Johannes Somary former head of the music department at Horace Mann.
The Elite New York City Prep School is distancing itself from unearthed allegations.
Amos Kamil graduated from Horace Mann in the Bronx in 1982, gives a harrowing insight into the monstrous school years for scores of boys. Amos begins by describing about the lush campus was a world away from his I.S. 144 in the Bronx, “Shortly after my arrival, a new friend walked me around the school, pointing out teachers to avoid. ‘What do you mean? Like, they’re hard graders?’ ‘No. Perverts. Stay away from them. Trust me.”
The former student of the prestigious school, has revealed decades of sexual abuse at the institution, accusing a string of teachers of vile behavior while suggesting others covered it up.
Horace Mann at 231 West 246th Street in the Bronx.
Kamil also documents the emotional turmoil the victims faced in the ensuing decades, with some even committing suicide when the school failed to act on their claims.
Mark Wright, an assistant football coach and art teacher at Horace Mann was described as “a Picasso in cleats.” Princeton-educated Wright who showed particular interest in a boy named Andrew. Wright asked Andrew‘s parents if he could take the teen to an art museum, but when Andrew turned down the invitation, the teacher instead said he wanted to paint a portrait of him after school.
‘I went to meet him in his art studio,’ Andrew told Kamil. ‘He locked the door and told me to undress.’
‘He told me to bring a bathing suit, but when I got there he said not to bother putting it on. I was really uncomfortable but did it anyway. [He said] he needed to see the connection between my legs.’ Wright then sexually assaulted the boy. ‘I was so scared,’ he remembered.
After the incident, Andrew said: ‘It was really hard being at Horace Mann, knowing that if I ran into him, he would get up really close to me and say stuff like: “What’s wrong, little buddy? You’re not still mad about that time, are you?”‘
Later, Andrew was summoned to the gym building for a ‘physical’. ‘[I] didn’t see any way out of it,’ he said. Once there, the teacher began molesting him immediately, he said. He told him to stop and left.
Wright also assaulted other boys, Kamil reported. Eventually one football player reported it and, after the school’s winter break, the teacher did not return to school. Wright died in 2004.
Johannes Somary, the head of the music department was Swiss-born world-renowned conductor. Somary befriended a boy identified as “M” and suggested they took a drive together.
“He then pulled me close to his chest,” M said. ‘Then he starts kissing my lips. I’m thinking, Oh, my God, this can’t be happening… I didn’t know what to do. I was just a child.’ Somary then unzipped the boy’s trousers and molested him. He started taking M on glee-club trips and then on solo trips to Europe. Where they stayed “at the best hotels, I met with the great classical musicians of the time and ate at the finest restaurants.”
“I was expected to have sex with him and did even though it repulsed me every time,” he said.
He told his parents he no longer wanted to sleep in the same room as his teacher. Somary visited his house ‘like a jilted lover’ and begged him to stay in his room, ‘right in front of my father,’ M said. The abuse continued into M‘s time at college. He added: ‘I don’t know why I let it go on for so long. I’ve been asking myself that for decades.’
One alum started a website about Johannes Somary. He had abused him in 1973, and decades later, that same teacher assaulted a Class of 1994 student, Benjamin Balter. Ben went on a music trip in 1993. Balter sent a letter to Phil Foote, then Horace Mann‘s headmaster, accusing Somary of “grossly inappropriate sexual advances.” Soon after, he tried to commit suicide with pills.
When his mother confronted the teacher, Somary said: ‘Ben kissed me first!’ When she said: ‘How dare you put your tongue down my son’s mouth!’ his replied: ‘That’s how we Swiss kiss.’
But after reporting it to the school, staff came out in support of the teacher and nothing was done. Ben killed himself in 2009 with antidepressants and alcohol. Of the abuse, M said: ‘I have been running from this thing most of my life.’
Somary continued working at the school until his retirement in 2002, when he was 67. He died last year.
Stan Kops, a history teacher who made kids uncomfortable whether he was punishing or rewarding them: he once penalized a student by making him take his shirt off in class and stand next to the window, and he would sometimes cancel class for “frolic” time, during which all of the kids — and Kops — would run around and, well, frolic in the classroom. “I was new in seventh grade and remember thinking that this was a different kind of school where a teacher was physically ‘handling’ me,” one man remembered. “I can remember him being kind of red and breathless after particularly vigorous frolicking.”
Amos Kamil wrote Prep-School Predators for the New York Times Magazine.
Kops, allegedly joined the boys in the showers after swimming practice. He finally resigned after a student reported a camping trip incident — Kops pressed against him in the dark and then took him aside the next morning, grabbed his own crotch, and said “What were you doing last night?” He later shot himself.
Kamil wrote “Several faculty members of that era said that, to their knowledge, the school said nothing – not to the students, not to their families and not to the police.”
The accusations raise questions about a culture of denial at Horace Mann, where annual fees are $40,000.
The school has said: ‘As an educational institution, we are deeply concerned if allegations of abuse of children are raised, regardless of when or where they may have occurred.’ It went on: ‘The article contains allegations dating back, in some instances, 30 years, long before the current administration took office, which makes it difficult to accurately respond to the factual allegations therein. ‘In addition, on June 13, 1984, there was a fire in the attic of the business office that destroyed some records.’
Kamil notes:
I have several friends who confided in me, back in high school, about their own sexual encounters with teachers, but who are now unwilling to talk about it. I can’t say I blame them.
A former board of trustees member told Kamil, “No one will talk to you. They are all lawyering up.”
Prep-School Predators [NYT Magazine]
About Horace Mann
Horace Mann School is an independent college preparatory school in New York City, founded in 1887. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from all across the New York tri-state area from nursery school to the twelfth grade. The Upper, Middle, and Lower Divisions are located in Riverdale, a neighborhood of the Bronx.
Tuition for the 2011-2012 school year is $37,275. Forbes Magazine ranks Horace Mann as the second best preparatory school in the country.
Worth magazine ranked it seventh out of all the nation’s high schools based on the proportion of graduates attending Harvard, Yale and Princeton Universities
Notable Alumni:
Roy Cohn, Valentine Davies, Jerry Speyer, Robert Tishman, Eliot Spitzer, Ira Levin, James Murdoch, Jack Kerouac, Seymour Durst and William P. Barr.
Real Housewives of New York is Besmirching the Kennedy Name…Caroline Kennedy Humiliated…Says RHONY is “Silly and Demeaning”
Shooting has begun on the next season of “Real Housewives of New York.” Stylish but serious, Carole is one of three new cast members replacing society-types Kelly Bensimon, Alex McCord and Jill Zarin.
RHoNY Season 5 cast: LuAnn de Lesseps, Carole Radziwill, Aviva Drescher, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and Heather Thomson
Best-selling author and award-winning journalist Carole Radziwill grew up in upstate New York. She moved to New York City at age 18 to attend college, earning a Bachelor of Arts at Hunter College and a Masters degree at New York University.
In 1988 she landed a life-changing internship at ABC News. It was the start of a long and rewarding career. Carole‘s work with ABC News legend Peter Jennings‘ documentary unit and the news magazine shows PrimeTime Live and 20/20 garnered her three EMMYs, a Robert F. Kennedy Humanitarian award, and a GLADD award.
Cousins, Anthony Radziwill with John Kennedy Jr. Who perished less than four weeks before her husband's death in August.
Carole has traveled all over the world for her work, reporting on hard-hitting stories from places like Cambodia, India, and the Middle East. She was stationed in Israel in 1991, to cover the first Gulf War.
On August 27, 1994, Carole married fellow ABC News producer Anthony Stanislas Albert Radziwill (His Serene Highness Prince Antoni Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł) in East Hampton. Anthony was the only son of Polish Prince Stanislas Radziwill by his wife, Caroline Lee Bouvier Canfield Radziwill Ross better known as Lee Radziwill.
Mother-in-law Lee Radziwill
As a member of the Radziwills, one of Central Europe‘s best-known noble families, Anthony was customarily accorded the title of Prince and styled His Serene Highness, although he never used it. He descended from King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, King George I of Great Britain, and King John III Sobieski of Poland. The family’s vast hereditary fortune was lost during World War II, and Anthony‘s branch of the family emigrated to England, where they became British subjects.
Carole Radziwell attends the 10th Annual TV Land Awards at the Lexington Avenue Armory on April 14, 2012 in New York City.
He died on August 10, 1999 at age 40 after a five-year battle with cancer.
Carole was close friends with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, who was married to her husband’s cousin John F. Kennedy, Jr. Bessette-Kennedy and Kennedy Jr. perished less than four weeks before her husband’s death.
In 2001, during the Afghanistan War, Carole spent a month documenting the 101st Airborne Division in Khandahar for the ABC docu-series “Profiles From the Front Line.”
Aviva Drescher, Carole Radziwill, Heather Thompson, and designer Anne Bowen attend the Anne Bowen fall 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at 25 CPW Gallery on February 11, 2012 in New York City.
In 2003 Carole left ABC News to write her first book, “What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love.” It is a moving account of her life, her marriage to Anthony, and their heartbreaking battle with cancer. What Remains spent over 12 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List and was nominated for the “Books for a Better Life” award.
In 2006, Carole signed with Glamour magazine to write a monthly column called “Lunch Date“. Her Lunch Dates have included former mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Hollywood actors Antonio Banderas, Rachel Weisz, and Alec Baldwin. Her first novel, “The Widow’s Guide to Sex & Dating,” will be published in summer 2012.
Sneak Peek of RHoNY Season 5 Ramona and Carole going head-to-head.
Fast Forward……
Caroline Kennedy’s cousin-in-law Carole Radziwill has joined “The Real Housewives of New York City,” and the former first daughter is furious, insiders say.
“Caroline is utterly disgusted with Carole,” a pal told The ENQUIRER. “She thinks the Bravo reality TV show is silly and demeaning, and Carole should never have become involved in it.”
But that’s not Caroline’s only beef with her camera-hogging cousin. As The ENQUIRER recently reported, Caroline has spent hours at the bedside of her Alzheimer’s-stricken aunt Lee Radziwill, Carole’s mother-in-law and the 79-year-old sister of former first lady Jackie Kennedy.
When she still had lucid moments, Lee was horrified to learn that Carole – who was married to Lee’s only son Anthony from 1994 until he died of cancer in 1999 – had signed on to do the TV show.
“Lee was aghast that Carole would besmirch the family’s name by getting involved in such a tacky program,” said the source. “But most hurtful was that Carole didn’t even bother to consult her about doing the show. Now Carole claims she’s too busy to visit Lee.” The pal added: “When Caroline heard about Carole’s indifference toward her beloved Auntie Lee, she hit the roof!”
To make matters worse, Carole, 48, has bragged about her drug use and made off-color remarks in a promotional video for the show.
“Caroline cringes at what may be in store, especially if Carole should blurt out embarrassing Kennedy family secrets,” said the source. “The only good thing is that Lee can no longer comprehend what’s going on.”
Thanks Stoopid Housewives for transcribing.
Carole Radziwell‘s Net Worth is $50 Million.
Don’t miss the Season 5 premiering Monday, June 4 at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
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Real Housewives Vicki Gunvalson’s daughter Briana Wolfsmith is EXPECTING!0
Posted In Bridal,Current Events,Gossip
Briana Wolfsmith and Ryan Culberson
Vicki Gunvalson is about to become a a grandmother! Last October Briana eloped with her military boyfriend and father of her child Ryan Culberson.
While Briana is now busy planning a formal wedding ceremony to celebrate her nuptials with her family, she is also making preparations for her growing family.
The reality TV star is already four months pregnant and can’t wait to be a mother, a well-placed source reports.
The couple initially said “I do!” at the Vegas Weddings Walk Up Window.
The news likely came as another shock for Vicki who, as RadarOnline.com reported felt “confused and sad” when she recently learned about Briana‘s secret elopement.
Although they originally married on October 23, 2011, Vicki will be able to catch all the action second time round. The couple are planning to exchange vows in a formal ceremony again later this month, which will be seen on their Bravo show.
The nuptials will take place in Santa Barbara [on] a cliff overlooking the ocean, at sunset. Briana found her dream wedding gown at Erin Cole bridal boutique in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Vicki Gunvalson’s Net Worth is $7 million.
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Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Melissa and Joe Gorga’s Put Two Homes on the Market1
Posted In Current Events,Finance,Gossip,Real Estate
Joe and Melissa Gorga
The Gorga’s listed their luxurious Montville mansion for $3.8 million and plan to move back to Franklin Lakes.
Joe Gorga, 37, is a real estate developer has been married to Melissa,32, for seven years. listed their Montville Township, New Jersey, mansion for $3.8 million. Built in 2009, the colonial style home features six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, four fireplaces and a three-car garage.
The Gorga home was ranked in January No. 7 on Zillow’s list of the Top 10 Most Viewed Homes of 2011. The home came in one slot before the White House.
The Star-Ledger reported in 2010 that the Gorga‘s had their home on the market in 2010, just before they joined the Bravo reality show, for $4.5 million, but pulled the listing after the announcement. You’d think the “Real Housewives” cachet would boost the value of the home.
The lavish home is rich with upgrades including an English slate roof with copper gutters, an Italian marble foyer, dual marble staircases with wrought-iron bannisters, and rounded cedar French doors.
In typically over the top style, the home is covered in chandeliers, carved bookcases, gilded details, decorative moldings, ornate domed ceilings and don’t forget the basement recording studio!
Montville Patch previously reported that the home was assessed at $1.5 million and property taxes on the home last year amounted to $52,108.33.
8 POND VIEW
Montville Twp., NJ 07045
$3,800,000
MLS ID: 2939925
Remarkable, European-influenced new construction with rich, thematic detail, set in a prestigious yet tranquil & private location near major highways to NYC. Fit for royalty — you! Upgrades: extra-thick English slate roof w/copper gutters & leaders, custom stone/Florida stucco facade, Italian marble foyer w/inlays, dual marble stairways, custom tray ceilings, high-end kitchen & baths, rounded-cedar French doors & cedar windows, gorgeous wood paneling, arched hallways w/thick, continental-inspired moldings, delicately curved built-in bookcases, luxurious fireplace mantles & bedroom appointments, gleaming hardwood floors in rich hues, pleasing interior color palette, array of details such as domed ceilings, circular wrought-iron banisters enrich this exquisite example of custom construction.
“The rumors that Joe and I can’t afford our mortgage payments and bills are 100 percent false,” Melissa said. “Since when does selling your house mean you are broke? We moved to Montville to be closer to Teresa [Giudice] and the cousins. We gave Montville a try, but ultimately we want to move back to Franklin Lakes before the kids (Joey, 2, Gino, 4, and Antonia, 6) reach an age where changing schools will have an effect on them. Plus, it’s closer to Joe’s work, and that’s where we see ourselves living in the long run.”
“For the record, we moved into our current house in 2008 and lived there for two years before I was signed to ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey‘ in 2010,” Melissa said. “Joe built our last house in Franklin Lakes, which we sold for $2.45 million to former New York Giant LaVar Arrington. When we sell our house in Montville, we will move into a rental while Joe custom builds our next house.
“Joe is a builder and a businessman. He will sell pretty much any property for the right price and build again, bigger and better. That’s the truth and it’s all available through public records, but I guess it doesn’t make for as good of a headline.”
There’s talk of the family moving to Los Angeles so Melissa can pursue a singing career.
The Gorgas did have an over $2 million balloon payment due in July 2012; however, the Gorgas refinanced their home last year, which converted the balloon payment into a regular mortgage payment of approximately $15,000 a month.
The Gorga’s Toms River Shore House
Gorga’s Shore House is also for sale
11 Mermaid Road
Toms River NJ 08753
$520,000
MLS ID: 21206109
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Real Housewives of DC Mary Schmidt Amons Files for Divorce1
Posted In Current Events,Finance,Gossip,Real Estate
Mary filed divorce papers with the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia. from her husband of 26 years, telecom exec Rich Amons.
D.C. Socialite Mary Amons gained notoriety on the Bravo show for saying in the series’ credits, “I don’t make money, I spend money.” She is the granddaughter of broadcaster Arthur Godfrey, and helped found two well-known DC charities, Labels for Love and The District Sample Sale.
She wrote on her Facebook page: “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my twenty-six year marriage. While I have the deepest respect for my husband and wish him the very best, we have grown apart. My primary focus is an amicable process, ensuring the well-being of my five wonderful children and their happiness, which has been, and will always be, of paramount importance. The weeks and months ahead during this transition will not be easy for them, and for my children’s sake, I appreciate you respecting our privacy.”
Mary and Rich put their Langley Farms modern colonial mini-mansion home of 16 years on the market shortly before the single season of fame began. The 5,450-square-foot, six-bedroom, five-and-one-half-bath, two-story corner home sold for $1.6 million and settled on Feb. 13, 2012.
Rich and Mary Amons
The neighbors reported then the Amons had not purchased another home and left with no word of a forwarding address. Some of the neighbors whispered then about a separation.
She is only the latest star of the Bravo franchise to file for divorce after her marriage was documented on the popular reality series. Others include Vicki Gunvalson, Countess Luann de Lesseps, NeNe Leakes, Tamra Barney, Sheree Whitfield and Camille Grammer, as well as Amons‘ co-stars Cat Ommanney, Stacie Scott Turner and Michaele Salahi.
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