Episode #43 - The Housewife & The Hustler - How Narcissism is a Poison

Most of you are probably familiar with Erin Brokovich – the legal clerk who was instrumental in building a case against the Pacific Gas & Electric Company of California for dumping a carcinogen known as hexavalent chromium.  The trial lawyer who won the 460 million dollar settlement was Tom Girardi and in this case of the documentary…The Hustler.  The housewife is none other than Erika Girardi or some may know her as Erika Jayne which is her stage name/alter ego.

Tom Girardi:

• Married his first wife in 1964, second wife in 1993 and his third wife Erika in 2000. Tom is 32 years Erika’s senior.
• He has been a powerful attorney in LA for many years – he’s tried major cases against Lockheed Martin, LA Metropolitan Transportation authority and Hollywood’s seven major studios in addition to the PG&E case that made him famous.
• One lawyer in the documentary said “he was LA Law”.
• He had so much power that lawyers wanting to become DA’s or judges and local politicians had to sort of get his blessing or kiss the ring.
• There was a lot of rumblings over the years regarding embezzling or not paying out settlement funds to other lawyers or his clients but it wasn’t until December of 2020 when he was sued publically and held in civil contempt for embezzling money from a number of families who lost loved ones in a 2018 Lion Air Boeing plane crash that his house of cards came crumbling down

 

Erika Girardi…aka…Erika Jayne:

• Had been married briefly and had a son prior to moving out to LA to pursue a career in entertainment. She had previously worked as a stripper in NJ before deciding that LA was where she needed to be in order to make her dreams of stardom come true. 
• She met Tom while working at Chasen’s as a cocktail waitress in the 90’s. She was actually the one to make the first move – she noted in her memoir that she slipped him her number while at the restaurant and also told him she was single. 
• According to her memoir, his secretary contacted her to set up a date and Erika declined also informing the secretary that if Tom wanted to take her out he would need to ask her himself. After a 6 month courting they got engaged but I do think it’s interested that Tom told her when he proposed that he would never where a wedding band.

 

Shady Business:

• So now that we have some back story on both The Hustler & The Housewife…let’s dive into the most recent allegations that have now brought these two into a very different spotlight than what they’ve been accustomed to.
• 2 Million stolen from the families who lost loved ones from the Boeing crash – he was asked to pay this money back to the families who were each owed $500k in December. When questioned about the whereabouts of the 2 Million dollars he was told by his attorney to plead the 5^th. 
• 11 million to a family that experienced tragedy a loss due to a gas pipeline explosion in California.
• $5 million owed to Law office of Phillip R. Sheldon as well for cases that were referred to Tom and won. Being sued for fraud and breach of contract.
• So where did the money go? Well…that’s literally the million dollar question right now.  Tom funded Erika’s pop star career and their over the top lavish lifestyle.  It’s said that he gave her upwards to $20 Million to hire glam, travel, build a team for her music…you name it.  What’s interesting though is that everything that was filmed on the housewives or their home tour is now being used to track assets.  Also, why on earth would you agree to a reality show if you know you have some major skeletons???

 

• What do we think of this whole mess?

Only a true narcissist would think first about the admiration, praise and fame before thinking twice about the crimes they’re committing against another person. 

 

Here are some of the signs you’re dealing with a narcissist..

 

• Two faced
• Blames others for failures
• Acts different in public vs. private
• Unreliable
• Superior attitude
• Lives in a fantasy world
• Distorts the truth or facts to suit own agenda
• Only emotionally available when they want something
• Lacks sympathy for others
• Controlling
• Provokes people then blames them for the fight
• Can not admit to mistakes