Mr. Broderick was a prominent malpractice attorney who was aggressive, persuasive, and cunning–a $1-million-a-year lawyer at the top of his game. Kim Broderick, as a child with her late father Dan Broderick. InstagramDan also served as the local bar association president in 1987. Kim’s slain father was a high-flying attorney with an enviable contact list and a pitch-perfect reputation.
Mid-trial, Early dropped a bombshell that sent Wells and the prosecutors off their litigant chairs. He raised the possibility that Dan Broderick may at one point tried to have Betty murdered. A city cab driver named Paul Taylor had come forth claiming that Dan had approached him, musing to have Taylor do away with the vexsome wife — “permanently,” to quote the cabbie — for about $500,000. Taylor would only produce misleading cues, said Judge Whelan, since Betty had no knowledge of any such external activities and this was not Dan Broderick’s trial, but Betty’s. Jack Early found his defense much more difficult in trial number two.
Her parents taught her that her role in life was to become a good wife and mother. He then announced his intention to combine his medical expertise with a J.D. Betty became the main provider for the family while Dan attended law school with the help of a student loan.
As a result of Betty’s accusations that her husband had cheated, their marriage ended. When the divorce was finalized, he moved out of the house and finally took custody of all of the children. It was eventually discovered that he had an affair, which led to a lengthy and drawn-out Betty Broderick divorce battle that was resolved four years later. In terms of education, she attended Eastchester High School before enrolling in the College of Mount Saint Vincent in 1965. She attended a tiny Catholic women’s college in the Bronx and majored in early childhood education.
Moving to Massachusetts, Dan devoted himself to his full-time studies while his wife took assorted odd jobs to pay the rent for their small Boston flat and keep the family in food. Betty could often be seen traipsing door to door in her neighborhood selling Avon or Tupperware, her two children bundled under her arms. Her husband specialized in malpractice cases and earned a lot of money from it; she subsequently became a stay-at-home parent and cared for the children. He employed former stewardess Linda Kolkena as a paralegal in 1983, but it was soon discovered that he was having an affair with her.
A sullen-faced secretary told her that her husband was out, but she wasn’t sure where. Linda Kolkena’s office, next to Dan’s, was empty too, Betty noticed. Waiting for Dan’s return, Betty strolled the premises, espying crumbs of a cake atop Dan’s desk, as well as empty wine bottles and balloons – evidence that there had already been a celebration of sorts. Peeking into Linda’s office, she saw a portrait of a teenage Dan hanging over the woman’s chair.
Her adrenaline pumped and her temples ached from confusion. On the kitchen table where she tried to swallow a tepid cup of coffee sat the latest two letters from her ex-husband’s current representing lawyer, Kathleen Cuffaro. Two more letters in a succession of threats from various attorneys who had belittled her, condemned her for four years through the separation from Dan, and during and after their bitter divorce.
