honeymoon

by timothy dumas portrait by william taufic

Zachary Rozenberg Gregory Rozenberg Josh Askin

I

Down to the Minute
After George and Jennifer finished dinner at
In the early morning hours of July Chops Grille, the sequence of the evening becomes
incredibly important. Here, an approximate timeline
5, 2005, George Allen Smith IV, the famously cheerful George want to commit suicide on
his honeymoon? Who would want to kill him? based on witness testimony to help you follow the
honeymooning aboard the Royal But his parents, George III and Maureen, and sister, course of events.

Caribbean cruise liner Brilliance Bree, insist on the darkest and most sensational of the-
ories. “He was murdered—one hundred percent,” says 2:30 a.m. — The ship casino closes. George and Jennifer
of the Seas, plunged from the
Smith, passenger Josh Askin and casino
Maureen. “Definitely murdered,” says George. “There’s a manager Lloyd Botha go to the disco together.

balcony of Stateroom 9062 into story out there that we need to find,” says Bree, “and we
believe it’s a matter of time before we do.”
3:17 a.m. — Greg Rozenberg’s bar chit shows four shots
ordered, which witnesses say he gave to
Homer’s wine-dark Aegean, never The Smiths were sitting around a conference table at George, Jennifer and a third man.

to be seen again. the Greenwich law firm of Ivey, Barnum & O’Mara with
their attorney, Michael Jones. Jones is an athletic-looking
3:30 a.m. — George and Jennifer get into an argument
that some say was in jest; Jennifer leaves
the disco alone.
At sunrise the ninety-thousand-ton megaship docked at man of fifty-three with a bluff demeanor and a clean-
the Turkish port of Kusadasi. There, at about 8:30 a.m., shaven head. For six years he has pursued the Smith case 3:45 a.m. — George, the Russians and Josh Askin
leave the disco and return to Room 9062
the bride of ten days, Jennifer Hagel-Smith, awoke in with a cop’s tenacity—a tenacity no doubt bequeathed by (the Smiths’ room).
Cabin 9062, still wearing the light summery dress she Jennifer and George his late father, a New
had worn the previous evening. George’s absence did not York City police 4:00 a.m. — Cletus Hyman hears loud noises and an
argument ensuing in Room 9062.
greatly distress her. The Greenwich newlyweds detective stationed
had partied into the small hours, and Jennifer across the country, family members, lawyers, detectives, Exclusive at Fort Apache, the 4:05 a.m. — Hyman calls security.
Inconsistency imagined George had fallen asleep in the care journalists, bloggers and cruise-industry officials posed Information legendary South 4:10 a.m. — Hyman hears loud arguing of male voices
on George’s balcony.
of new friends. But clearly something was amiss. theories and counter-theories. Jennifer eventually leaned An incriminating Bronx precinct. “I’ve
Jennifer left the Jennifer remembered nothing of the night’s dra- toward the view that George’s death was a tragic accident. videotape that casts made it my mission
serious suspicion 4:11 a.m. — Pat and Greg Lawyer hear voices, possibly
disco at 3:30 a.m. with matic events—neither the fight with George, nor Ship Captain Michael Lachtaridis preferred the accident to push this case people telling George to calm down.
casino supervisor, on the Russians is
Lloyd Botha, Leading leaving the Starquest Disco alone, nor passing out theory from the start, having noticed on July 5 what he in existence and to the point where
4:12–4:18 a.m. — Hyman hears “good night” several times in
to the theory of a in a Deck 9 hallway, nor security officers waking thought was a “butt print” in the dew atop the Smith with the FBI. George’s killer is English, movement from the balcony to the
shipboard affair and cabin door, George’s door open and male
her with ice cubes pressed to her face, nor being balcony railing. The first detailed journalistic investiga- indicted and convict- voices in the hallway.
a motive for murder.
returned to a George-less 9062 via wheelchair. tion, by Vanity Fair in 2006, raised troubling questions ed,” says Jones. He
/// A ship cleaner states
that he escorted Jennifer— The night had simply vanished from her memory. surrounding Smith’s death but sided with Lachtaridis in and the Smiths are not alone in their belief that George 4:18 a.m. — Hyman opens the door and sees three, not
four, males in the corridor.
alone—to her deck. Lloyd She put on flip-flops, grabbed her handbag, and the end: An inebriated George Smith was sitting on the was murdered. Jennifer’s own maritime attorney, James
Botha was seen leaving the walked to the ship’s spa to keep an appointment railing, perhaps smoking a cigar, when a wave rocked him Walker, tells GREENWICH magazine, “I don’t think there’s 4:18–4:23 a.m. — Hyman hears cabinet doors closing,
disco separately and passkey one male voice and furniture being dragged
information verifies that he with a masseuse. Meanwhile, Emilie Rausch, a backward. This seemed a sensible conclusion. Why would any question that somebody threw him overboard.” And about in Room 9062.
entered his girlfriend’s cabin sixteen-year-old from Chicago, went out to snap
well before the murder. some pictures with her new digital camera. As she 4:25 a.m. — Hyman and other passengers hear a
“horrific thud.”
headed back to her cabin on Deck 7, she noticed George and his sister, Bree

a grisly red smear, quite obviously blood, on the metal 4:30 a.m. — Security officers respond to Hyman’s call,
knock on the door of Room 9062, hear
lifeboat canopy just below her. Patterns in the bloodstain nothing and leave the scene.
suggested handprints and footprints, as though somebody
4:30 a.m. — Jennifer is found passed out in a hallway
had tried to stand; and a crimson impression of fingers on Deck 9 by cruise ship employees.
at the canopy’s edge told heartbreakingly of someone’s
last effort to hold tight as the ship cut through the water. 4:31 a.m. — Room 3008 calls Room 3004 (the Russians’
neighboring rooms).
Soon other passengers gathered to stare at the blood-
stain. Security officers quickly determined the occupants 4:31 a.m. — Room 3008 calls room service (nothing is
delivered).
of 9062 to be unaccounted for, and almost as quickly
found Jennifer in the spa. Security men dressed in white 4:50 a.m. — Jennifer is returned to an empty 9062 by
cruise ship employees and put to bed.
approached her in force to deliver the paralyzing news: George and his
parents on the
George had gone missing and was presumed lost at sea. balcony of a Royal
8:30 a.m. — A bloodstain is found on the lifeboat
canopy below Room 9062. George Smith
An accident? A suicide? A murder? As the story of Caribbean cruise is soon thereafter declared missing.
ship in 2001
“the honeymoon from hell” played out in Greenwich and

64 greenwichmag.com june 2012 greenwich 65


Inconsistency
The Russians claim that they were all in their Jones has had “substantive discussions” with U.S. Attorneys Brilliance of the Seas hove away from Barcelona just
cabin at the time of George’s murder, relying in Connecticut and New York about the possibility of trans- before sunset on June 29, docked on the French Riviera,
on a room service delivery to substantiate
their alibi. /// Logs show nothing was ever ferring the case from New Haven to the Southern District then cruised down the coast of Italy, anchoring at Livorno
delivered and room service had been cut off due to their of New York, headquartered in Manhattan. “The reason on July 1. Here the Smiths caught a taxi into Florence with
threatening behavior and obscene language. the transfer makes sense now is that two of the ‘targets’ the Askin family of Laguna Hills, California—a podiatrist,
live in New York,” Jones says. Although Jones steers clear his wife, and their three almost-grown children. Josh, at
Joan Lownds, author of Man Overboard: Inside the Honeymoon of naming a suspected killer, he does acknowledge that twenty the eldest child, was a cute California kid, Jennifer
Cruise Murder, says, “I don’t believe that the FBI would have new developments suggest a tightening focus on the four recalled; but he also seemed to be a bit of a handful. In
spent millions investigating the case throughout the world if young men who escorted George back to his cabin just Florence he’d bought a bottle of absinthe, a potent anise-
they didn’t believe foul play was involved.” before he went overboard—the three Russian-Americans flavored spirit long banned in the United States and much
Many imagine the Smith case to be cold despite these suspi- and a shipmate of theirs from California. It is around these of Europe, and prevailed upon George’s good nature to
cions. So what Jones says next comes as riveting news: “Based men that questions keep gathering. Did they simply put smuggle it aboard ship. (Most bans had been lifted by
on the existing evidence and new information we’ve been able George to bed and then leave the room, as they contend? 2005, but cruise operators still forbid passengers to bring
to uncover, I think we’re getting closer to an indictment.” The What about the grave flaw in their supposedly immaculate alcohol onboard their ships.) George tucked the absinthe
most tantalizing new revelation, reported here for the first alibi? Why the attempt to deflect suspicion to Jennifer and in his waistband and strolled up the gangplank—a seem-
time, is the existence of a videotape shot by three Russian- another man? And what about the mysterious bloodstains ingly harmless event that nevertheless may have been a
American men who were the last known persons to see George on George’s bed linens? link in the fatal chain.
Smith alive. Jones learned of the tape last year, during a phone This report draws from interviews, court papers, depo- The handwritten room service log shows that no deliveries The ship rounded Italy’s boot and headed out into the
conversation with a lawyer employed by Royal Caribbean. “The sition tapes and Royal Caribbean’s voluminous case file, were made to Room 3008. Aegean, making for the Greek island of Mykonos. George
Russians had filmed themselves sitting around a table onboard which includes witness statements that have never been and Jennifer spent a happy day together—July 4—walk-
the ship on the afternoon of July 5, hours after George went quoted until now. What does it all signify? That innocent eyes that reflected his kind and dryly witty nature. “He was ing among the island’s whitewashed villas and sunbaked
overboard,” Jones says. “And I was told by this attorney that on explanations of George Smith’s death seem ever more a nice, young, decent human being loved by everybody,” lanes. Then they returned to the ship to prepare for the
the tape, the Russians film each other mocking and callously improbable, since they must be weighed against the Maureen says. “He had it all, really.” George graduated evening ahead. It all began pleasantly enough. Back in
joking about George’s death. In the course of the filming, one untruths, implausibilities and suspicious behavior propa- with a business degree from Babson College in Wellesley, 9062 Jennifer put on her makeup as George stepped onto
of the Russian men stands up and makes a statement which gated by the Brilliance of the Seas’ Gang of Four. Massachusetts, in 2000. While working as a computer the balcony to smoke a cigar and stare out at the darken-
is very self-incriminating.” Jones declined to characterize the search-engine analyst in Boston, he began to tire of the ing water; then they went to Chops Grille for a romantic
statement further, citing the FBI investigation; but he did say A storybook beginning solitary hours behind a desk; he was a social creature after dinner and to Casino Royale for some late-night gambling.
that the Bureau has confirmed it possesses the tape. George Smith, at twenty-six years old, was tall and deep all, happiest among the hustle and bustle of people. In Here a baffling element of this story comes into play.
Now the investigation is stepping up pace. In recent months chested with a broad, handsome face and twinkling blue 2003 he returned to Greenwich and went to work for his It seems that George or Jennifer or both were overheard
father, the proprietor of Cos Cob Liquor. One day, so the saying they had heaps of wedding-gift cash, or perhaps
plan went, George would take over the business and allow casino winnings, locked away in their cabin. The amount
George and
Jennifer’s his parents an easeful path into retirement. varied from witness to witness: $14,000 or $17,000 or
stateroom • On June 25, 2005, George married Jennifer Hagel at even $50,000. Whether the Smiths actually possessed a
The casino
where George Castle Hill Inn in Newport, a Victorian manse overlook- store of thousands is unknown (George’s family doubts
and Jennifer ing the Atlantic’s granite cliffs and the blue-gray ocean it); what’s important is the perception that they did. Their
socialized with
the Russians
beyond. Jennifer, twenty-five, an eye-catching blonde glamorous looks and Greenwich pedigree only enhanced
and Josh Askin from Cromwell, Connecticut, would retrospectively por- the view of the Smiths as a dynamic young couple with
on July 5
tray her life with George as very nearly charmed: We were money to burn. “They looked very prosperous,” Maureen
just, you know, sort of doing what normal in-love couples says. “He bought her the biggest diamond you could ever
[do]—like cooking, drinking great wine, having a good time, see, for their engagement, from a South African jeweler.
thinking our lives were pretty much perfect… It just seemed And the wedding ring was even bigger.” She notes too that
like everything was falling into place, she said in Greenwich her son dressed smartly and wore an expensive Breitling
Probate Court in 2008. They were happily ensconced in an watch—a wedding gift from Jennifer and George’s best
apartment in Byram; she had landed a job teaching third man. “People turned to look at them wherever they went.”
graders in Westport; and they were about to celebrate Attorney Jones and the Smith family speculate that
their union with a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean rumors of their wealth kindled a plot to rob George
that George had meticulously planned. and Jennifer. “You have witnesses hearing cabinet doors



Gregory
Rozenberg

played poker with Greg Rozenberg; drunk—not flirting. Whatever
Josh and George left for Josh’s cabin the case, at about 3:30, accord-
on Deck 9 to drink absinthe; George, ing to Mazza and others, George
presumably still with Josh, swung by walked over to Jennifer and said,
his own cabin to fetch extra cash; “You hussy,” whereupon she
and the two were back in Casino booted him in the groin. (Some
Royale by about 2:20. When the said the kick was playful, others
casino closed ten minutes later, the said it inflicted obvious pain,
Smiths, Josh and a casino supervisor causing George to crumple to
named Lloyd Botha—“kind of like the floor.) Then witnesses heard
buddies” with George, according to Jennifer say, “F**k this, I’m out
Jennifer—rode a glass elevator up Inconsistency of here.” She turned and left the
to Starquest Disco on Deck 13. On disco—in the attentive com-
the elevator Josh said he noticed All four men claim to have left pany of Lloyd Botha, accord-
George Smith’s room after
something “awkward”: Lloyd Botha putting him to bed. /// Witness ing to Josh. Zachary Rozenberg
draping his arm around Jennifer in Cletus Hyman states that after hearing seconded Josh’s story in a wit-
brazen disregard of George—though loud noises coming from Room 9062, ness statement he gave to Royal
he looked out his door to see three—
it strains belief, as we shall see, that not four—men leaving. Caribbean, and Rusty Kofman
The balcony doors opening and closing, someone moving around the room, behavior. Before dawn on July 4, a security guard found any such gesture meant what Josh told at least two passengers
of 9062 covered in
the Russians drinking and smoking by the main pool on
like they’re searching for cash,” Jones says. “Put that togeth- imagined it did. much the same thing—that Jennifer left with Lloyd and
fingerprint dust •
George and er with the three Russians and Josh Askin saying that the Deck 11. Gregory was arrogant, shouting in a loud voice and It is in Starquest Disco that the story, to say nothing had been cheating on George.
Jennifer’s stateroom four went in, and an eyewitness’s statement that only three claimed, “Nobody can stop me,” the guard reported. Gregory of its lead players, begins to haze over. Juan Gomez, the The problem with the Botha story is that it’s demon-
after authorities
conducted an came out. The evidence suggests that somebody stayed keep on shouting “F**k, F**k, F**k… .” The Russians had bartender on duty, remembered seeing the Russians, strably untrue. First, Lloyd left the disco with friends at
extensive search behind in that room with the intention of robbing George also earned a reputation for abusing room service opera- Josh Askin, and George and Jennifer all chatting near the about 3:15 and entered his girlfriend’s cabin at precisely
Smith. What probably happened is George woke up in the tors. On July 2 someone in Stateroom 3004—Gregory and revolving bar at around 3 a.m. After I made last call for bar 3:25, according to passkey records. Second, witnesses
middle of it, confronted the intruder, and things went hor- Jeffrey’s cabin—placed an obscenity-laced order, prompt- service, Greg Rozenberg, who was at the counter, ordered saw Jennifer leave the disco unaccompanied at about
ribly wrong.” ing a warning visit from security. On four more vodka shots… He gave the shots to George, 3:30 a.m., stumbling on her way out and striking her
the fateful July 5 it happened again. Jennifer and another man… I saw George Smith move from head against a wall. Troy Gonzales, the cleaning man, was
The Meeting At 1:24 a.m., Martina Mason, a room the counter to the piano and he was walking without dif- one of those who saw her go. Noticing her instability, he
In the casino, as July 4 turned into Exclusive service night operator, was jotting ficulty… When I left the bar at 3:25 a.m. George Smith was trailed after, then boarded the elevator with her and got
July 5, the Smiths first encountered Information down an order from 3004 when a standing between the piano and the railing with his hands her safely down to Deck 9. But Jennifer was more dis-
the three young men who came to be There is a strong voice in the background said, Hurry in his pockets. Jennifer Smith was standing at the bar talk- oriented than Gonzales realized: When she got off the
known in this story as “the Russians”: possibility that the case up and bring our motherf**king food. ing to Greg Rozenberg… Gomez noted that “Kofman” said elevator, she turned right instead of left toward her cabin,
will be transferred to the
Gregory Rozenberg, nineteen, of Boca Manhattan prosecutor’s Then someone grabbed the phone he had a bottle of absinthe in his room, but he probably came to a deadend at the ship’s bow and slumped to the
Raton, Florida, formerly of Brooklyn; office, suggesting that from the young man placing the meant Askin, who entered his cabin at 3:05 a.m., pre- floor, unconscious. On this development the whole story
his cousin Zachary, eighteen; and an indictment may be order, and, in an apparent reference sumably to retrieve the absinthe. Troy Gonzales, a cleaner turned: If Jennifer had only managed to get back to 9062,
forthcoming.
their friend Rostislav “Rusty” Kofman, to some lost bags, said, Make sure and then at work in the disco, observed Josh, Greg, Zach and George would probably be alive today.
both of Brooklyn. (A fourth, Zachary’s get our motherf**king luggage tomor- Rusty celebrating and drinking shots of liquor from their own George remained at the disco for roughly fifteen minutes.
brother Jeffrey, seventeen, spent the row, and if you don’t I will throw your liquor bottle, which they appeared to be hiding. By 3:45 he was apparently so drunk on vodka and absinthe
late hours in his cabin, watching a movie.) By this point motherf**king ass overboard. Mason consulted security. A Some, but not all, described Jennifer as “flirty and that Askin and the Russians, somehow in fine working
in the cruise the Russians were palling around with Josh security supervisor paid another visit to 3004 and instruct- drunk” between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Keith Greer, Askin’s attor- order despite their own copious intake, had to assist him
Askin—though later, in a deposition taken by Jones, Greg ed Mason not to pick up if the Russians called again—a ney, has painted a cozy picture of Jennifer and Lloyd Botha back to 9062. Finding his cabin empty, George grew con-
Rozenberg spoke disparagingly of the affluent Californian. detail that would prove noteworthy as the night unfolded. nestling on a couch, but nobody other than Josh seems cerned, and enlisted the four to help make a search of the
To me Josh was just one big bundle of spoiled—a spoiled Meal plans foiled, the Russians went back to Casino to have noticed this. Instead the supposed flirty behavior disco on Deck 13 and the pool area on Deck 11. But their
kid… A crybaby-type dude. Royale. (They’d been there after dinner, playing craps with involved Jennifer leaning on Dominick Mazza, a twenty- search was so quick—nine minutes—as to seem perfunc-
The Russians themselves cultivated swaggering, street- Josh Askin, and probably met the Smiths then.) Events four-year-old auditor from New Jersey. But Mazza told tory. They returned without Jennifer at 4:01 a.m.
wise personas and backed them up with abysmal shipboard proceeded quickly, their significance uncertain: Jennifer the Associated Press that he thought Jennifer was simply Whether Askin and the Russians tried to set up Botha or



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The blood found on made a collective error cannot be known. But the Botha young men’s innocence. But could someone have slipped
the sheets could be
key evidence that
story does raise an important question: Why did only down to Deck 3, used the passkeys, then hastened back to Clarke Builders, Inc.
George’s watch was these four young men tell this version of events—and all 9062? The answer is yes. And if a person were let back into 203-637-4135
forcibly removed. • other relevant witnesses flatly contradict it? that cabin, there would be no passkey insertion to record.
The now infamous Please call David J. Dall, President
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lifeboat canopy What Happened in the Room rebut the young men’s story. Clete Hyman, a deputy police Member Home Builders Association of Fairfield County

After walking George back to 9062, Zachary Rozenberg’s chief from Redlands, California, was staying with his wife
witness statement says, We put him to bed and even took in Stateroom 9064, next door to the Smiths. Here are
off his shoes. He was in his bed passed out not moving… excerpts from his typewritten statement: Just after 04:00
We went back to my room and ordered room service around hours on the morning of July 5, I was awakened by loud yelling Worry-Free Pest Control
4:30 and then went to bed. Gregory’s in 9062. The yelling sounded like persons EBRATIN
Discreet unmarked trucks
Ÿ EL

25
statement is almost exactly the same, cheering on someone doing “shooters.” …
Never a no-show or no-call

C
Ÿ

G
but omits the room service. Josh’s I removed my earplugs and could again
Environmentally safe products
Ÿ
statement seems somewhat peculiar. Exclusive hear the subjects yelling in unison. At this
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YEARS
98
Information
He makes a big deal of using the bath- point I called the guest relations desk and 2
7 - 201

1
room in the Smith cabin: We entered reported the disturbance. I also banged on Ants
Interesting Facts About Westy…
The blood found on
George’s room, I went to use the bath- the sheets in Cabin the wall… During the next several min- Bed Bugs
room, and Rusty and Zach took care 9062 has been utes there was talking in the room, but I Bees/Wasps All 17 Westy Self Storage Centers are
determined to Cockroaches
of George while I was in the bathroom.
belong to George.
could not distinguish voices… It was qui-
Fleas
located in the suburbs of New York City.
After I was finished in the bathroom… eter in the room for approximately five Hornets However, Westy has customers living in
Josh’s bathroom moment is a detail he minutes and then there was loud arguing Mice
repeated many times, either himself or on the balcony between several male sub- Mites 43 states and 19 foreign countries. This is
through Greer, as if suggesting he was jects. I could not tell what was being said Moles testimony of the peace of mind Westy
in no position to see anything, if there was anything to see. as it sounded like it was Spanish. After about two minutes I Pantry Moths
Rats gives to their customers.
Josh continued, I opened the door and said a verbal goodbye could hear someone speaking in English saying “good night” Silverfish
to George, but I never actually saw where he was in his room. several times. It sounded as if someone was trying to usher Snakes
Nevertheless, a timeline of events appears to support people from the balcony through the room. I heard the door Spiders
these blameless accounts. (One might say tender accounts, open and male voices outside my door. After five to ten sec- Termites
since a grateful George kissed the Russians goodnight, onds, I opened my door and looked out. I observed three white
GREENWICH

Apollo
TM
Kofman’s attorney, Albert Dayan, has said.) Passkey or Latin males walking aft toward the elevators.
records allegedly show Zach opening Stateroom 3008 Hyman checked his watch: 4:18 a.m. The argumenta- (203) 637-PEST (7378)
at 4:05 a.m. and Greg opening 3004 two minutes later. tive Spanish he heard could have been Russian. But the ApolloX.net
These computerized data would seem to vouch for the “three” males have always been a point of contention. »


What happened to the fourth? Did he stay supervisor and two security officers promptly Maureen Smith suggests the stains, which
behind in George’s cabin, as Michael Jones arrived on the scene. When they got Jennifer run parallel to each other, could have resulted
and the Smiths believe? Did Hyman mis- back to 9062 at 4:50 a.m., they noticed the from an effort to pry the Breitling watch from
count? The deputy chief went on: For the next balcony curtain was closed and motionless, George’s wrist. “The watch was new and very
five to eight minutes, there was movement and suggesting that the sliding glass doors behind hard to get on and off,” she notes.
talking in Room 9062. I heard cabinet doors the curtains were closed as well. (Even if the At a Kusadasi police station that day, police
close and the flushing of the toilet. I could hear night air were still, a ship moving across the questioned Jennifer, Josh and the Russians.
one male voice in the room. I then heard what open sea would have created its own breeze Once again Josh Askin provokes suspicion—
sounded like balcony furniture on the balcony of and caused the curtains to blow about.) This not about what he did so much as what he
Room 9062 being dragged about and picked up is a curious detail: If George had gone out to knew. When the Turks told him Jennifer was
and dropped. smoke a cigar, would he have closed both the a suspect, Josh said with remarkable certi-
Clete Hyman was not the only one who curtains and the glass sliders behind him? “It tude, “She has no idea what happened! She
heard the loud sounds. Two cabins down from makes no sense,” says Jones. “But it is consis- was with another man. The casino manager,
the Smiths, Carlos Menchaca, in 9066, was tent with somebody having done something Lloyd.” He jabbed his finger at the floor. “You
startled awake by a big noise of many people. and then leaving.” need to get him in here. I’m not letting her go
And on the other side of the Smith cabin, Pat Josh and the Russians went down to Cabin to jail.” How could Josh say Lloyd and Jennifer
and Greg Lawyer, in 9060, heard the stressed 3008—Zach and Rusty’s room—and suppos- were together and implicate only Lloyd? Back
voices and furniture-moving, but described edly ordered a glutton’s supply of room ser- on ship, Josh continued to trip alarms. Cabin
the latter in more violent terms than Hyman: vice. They say they were so impressed by their attendant Francis Isidro claimed Josh asked
“What it sounded like to me is somebody was mountain of food that they photographed it, him whether video cameras were installed
throwing things against the wall, like throw- with the date and time-stamp affixed (though in the corridors. Yes, they were, Isidro said.
ing furniture in the room against the wall or these are known to be alterable). Later on Josh asked where. Isidro refused to tell him,
against the floor,” Greg Lawyer told Dateline. July 5, Josh sat poolside and reportedly told and Josh walked away. Two or three nights
So loud was the noise that the Lawyers Margarita Chaves, who had witnessed the after George disappeared, Joan Cox, the head
assumed someone was “trashing” the cabin. Smiths’ disco fight, “It was the room ser- cleaner on the Brilliance of the Seas, happened
Did the out-cold George wake up and begin vice that saved us.” Josh plainly considered to ride an elevator with Josh and his shipboard
talking to himself? Why all the furniture fling- the room service and its documentation an girlfriend, Corey Adams. Cox said Josh uttered
ing? Was George raging against Jennifer? Or alibi. But there’s strong evidence suggesting the phrases “A**holes got me in trouble,”
was someone “tossing” the room in search the alibi was fabricated. According to Royal “Almost got me arrested in Turkey,” and “I
of cash and jewels? These are questions that Caribbean’s investigation, there was no record know more than they think I know,” before, in
remain unanswered. whatever of orders written down or delivered. Cox’s view, Corey kissed him to shut him up.
The commotion died down for a couple Here we remember the Russians’ abuse of the
of minutes. Then, at about 4:25 a.m., sev- room service operator, Martina Mason, just Suspicious Behavior
eral passengers, including Hyman and the three hours earlier, and a security officer’s “I clung to Jennifer,” Maureen Smith says
Lawyers, heard what Hyman described as instructions to cut them off should they try to of the weeks after her son’s death. “She was
“a horrific thud”—undoubtedly George hit- order again. It’s true the embargo had applied all I had left of George.” But in late fall the
ting the lifeboat canopy two decks below. to 3004, not 3008, “but they knew who these Smiths broke off contact with Jennifer, suspi-
Nobody was heard leaving the Smith cabin, kids were,” Jones says. The apparent spurning cious of her extreme reticence. She refused
but in the aftermath of the reverberating of their calls seems to confirm this. to talk about the night of George’s death even
crash this could have escaped notice. (Also,
one passenger reported hearing a woman
Turkish police boarded the ship just after
noon on July 5; they took blood samples off
in the privacy of the Smith home, and said
she’d refuse to be deposed, if it came to that.
Island Properties
scream right after the thud.) The next sound, the lifeboat canopy and combed Stateroom Jennifer’s inability to remember anything
Real Estate Investments
at 4:30, was that of two security officers
finally answering Hyman’s noise complaint
made at 4:05. “You’d better get in there,” said
9062 for clues. On George and Jennifer’s bed
sheets they discovered two lozenge-shaped
bloodstains. Each spot is small, only two
about the night in question completed the
picture of a woman with something to hide.
As rumors of a dalliance swirled, the Smiths
Nantucket
Sales & Vacation Rentals
Greg Lawyer, who had poked his head out of centimeters long, but still big enough to sug- were left wondering whether Jennifer was
9060. The security officers rapped firmly on gest some sort of injury. Whose blood was it? withholding something significant or mere-
the door, but hearing nothing, went away. “George’s blood,” Michael Jones says, disclos- ly embarrassing. It struck them as unlikely
At about the same time, a plumber found ing the fact for the first time. It seems an odd that she was withholding nothing at all. But Phone 508.228.6999 email: office@islandpropertiesre.com
Jennifer asleep against a door at the end of coincidence that George would bleed into his Jennifer passed an FBI polygraph exam, as did Fax 508.228.8748 www.islandpropertiesre.com
a hallway on Deck 9. A cleaner, a facilities sheets and fall overboard on the same night. Lloyd Botha. »


One theory posits that Jennifer and George blacked out. Sometime later, I opened my eyes,
were “rufied”—slipped a drug in someone’s amazed that I could see. The Leader In Residential staffing
hope of incapacitating and robbing them. At 3:17 that morning, someone in 3004,
Blackouts and amnesia are typical effects Greg and Jeffrey’s cabin, called room service
NEW B E A C H
YORK GREENWICH PALM BEACH ATLANTA
of such drugs, which have a notorious his- and tried to order “a motherf**ing turkey G R E E N W I C H N E W Y O R K PA L M L O N D O N AT L A N TA

tory on cruise ships. Moreover, that terrible sandwich.” Martina Mason hung up the phone.
night was the one and only time Jennifer ever The young woman came forward with Time isn’t money,
suffered a complete memory blackout, she sexual assault charges, and on July 8 Royal it is much more
testified in Greenwich Probate Court. It is Caribbean officials sat down for a tense meet-
valuable
indeed curious that both George and Jennifer ing with the Rozenbergs. A handwritten
deteriorated so rapidly in the early morning notation in the Royal Caribbean file reads:
of July 5. At around 2:30, according to Jaci Rozenberg family out of control. Russian family
SPECIALTIES:
Friedlander, a cruise friend of the Smiths’, all screaming and talking in Russian. Suspects
George wasn’t drunk and Jennifer seemed [in the alleged rape] are very belligerent. The fol- PERSONAL ASSISTANTS
“very coherent.” An hour later both were a lowing day, when the ship docked in Naples, ESTATE MANAGERS
mess. “It’s a reasonable possibility that she Royal Caribbean ejected the Rozenberg and DOMESTIC COUPLES
was rufied, and that he might have been Askin parties from the cruise. (Josh Askin did
HOUSE MANAGERS
as well,” James Walker, Jennifer’s maritime not have sex with the young woman, though
attorney, says. “I find it strange that all these he was in the room, she said.) PRIVATE CHEFS
younger men had to carry George back to his Italian officials briefly looked into the rape NANNIES
room. Might have been excessive drinking, charges, and then washed their hands of the
HOUSEKEEPERS
but it sounds like more than that to me.” matter, claiming they had no jurisdiction.
What happened next on the Brilliance of the
Seas gave credence to dark imaginings about behind the scenes ONE SOUND SHORE DRIVE, SUITE 301, GREENWICH, CT 06830 P: 203-869-7722 WWW.THELINDQUISTGROUP.COM
the Russians. On the night of July 6 leading Publicly, the rest of the story concerned legal
into July 7, an eighteen-year-old from Georgia wrangling. In 2006 Jennifer, who was the
DesignAssoc_GreenwichMag_022312-F.indd 9 2/23/12 9:43 AM
returned to her cabin (accompanied by a administrator of George’s estate and had been
male friend) to find her traveling companion, harshly critical of Royal Caribbean, surprised
also eighteen, trembling and shaking. She told the Smiths by settling George’s potential
us she thinks she was raped and that it might wrongful death claim against the cruise liner
have been videotaped. I asked her who did it for $1,050,000. Jones argued that this amount
and she said that it was Jeff, Greg and Rusty fell far short of George’s earning potential;
that she knew of. The ordeal had begun with further, the Smiths could not help but think
plenteous vodka in the hot tub up on Deck 11. Jennifer’s goal in settling had been to dodge
The alleged victim herself reported, I started embarrassing disclosures at a trial. As news of
to feel tipsy, so I got out of the hot tub. Jeff and a rift between Jennifer and the Smiths trickled
Greg asked me where my cabin was and [said] out, it was she who suffered the slings of pub-
that they’d take me back to my room. They took lic invective; a “black widow” reputation still
her to their cabin instead, she reported. I was taints Jennifer, now remarried with a child
on my back and Jeff got on top of me. I remem- and living in Fairfield, despite the allaying of
ber Greg saying he’d get the video camera. The early suspicions. “She was calm and composed
young woman then describes in graphic but in public—maybe too composed,” says James
strobe-like detail having sex with Jeff, Greg Walker. “But she grieved unbelievably in pri-
and Rusty. Strikingly, Greg asked her to speak vate. Terrible, terrible, terrible.” In 2008, after
“validifying statements” (her term) into the extensive witness testimony in Greenwich
camera, including naming Greg as the film’s Probate Court, Judge David Hopper upheld
executive producer. Thus Greg anticipated the settlement, saying Jennifer had acted
questions of consent with the poise of an old prudently. The Smiths appealed to Stamford
hand: If she cried rape, the camera would Superior Court. In 2010, shortly before that
show otherwise. When Rusty began taking case was to go to trial, Jennifer, the Smiths
his turn, the young woman wrote: I believe I and Royal Caribbean reached an amended


settlement worth $1.3 million, which, cru- One who did comply willingly with Jones
cially, required the release to both families of was Gregory Rozenberg. In 2010 Jones found
the cruise liner’s case file. him serving a three-year sentence in Florida
But behind the scenes? Leading up to State Prison for trafficking the narcotic
the averted trial, Michael Jones was quietly oxycodone—a crime committed, Rozenberg
deposing persons of interest in the death says, to support his yen for clothes, jew-

B
of George Smith. Attorneys typically advise elry and watches. In the deposition, which
their clients not to elaborate in depositions, Jones videotaped, Rozenberg strikes one as
knowing that prosecutors carefully parse all raffishly engaging, smiling frequently and
ehind every available statements in search of inconsisten- speaking in gangsta cadences. But his verac-
cies. But on basic “yes” or “no” questions, this ity quickly fails. He denies having sex with
great lawn is a great shouldn’t be an issue. Nevertheless: the young woman aboard the ship, though he
irrigation system. Jones: Did you play a part in the death of knows Royal Caribbean confiscated the video-
George Smith? Josh Askin: I invoke my Fifth taped proof.
Amendment right. Of George’s disappearance Rozenberg says
After the deposition was over, Keith Greer, he knows nothing; further, he professes total
Askin’s attorney, drew Jones aside and said he cooperation with the FBI in his desire to see
ought to take a close look at Greg Rozenberg. the case solved. I even offered a polygraph and
T H E I R R I G AT I O N E X P E R TS As Jones understands it, Josh claimed that everything. My lawyer offered that, man… The
Greg had disappeared from the alleged room feds wanted me to take a polygraph. I took a
service party in 3008. The impression that polygraph.
Askin knew more than he’d let on was rein- Jones seems surprised at this last little leap.
forced by the disclosure in January, courtesy You took a polygraph?
Call 203.629.8050 • www.summerrainsprinklers.com of Dateline, that he flunked his FBI poly- Yeah, it was inconclusive, because I’m ADHD.
License #’s CT.J3 License Number 208695, CT.E1 License Number 123673 and CT.P1 License Number 0204149
graph exam. I guess you could tell I like to move a lot. It was
When Jones deposed Zachary Rozenberg, inconclusive. Ain’t no lies that I need to tell.
OUR SERVICES: he too repeatedly invoked his right against His chattiness oddly ceases when Jones
Homeowners • Business Coverage • General Liability • self-incrimination. Jones could say noth- asks him if he thinks Jennifer was involved NANTUCKET
Recreational Vehicles • Automobile • Property Coverage • ing about Rusty Kofman’s deposition, cit- in George’s death. No comment, he says. He
Errors & Omissions • Risk Management • Umbrella • ing an agreement with his attorney, Albert goes on to express his unambiguous view that Sales & Vacation Rentals
Workers Compensation • Directors & Officers • Watercraft Dayan; nor is it known how Kofman fared George was murdered. Why would somebody
“The finest complement I can ever receive is on his polygraph. (Dayan did not respond want to go overboard that’s a millionaire, any-
a referral from my friends and customers.” to messages seeking comment; neither did way? he says, betraying his assumption of
James P. Murphy & Associates Keith Greer, Askin’s attorney; or Paul Hehir, George’s wealth. Dude did not kill himself. I
Peter J. Murphy director of litigation for Royal Caribbean. don’t think he slipped and fell… Somebody hurt
Three Belden Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850 Gregory Rozenberg declined to be inter- the dude, man. Somebody hurt him… Something
800.378.7526 • www.jpminsurance.com viewed through his attorney, Keith Fousek, crazy went down that night. On this, at least, he
who himself did not respond to e-mailed and the Smiths agree.
questions; Zachary Rozenberg declined to Though encouraged by new stirrings in
be interviewed through his attorney, Arthur the case, the Smiths cannot help but wear
Gershfeld. When asked about the videotape, George’s loss heavily. “We’re not the people
Gershfeld said he wouldn’t comment on evi- we were before,” Maureen says. “I see his face
dence, but maintained his client’s innocence in front of me all the time. I hear his voice.
and expressed doubt that a crime was com- You can’t have him taken away from you in
mitted. Richard Sheeley, Jennifer’s attorney, one split second and nobody explains why, or
said, “Jennifer has made every effort to dis- where, he went. It can’t happen. It’s not going 37 Main Street
Nantucket Island
cover what occurred the night of her hus- to happen.” G
Massachusetts, 02554
band’s death, but she prefers to live her life Tel: 508.228.1881
without further media attention as that atten- Mystery At Sea is the first in Fax: 508.228.1481
a three-part series on UNSOLVED info@maurypeople.com
tion has done little to serve George’s memory www.maurypeople.com
MURDERS of GREENWICH Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated.
or find answers for her and George’s family.”)


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