Burton Pugach was born on April 20, 1927, to immigrant parents. He graduated from City College
of New York and got a degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1950. He became a successful
negligence lawyer who flaunted his wealth by buying a nightclub, a private plane,
and a powder-blue Cadillac. His fortune made him a New York City legend. His
legacy ballooned when a scandal erupted. At the time, he was dating Ms. Linda Riss,
who was ten years younger than him. Linda was a 22-year-old secretary from the Bronx
who looked like Elizabeth Taylor when they first met. They stayed together for a while,
and Burt was a more-than-generous boyfriend who treated Linda to the finer things in life.
However, Burt had a little secret. Linda broke up with him when she found out
Burt was already married with children, including a severely disabled daughter.
Linda later got engaged to another man. A jealous Burt couldn't get over the heartbreak.
Then, he began sending her threatening voice messages. If he couldn't have her, no one would.
He made one final threat, saying that nobody would want her anyway once he was through with her.
In 1959, Burt was accused of hiring a group of goons to attack Linda with lye
at her home. Lye is a toxic chemical often used in drain cleaners. The attack left Linda blind in one
eye and near-blind in the other. Linda quickly became known for always wearing her trademark
oversized sunglasses to hide her injuries. According to Burt, blinding Linda wasn't the
plan. The goons were supposed to scare her, not throw toxic chemicals in her face! He was
convicted of paying the men $2,000 for the job and served 14 years out of a 30-year sentence.
The felony conviction cost him his freedom, wife, and legal career.
But here's the real plot twist. Eight months after Burt's early release in 1974, Linda married
him. Her friends and the media were dumbfounded by what Burt called a storybook romance. On the other
hand, Linda wanted a special kind of revenge. Burt started working as a paralegal and crusaded
against corruption in the justice system. Their unique, two-part love story became the subject
of many articles, a book, and a popular 2007 documentary called Crazy Love.
But history seemed to repeat itself when in 1997, he was again accused of sending
threats to an ex-mistress. Linda and another former mistress took the stand as character
witnesses. He was convicted of second-degree harassment but escaped the more severe charges.
He cheated on Linda, but they stayed together. When asked about his previous threats and attacks
on Linda, Burt expressed regret and called it a "neurotic reaction to a terrible situation."
They were happily married until 2013, when Linda died of heart failure. They spent
over 40 years together and had no children. Then came Shamin Frawley, also known as Sheila.
Sheila and Burt met in 2016 at a deli in Queens. They struck up a conversation that transitioned
to romance. In 2015, She separated from her husband, William. The two had four children,
so they decided to stay married for health insurance purposes.
In short, they were both strapped for cash. Sheila and her husband had an amicable breakup
and continued to raise their children together. Meanwhile, Sheila was 41 years younger than Burt,
and she quickly took on the role of his caregiver.
Sheila began a relationship with Burt and used "romantic leverage"
to inherit his entire fortune. She apparently demanded money and
threatened to leave him unless he signed his fortune over to her.
In 2020, a stroke left Burt paralyzed on his left side and landed him in the hospital. It
was then and there that Sheila assumed the role of caretaker. She brought him into her home and
kept him there. In fact, he was so dependent on her that he started calling her "mommy."
Sheila was accused of taking advantage of Burt's confusion to forge his signature and steal
money from his and Linda's charity for the blind. By then, Burt had suffered too many
strokes to realize what was happening. Sheila named herself and her family the sole
beneficiaries of his fortune in his will. Once she got what she wanted, Sheila withheld food,
water, and medication from him. Burt passed away on Christmas Eve, 2020.
Sheila's attorney, Jonathan Strauss, argued that these manipulation claims were utterly bogus.
Sheila loved Burt deeply, and Burt wrote her into his will when he realized Sheila was the
only person left who truly cared for him. Strauss called the allegations baseless and
despicable. His clients would never try to swindle anyone, especially an elderly man.
Of course, everyone looked at the age gap between Sheila and Burt and smelled something fishy. Where
there's smoke, there's fire. Where there's a 40-year-age gap and lots of money is involved,
there's usually a gold digger. Strauss argued that Burt—and nobody
but Burt—wrote the most recent version of his will. He wanted to give Sheila and her family
the rest of his estate—a decision he came to on his own accord. He also claimed that
Sheila was allowed to withdraw money from Burt's account to cover the funeral expenses.
While Burt's friends blamed his passing on Sheila, his death certificate cited natural causes.
There are also multiple tapes where Burt admits his undying love and adoration for Sheila.
Even though Sheila and William probably recorded Burt without his consent,
it was to prove his friends were just after his money, not the Frawleys.
According to Strauss, Burt and Linda's charitable foundation was set up for tax purposes anyway.
None of the plaintiffs are Burt's children or relatives, so they aren't entitled to any of his
estate. Sheila's camp said the plaintiffs are just trying to acquire Burt's millions by pretending to
care for him and assuming what his wishes would be. They are wrongfully blaming his romantic
partner—and only caregiver—for his passing. Before Sheila met Burt in 2016,
her husband William came out as gay. He separated from his wife
and began a relationship with another man. William gave Sheila his blessing to sleep with Burt,
who was more than four decades her senior. The lawsuit claims that William turned a blind eye
to his wife's new relationship because he was in on the ploy to scam her vulnerable new lover.
To make matters even stranger, William and Sheila were allegedly still living together
while separated, which allowed them to easily conspire to get Burt's fortune. They
continued to deny any wrongdoing, with Sheila saying her 31-year marriage to William was
definitively over when she began her "loving relationship" with Burt. William began living
his life as a gay man in 2014, but neither of them filed for divorce until October 2020.
The attorney for Burt's estate, William Thomas, had no doubt that William was in on the scam.
He claims that William knew that his estranged wife was intimate with the ailing Burt
and encouraged their relationship. Thomas says that Burt was instantly smitten
with the young, beautiful Sheila, who used her beauty to manipulate the vulnerable old
man. He was so confused at times that he thought Babe Ruth was still playing for the Yankees.
Thomas also alleges that William and his son Nicholas used their NYPD intel to invade Burt's
privacy and gain confidential information. They secretly installed surveillance equipment
to eavesdrop on his private conversations. Then, things got even more suspicious in 2020.
Remember, Burt's will changed for the final time in October 2020. Coincidently, Sheila officially
filed for divorce from William in the same month. They had five years to settle the paperwork. So
why now? Sounds like a scam. After his stroke, Burt moved in with Sheila,
and she cared for him 24/7. He left his home of 40 years to move into the first floor of Sheila's
apartment in Queens. Then, William told Burt that he was Sheila's father and not her husband
to keep up the lie that Sheila was single. Burt believed he'd recover one day and eventually
move back to his own house. Sheila, of course, had different plans. Burt
wasn't going anywhere. He was her prisoner, and she would keep it that way.
She apparently isolated him from his friends and made him dependent on her for meals, medicine,
and hygiene. Then, Sheila allegedly coerced him into changing his will. Between 2013 to 2020,
Burt changed his will five times. Each time, he left the bulk of his fortune to his foundation
for the blind. Except for the last time, in October 2020, he suddenly and suspiciously
left all $15 million to Sheila and William. William denied any involvement when people
accused him of being in on it. The last time he was intimate with Sheila was in 2013.
He came out as gay in 2015 and moved on with his life, never scamming anybody for anything. Sheila
backed his story, saying there was no "evil collaboration" to steal Burt's money.
The day Burt died, a mysterious $150,000 transfer was sent to an anonymous savings account from
Burt's account. His friends caught wind of this and immediately contacted the courts.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Joseph Risi froze his assets and granted
Burt's friends a temporary injunction. Burt's former attorney, Peter Gordon, his wife
Maris, and Burt's friends Joel Jacobowitz, Tal Priel, and Cindi Weiss claimed undue influence,
unjust enrichment, and disgorgement. Someone was trying to steal Burt's money,
and they had a good idea of who. Before Burt changed his will in October,
the Gordons, Joel, and the Blindness foundation were poised to receive some cash.
The Gordons were getting 1 million, Joel expected 5 million, and the foundation
would get just over 10.5 million. They admitted that Sheila did seem to care
for Burt, but only to serve her own greed. She was due to receive $5 million until
the final edit granted her everything. The suit demanded $15 million in damages.
In addition to the friends previously listed in his will, TD Ameritrade,
Charles Schwab, JP Morgan, TD Bank, and Merill Lynch were all listed as defendants in the case
because they hold pieces of Burt's fortune. Meanwhile, Burt's physical therapist saw nothing
wrong with Burt and Sheila's relationship. The latest court filings include an affidavit from
Doctor Grzegorz Wolski, who treated Burt regularly after he suffered from a stroke.
Doctor Wolski said he noticed nothing but compassion and loving care from Sheila. At
no point did he think Burt was being coerced or controlled by anyone. Burt loved Sheila.
None of the Frawleys were willing to talk to reporters about the case.
Sheila's story fizzled out after March 2021. Whether or not she settled with Burt's
family outside of court remains a mystery. As of May 2022, we still don't know who finally
got their hands on Burt's $15 million fortune. Click to watch one of these next videos!
Let us know in the comment section would you rather just go in peace,
or would you rather have to live in assisted care for the rest of your life?