Brinkley\’s ownership of her $30 million Bridgehampton home is not being contested. \”It was wrong and he said it was wrong,\” Cook\’s lawyer, Norman Sheresky, said of the porn. \”Cook\’s lawyer said Brinkley is partly to blame for the public spectacle. He\’s cried his eyes out.
\”Uncle Billy is around to support these kids,\” said Cohen. \”Peter has apologized. \”The lawyer quoted Brinkley as saying: \”Peter is our rock. Cohen said Brinkley paid for everything throughout the marriage as Cook \”quickly transformed himself as a person to the manor born.
\”Sheresky also blasted Brinkley for wanting to keep the trial open to the public. So far there are accusations of fraud, reports of payoffs that measure into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and the combination of a supermodel in the Hamptons with an allegedly wandering handsome husband and the then 18-year old girl and that is enough of a scandal to get some pretty fair interest in some nude Diana Bianchi photos. Diana Bianchi got the $300,000 in May 2007. She was paid $20,000 to type magazine articles onto the company\’s Web site.
He also left her cash payments in various spots: $500 under the rock outside his office; more behind a painting. Cohen said Brinkley found out about it from the teenager\’s stepfather; the fashion model got the bad news moments before she was to speak at the Southampton High School graduation. \”That is the man who\’s come before this court and asked for custody of his 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter,\” attorney Robert Stephan Cohen said. Earlier, the fashion model\’s lawyer said Cook spent about $3,000 a month on pornographic Web sites.
But the main focus of the trial is Cook\’s affair with the 18-year-old, which set off a frenzy in the tabloids. Combine a summer where Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and even Paris Hilton are all behaving themselves and Diana Bianchi makes news. Cohen said Brinkley is a doting mother whose work schedule revolves around her children. Peter Cook, called to the stand by his wife\’s divorce lawyers, was questioned about his affair with Diana Bianchi, who is expected to testify that Cook seduced her shortly after hiring her for his Hamptons architectural firm.
The back story seems tawdry enough and Christie Brinkley is still red hot and will always be one of America\’s sweethearts and most perceive that she has been wronged by her soon to be ex Peter Cook. Their affair began that March, around the time he hired Diana Bianchi. Sheresky said the case is no different than that of politicians who were unfaithful to their wives: former President Clinton, and former governors Eliot Spitzer of New York and James McGreevey of New Jersey. Her ex-husband, \”Piano Man\” Billy Joel, is also involved in their lives.
\”Your honor, we\’re here because of the self-indulgent wrath of a woman scorned. He also showered her with spending money, including $500 hidden under a rock. \”Cook said he met Diana Bianchi in early 2005 when she was working at a Hamptons toy store. Before their relationship ended in late 2005, they had sex in the office a number of times, and at homes in the Hamptons owned by Brinkley.
Sheresky said there\’s ample evidence that Cook\’s a good parent, including interviews in which Brinkley referred to him as \”the best dad in the world. Christie Brinkley\’s estranged husband said Wednesday he had sex with his teenage lover in his office, then paid her $300,000 while hoping to keep their affair quiet. \”For goodness sake: She\’s on her fourth husband,\” Sheresky told the court. He\’s the calm in the middle of the storm.
The couple\’s daughter, Sailor, had her birthday on Wednesday. The exact purpose of the money was not specified, but Cook said he was trying to protect himself and his family from scandal. \”What kind of a mother wants her husband flogged in public?\” Will we see Diana Bianchi undress and pose for nude photos? Paging Joe Francis. He\’s lost his marriage.
\”That\’s putting her agenda in front of the best interests of the children,\” said Sheresky.
