Daniel T. Broderick III
aka "Danny Boy"
aka "The Count du Money"
So many of you have read my posts about Betty Broderick and her crimes. With the recent interest in the case due to the Dirty John television show, I felt it was necessary to post some truths about who Daniel T. Broderick III was regarding his first wife, the mother of his children, and ultimately his murderer, Betty.
The short answer: he was not a nice person, he was shady, he was dishonest, and he was a gaslighting philanderer.
The San Diego Bar Association hands out an annual award in Dan Broderick's name, supposedly for civility and integrity as an attorney. Sorry, I don't see it.
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Dan Broderick had so much integrity as an attorney, had so much professionalism and regard for the law, and displayed so much civility, he stood by while the mother of his children, who was, as he claimed loudly and often, so mentally unstable she could not be trusted to have custody of said children, to *represent herself* in their divorce proceedings.
Dan Broderick had so much integrity as an attorney, and so much respect for the law and judgments passed down upon him, that he continued to "fine" his ex-wife Betty from his court-ordered support payments for behavior he deemed to be improper. Dan Broderick was ordered to stop his self-imposed "fining" system for Betty as part of the Broderick v. Broderick divorce settlement, an order that he almost immediately disregarded with the very first support payment.
Dan Broderick had so much civility and respect for the mother of his four children, he actually sent Betty a support check with a negative amount one month, a result of his own self-conceived, self-imposed "fining" system as a means of punishing Betty for behavior that he and Linda Kolkena deemed unseemly.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he refused to pay the attorney retainer and fees for Betty to hire Dan Jaffe, a well-known and excellent attorney from Los Angeles. This is no doubt because Jaffe would have seen through Dan's legal shenanigans and taken him to the cleaners...or at least see that Betty was awarded what was rightfully hers. Even after Jaffe was no longer officially involved with the case, he wrote a letter to the family courts in San Diego protesting how Betty Broderick was being mistreated, both legally and otherwise, by Danny Boy and his cohorts.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he used his influence in the San Diego courts so his divorce proceedings with Betty were not open to the public.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he sent his young sons to school when they were sick, rather than allow their mother to care for them. The boys were also sent to school in filthy clothes, and unwashed. A sick and ailing Rhett, too ill to remain in school, was taken by Dan back to his law office, instead of home and bed, or to the care of his loving and willing mother.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he ignored the pleas of his sons, who begged to be returned to the custody of their mother, Betty. Dan Broderick never behaved in his children's best interests. The children did not like to live at Dan's house. They were being raised by housekeepers and ignored by their father. They disliked Linda Kolkena so much, they would not speak to her. Dan constantly upended whatever plans Betty may have had with her children, very often cancelling at the very last minute. The final instance of this was Halloween 1989, roughly a week before the murders. (It must be noted that Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena would likely still be alive today, had Dan returned the boys to Betty. Being denied her children for another school year, via a remarkably childish and unprofessional pair of letters from Dan's attorney, Kathleen Cuffaro, was, according to Betty, the final straw.)
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he ignored the pleas of his sons, who begged to be returned to the custody of their mother, Betty. Dan Broderick never behaved in his children's best interests. The children did not like to live at Dan's house. They were being raised by housekeepers and ignored by their father. They disliked Linda Kolkena so much, they would not speak to her. Dan constantly upended whatever plans Betty may have had with her children, very often cancelling at the very last minute. The final instance of this was Halloween 1989, roughly a week before the murders. (It must be noted that Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena would likely still be alive today, had Dan returned the boys to Betty. Being denied her children for another school year, via a remarkably childish and unprofessional pair of letters from Dan's attorney, Kathleen Cuffaro, was, according to Betty, the final straw.)
Dan Broderick's version of integrity included leaving his heavily pregnant wife alone to go on a ski trip with friends. When Betty went into labor, he refused to come home from his vacation to help her and to mind the children they already had. The baby died right after it was born. Danny Boy's only complaint was that the entire matter ruined his ski vacation; he would not pay to bury his baby son, and to this day, Betty does not know where his remains are.
Dan Broderick was so full of civility, he saw it fit to break things when he was angry, which was often. Two items: a lawnmower that he destroyed with a sledgehammer, and the family aquarium dropped from an upstairs window. Danny Boy also repeatedly abused the family dogs by kicking them; nor would he allow the dogs in his Marston Hills home, forcing them to live in a makeshift dog run regardless of the weather.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he permitted others in the San Diego legal community to insult Linda Kolkena to her face for her lack of education (her formal education ended at high school). Remember, Linda Kolkena was Dan's paralegal as well as his girlfriend, and Linda represented Dan and his clients.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, the Broderick divorce file "went missing" in the months leading up to the divorce hearing. This apparently greatly troubled Betty. It apparently did not bother Danny Boy in the least, and the file miraculously resurfaced right before the divorce trial, almost to the day.
Dan Broderick had so much integrity, he did not seek custody of his troubled daughter Lee, whose life fell apart after Dan dumped Betty, the mother of his four children, for Linda Kolkena, a 21-year-old. Nor did Dan Broderick object when Lee was awarded to Betty by the divorce judge; you know, Betty, who was supposedly a lunatic.
(Lee Broderick was left out of Dan Broderick's will by Dan Broderick, notarized by Linda Kolkena. She did not receive monies from his estate.)
Dan Broderick had so much professionalism, he permitted his clients to avail themselves of the services of a high school graduate with next to no legal or professional training. Linda Kolkena's sole qualification for her position as Dan's paralegal was, at least at first, the one she took during lunchtime trysts with Dan in nearby cheap hotels.
Dan Broderick had at least three documented instances of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of the accidents he caused while drunk.
Dan Broderick sought the "services" of a hit man to kill Betty, according to Jack Earley, Betty's defense attorney. Earley was prepared to introduce at trial credible evidence that Dan Broderick wanted to have the mother of his children killed. The judge did not allow the evidence in.
Finally, Dan Broderick had so much civility, integrity, and professionalism, that he spread entirely untrue rumors in the San Diego community that Betty, his wife of 16 years, loving mother to his children, and early childhood teacher, was a child molester.
Dan Broderick sought the "services" of a hit man to kill Betty, according to Jack Earley, Betty's defense attorney. Earley was prepared to introduce at trial credible evidence that Dan Broderick wanted to have the mother of his children killed. The judge did not allow the evidence in.
Finally, Dan Broderick had so much civility, integrity, and professionalism, that he spread entirely untrue rumors in the San Diego community that Betty, his wife of 16 years, loving mother to his children, and early childhood teacher, was a child molester.
