Court ends Waldholtz' parental rights

Third District Juvenile Judge Andrew Valdez has terminated Joe Waldholtz's parental rights to the 10-year-old daughter he had with former Congresswoman and ex-wife Enid Greene , who has been rearing the child since she was an infant.

Waldholtz took part in the Tuesday hearing via speaker phone. He is serving a three-to-15-year prison term in Pennsylvania for stealing a $25,000 insurance check from his stepmother that came from his father's estate, and for forging his brother's signature on a veterans benefit check for $5,200.

Greene said Wednesday she took the matter to court to protect her daughter, Elizabeth.

"With his track record, and he's back in prison having stolen from other family members, I was concerned that if something happened to me, I wanted to make legal arrangements for Elizabeth, and we couldn't do that until we resolved the issue of what Joe's rights were," Greene said.

Greene now plans to prepare a trust that will address what happens if Greene dies or becomes medically incapacitated.

"I'll have it in writing who should take care of Elizabeth if it should come to that. I don't anticipate it will, but I'd be an irresponsible parent if I hadn't taken care of it," she said.

For his part, Waldholtz said at the hearing that Greene had moved after he was convicted but provided no forwarding address and did not return his phone calls. "She's my daughter. Not being able to communicate with her has been one of the most difficult things for me. I thought my calls were being ignored," Waldholtz said.

Waldholtz previously was sentenced to 37 months in prison in connection with illegal campaign activities during Greene's run for the 2nd Congressional District. Waldholtz was campaign treasurer in 1994 and later pleaded guilty to charges of tax, bank and campaign fraud after nearly $2 million was illegally shunted into the election bid.

Greene said she knew nothing about the criminal behavior nor did her father, the late Forrest Greene, who had helped the campaign financially. Enid Greene in 1996 chose not to run again for Congress. She is vice chairwoman of the state Republican Party.

Greene said Wednesday that Waldholtz had abandoned Elizabeth when she was a baby, had not seen the child since 1996 and failed to show up for arranged visits.

"He had scheduled visits at least three times, and each time he canceled. The last time, it was three days before he was supposed to come and, as a mother, you know what that does to your child."