The Widow and the Nurse, Part Two

In fact Snyder's involvement in the case extended well beyond the police investigation. Following several instances in which Regina continued her efforts to support Bridget financially, the attorney sought a restraining order to prevent Bridget from so much as calling Regina, her friend and former employer. Bridget filed her own restraining order against Snyder, telling the court in a sworn statement that he was harassing her to keep quiet about the alleged rape and threatened harm when she refused a cash payoff. Snyder denies both the harassment charge and the payoff claim. "She made up the whole thing," he asserts. "It never happened. The whole thing was conjured up. She absolutely perjured herself. It never happened. It was absolutely made up."Although Bridget's appeal for a permanent restraining order was rejected by the court, she now says one of the central reasons she went to police with her fateful rape allegation is that she could no longer endure Snyder's alleged harassment.Michael Snyder staked his claim on turf conquered by his father, Aventura Mayor Arthur Snyder. For nearly six years, until 1981, Arthur Snyder served as mayor of North Miami Beach. After the mayor left office, the younger Snyder became a familiar face at North Miami Beach City Commission meetings as a lobbyist. When Aventura incorporated in 1995 and his dad was elected to lead the new city, Michael Snyder set up his practice in the Aventura Government Center, a building housing city departments and private offices. Both Snyders are fond of saying, "There are three sides to every story." But when it comes to the tale of Regina and Bridget, Michael Snyder is interested in advancing only one side.

"I've talked about this with the family," he relates, "and they've said they'll only cooperate if you promise to write a story about how this woman is taking advantage of the elderly." (Snyder declined requests for interviews with Regina and sons Daniel and Joel, but New Times contacted and spoke to them independently.)

"This is a nice lady; I feel for her," Snyder says of Regina. "If this is an article on elderly abuse, they'd be happy to cooperate. They want to see [Bridget] taken off the street. I thought about going to [Florida Attorney General] Bob Butterworth with this one, but in the end we decided not to. The reason we didn't is we didn't want to put [Regina] through any more stress. She's old. She's a stroke victim. We didn't want to put her through any more pain."

Snyder first became involved with the Greenhills in July 1999, at a time when Regina was still so pleased with Bridget that she decided to buy a house and let Bridget live there. After Snyder located a suitable home in North Miami Beach, he drafted a lease stipulating that Bridget could stay there rent-free as long as she was employed by the family.

Bridget stopped working for the Greenhills, of course, on the day she was fired, October 11, 1999. Two days later, at the urging of the vice president of the condominium where Regina lives, Bridget filed assault charges against Daniel Greenhill, claiming that on two occasions he had touched her breasts and groped her against her will. She did not file rape charges at that time. She claims to have withheld this more serious accusation at Regina's request. "It wasn't her fault," Bridget explains. "She didn't want the publicity, for everyone in the building to know. People who live there, they all loved Gina. They still do."

Once Bridget was fired, Snyder began the process of evicting her from the home. His involvement grew more intense in November, when Bridget stepped forward with a major new revelation. "A couple of months after Daniel raped me, I took a pregnancy test," Bridget says. "I bought the test from Walgreens. I know how to operate it. I told Regina the result. She said, "Are you kidding me?' I said, "No.'

"That's when she called somebody she knew," Bridget continues, "a tall, thin doctor with gray hair. He's elderly, Dr. Willaker or Dr. Winoker maybe." Bridget recalls being asked to meet with Regina and the doctor at Regina's apartment in Aventura's Bonavida condominium building. "When I walked in, he was already waiting for me," she says. "He took a blood sample and a urine test. He said I was pregnant. Gina told me I should not have the baby. She gave me the money for an abortion. I paid bills with the money. When I told her what I did, she said it was OK."

According to correspondence between Snyder and Bridget, which Snyder later faxed to the Aventura Police Department, the alleged pregnancy became one of his primary concerns. Bridget claims he knew about the rape and the pregnancy and was trying to cover it up. Snyder counters that he was fighting to get Bridget's medical records in order to reveal the pregnancy as yet another extortion attempt. "I don't think I've ever been able to prove anything she's said," he asserts.