Tobias Tale Takes a Turn
The unfortunate death of Seth Tobias is causing quite a stir in Palm Beach, where allegations are flying:
A week after the death, Tobias’ wife, Filomena, who always accompanied Seth at Palm Beach charity functions and Mar-a-Lago get-togethers, filed court papers in Palm Beach Gardens to declare herself sole beneficiary of his estate. Filomena, 41, estimated it at $3 million, including the couple’s 10,000-square-foot home in Jack Nicklaus’ golf community.
Then a will that Tobias signed in May 2004 — before he was married — popped up. It made his four brothers beneficiaries, to the tune of 15 percent each. The rest was to be split among his dad, two longtime friends, a college scholarship fund for needy students and the Magee Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia......Tobias filed for divorce in March 2006, a week before the first anniversary of his marriage to Filomena.
In his filing, Tobias accused Filomena of incurring a serious debt without his knowledge by forging his signature. She, claiming she needed $47,000 a month to make ends meet, countered with allegations of an affair and “using funds on illicit habits.”
The family voted to have one brother, Sam Tobias, administer the estate, which it estimates to be worth more than $25 million.
With four lawyers now repping the wife, the two camps are duking it out. Filomena’s attorneys say that, regardless of the will, she should get everything because it was signed before they were hitched. The brothers accused her of lying when she filed documents that said she didn’t know about a will.
Seth’s had better luck picking stocks than women, and the domestic help he employed was not exactly blue chip:
Billy Ash, a former Lauderdale-based gay pimp who called himself “Mr. Madam,” has become a key figure in the continuing police investigation into the death and the battle for Tobias’ millions. And then there’s “Tiger.” That’s the stage name of the go-go dancer at the WPB gay hangout Cupids who was supposed to be deposed in the probate fight......Ash — who was arrested at least 11 times in South Florida from 1983 through 1997 for prostitution, bouncing checks and staying in a hotel without paying, according to law enforcement records — says he was the Tobiases’ personal assistant for two years.
He quit shortly after hedge-fund whiz Tobias, 44, was found floating in the pool of his $3 million home at the Bears Club. Ash e-mailed what appears to be a pay stub showing he received a $3,000 payment from Filomena on Sept. 2, two days before the death.
“I have intimate knowledge about the inner workings of the couple. I booked their travels, made sure they made appointments on time, watched after their many houses,” Ash said, acknowledging that he has “a past” and that it didn’t disturb the Tobiases when he was hired.....The fight for Tobias’ $25 million-plus fortune, meanwhile, is really getting out there, too.
Filomena — Seth’s wife of two years, against whom he filed for divorce, then had the case closed — is duking it out in a West Palm Beach court with Tobias’ four brothers. They are in his will and Filomena isn’t, but she claims to be the sole heir.
Ash is scheduled to be deposed in that case Monday in his home city. Tiger the stripper was supposed to be deposed in West Palm on Oct. 4, according to court records.
In another development Filomena, 41, who once claimed in court documents that she needs nearly $46,000 a month to live, is selling Tobias’ homes here. Two in WPB’s east side are going for a total $3.6 million, and the Bears Club mansion where the death occurred may soon go up for $6 million.
This story will bump the SAC off the front pages. Toxicology results should be in soon.
Stay tuned.
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