If you haven’t watched Hulu’s ‘The Housewife and the Hustler’ – you should!
The documentary puts the spotlight on the true victims: Tom Giardi’s clients and shares their stories with viewers. Because it has to do with the ‘Housewives’ of course we have our messy gossip stars such as former RHOBH friend $25K Dana and RHONJ’s Danielle Staub (that source was a stretch but it was entertaining.)
While Danielle doesn’t have any close connection to Girardi – she starts out by stating: “Erika Jayne, I have seen on the show, and I also worked with her on ‘Watch What Happens Live’ one or two times. Didn’t get the best vibe from her — I know a lot of fake people, and it turns out, she’s just one of them.”
Danielle wasn’t the only one who wasn’t a fan as fellow attorney Brian Kabateck was shocked to see his colleague on RHOBH and was appalled at the excesses on the show, specifically Erika bragging about their two private planes. Per Brian: “We sue the man! You don’t want to be the man” referencing Tom Girardi’s reputation for going after large companies by representing the ‘little guy.’
Another shocker was that the victims knew they were being wronged; however had nowhere to turn due to Tom’s big L.A. connections that would protect him. Per one family friend of a victim: “Tom Girardi was connected to the police, all the way to the top, and to the district attorney’s office, the California attorney general, and the bar association. “Who are we going to call, like Ghostbusters?”
It was the Ruigomez case that revealed that the once powerful lawyer was officially broke. Ruigomez was a victim of a gas explosion that killed his girlfriend and left him with severe burns that required extensive medical care. When the Ruigomez family did not receive the settlement they were promised, Girardi revealed in court that the money was no longer there. Per Girardi”
“At one point, I had $80 million, or $50 million in cash. That’s all gone.”
Law360 reporter Brandon Lowrey made the statement that everyone was asking: how will Erika be affected in all of this? While the case is still pending, and as of now Erika hasn’t been charged with anything, there still is a lot of questions that need answered. Per Lowrey there is a possibility that Erika could find herself in hot water and “get dragged in and end up in a whole lot of debt.”
While there weren’t any answers, and we were probably left with more questions than anything, I am fascinated by this whole thing and am happy that the victims’ stories are finally being heard.
RHOBH airs Wednesdays on Bravo.
Did you watch the special? What are your thoughts?
Follow AllAboutTRH On Instagram Here
Follow Us On Twitter Here
And Like Us On Facebook Here