ESPN: The former mayor of New York City battles to prevent a $148 million judgment from taking away his Yankees World Series rings.
Rudy Giuliani is attempting to save one shining piece of sports memorabilia in the family while his life is being dismantled to fulfill a $148 million defamation verdict: the Yankees World Series rings that the tea gave him.
Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, is battling to preserve one shining piece of sports memorabilia in the family while his life is being dismantled to satisfy a $148 million defamation verdict: the Yankees World Series rings that the team’s late owner, George Steinbrenner, gave him.
Giuliani has been a lifetime supporter of the Bronx Bombers and believes that his son Andrew should have the rings, which are adorned giants that honor the team’s four titles in five years during his tenure as mayor.
Ahead of two significant court appearances, Giuliani testified under oath this week, characterizing the 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 World Series rings as a sort of Yankees good-luck charm and family heritage.
According to him, Andrew and he would each wear one during “a special Yankee occasion,” like as the team’s 2009 World Series victory.
Giuliani said that he informed the owner, “These are for Andrew,” and demanded payment when Steinbrenner gave him the rings in 2002. He said that after that, he asked his son, who was a teenager at the time, to retain the others for himself.
Giuliani claimed that he gave the remainder to Andrew during a birthday celebration in 2018 after seeing he wasn’t wearing them as often as the Yankees’ fortunes declined. He calculated that the rings, which were identical to those given to the players, were valued at around $27,000.
“They’re yours now,” Giuliani remembered. “These rings belong to you. I have no idea why I’m holding onto them. You own them.
A week prior to the commencement of a legal duel over assets sought by the two former Georgia election workers who sued him for lying about them following President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat, the former mayor made his moves during a deposition on December 27. On Monday, a transcript was added to the court docket.
Giuliani’s contempt hearing in Manhattan federal court on Friday is the first item on the agenda. The attorneys representing the Georgia ladies claim that Giuliani failed to give up property, including his New York City apartment lease, in a timely manner.
Judge Lewis J. Liman will then convene a trial on January 16 to determine what would happen to Giuliani’s Palm Beach, Florida property as well as his World Series rings. Giuliani says the apartment, which is believed to be valued over $3 million, should be excluded since it is his principal residence.
It’s the legal equivalent of Giuliani, who was hailed as “America’s Mayor” for his leadership after 9/11, losing in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Giuliani has allegedly participated in a “consistent pattern of willful defiance” of court orders to give over items, according to the attorneys representing the former election workers, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and Ruby Freeman, mother and daughter.
