Custody battles have a tendency to get out of control, whether they're over children, tiny dogs or masturbating bears. Two former lesbian lovers are engaged in one such fight over their shared Labrador-Shepherd mix named Lily: “It’s out of spite,” said Rebecca Finkel, who claims her ex Michelle Quintus gave the dog away without consulting her. “She knew that taking Lily away would devastate me and she did.” more ›

Apple is tearing (divorced) families apart! A judge yesterday pushed a mother to swap her 10-year-old son's iPhone for a low-end flip-phone after she "entered the father's home and took residency with the iPhone" using Apple's video conferencing software FaceTime. Apparently Fordham adjunct Annmarie McAvoy had taken to hours-long FaceTime conversations with her son while he was at his father John Hannigan's home. more ›

The New Jersey couple who sparked a controversy after they named their kids after famous Nazi leaders say that NJ child welfare officials took custody of their newborn 17 hours after his birth. Nazi-sympathizers Heath and Deborah Campbell say that the doctor who delivered their newborn Hons Campbell late Wednesday called the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), who then took the baby without any court order: "It's basically a kidnapping, but they use different terms," said Heath Campbell. more ›

Remember Baby Hitler? Then three-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, as well as his siblings JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, were taken from his parents by NJ child welfare officials in 2009 shortly after his parents had tried to get him a personalized birthday cake from ShopRite that read, "Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler." Two years later, the Nazi-sympathizing parents are still trying to get their kids back: "The judge and [the Division of Youth and Family Services] told us that there was no evidence of abuse and that it was the names! They were taken over the children's names," Heath Campbell told NBC 10 News in Philadelphia. more ›

Last week, venture capitalist Adam Dell filed a lawsuit against Padma Lakshmi over custody of their almost-one-year-old daughter. His lawsuit paints a nasty picture of Lakshmi, with the Top Chef star allegedly telling Dell that she found him to be "unambitious" and that she was also sleeping with billionaire Teddy Forstmann (and hoped Forstmann was the baby's father). Today, the Post digs up what might just be called Godwin's Law of Paternity. more ›

A Long Island woman was sentenced to six weekends in jail after trying to keep her ex-husband from visiting their two daughters. Lauren Lippe reportedly told ex Ted Rubin "We all hope you die from cancer" in front of the girls, and even falsely claimed Rubin had molested one of the girls. Judge Robert Ross ruled that Lippe willfully violated a court order of joint custody by intentionally keeping the children from Rubin. more ›

Nathaniel Fons, the three-year-old dumped at St. Patrick's Cathedral by his mother's friends, is leaving NYC: A judge said, "This child belongs in Florida. His parents are in Florida. He's lived in Florida." Well, his parents are in Florida, but both are behind bars—his mother Erin Comeau passed a counterfeit $100 bill and his father Williams Fons violated his parole when he didn't register as a sex offender. While his paternal grandparents, who did raise him for a period, traveled to NYC in hopes of getting custody, Comeau recently said she wanted her mother, in Maryland, to raise the boy. The Administration for Children's Services, which is caring for Nathaniel, said the maternal grandmother feels she "had an obligation to her grandson and she wanted to fulfill it." more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) has reportedly been hit with a 13-count indictment on federal charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail and wire fraud, extortion, and receiving an unlawful gratuity. Insiders told the Times that the Democrat—who represents Wakefield, Co-op City, Edenwald, Williamsbridge and Baychester—is suspected of helping a boiler company obtain city contracts. more ›

The mother of a 7-year-old who disappeared from a foster home in Brooklyn more than a week ago remains behind bars because authorities believe she knows where her son is. Staten Island resident Jennifer Rodriguez—who according to the Post was described by a social worker yesterday as a drug-addicted habitual liar—is being held on contempt charges as authorities continue to look her son, Patrick Alford, who went missing on Jan. 22. more ›

Investigators have been searching for 7-year-old Patrick Alford since he vanished from foster care in East New York last Friday, and they think his mother knows where he is. So a judge ordered that 23-year-old Jennifer Rodriguez be detained at Rikers Island on contempt charges until the boy turns up. "I have the authority to hold her pending compliance with the court's order," said Staten Island Family Court Judge Terrence McElrath. "Did she comply with order to produce the child? No." more ›

Courtney Love wants her baby back, and (in between posting topless photos of herself) is Twittering up a storm about it. Specifically, she Tweets of lawsuits she'd like to file against Kurt Cobain's mother and sister, who currently have custody of her daughter Frances Bean. She warned, "this shit with the bean needs to be exposed for what it is right fucking NOW enough." more ›

The father of two young girls whose mother was gunned down in an execution-style killing in front of them is demanding custody of the kids. Since an unknown gunman murdered 30-year-old Lakisha Scriven earlier this month, her daughters Alanna, 8, and Aleila, 5, have been staying with their grandmother. But their 37-year-old father Clarence White — who had moved out of Scriven's house before the killing after disputes and threats — wants his kids back. His attorney claims Scriven's mother illegally "absconded" with the children. "His rights as a father have been completely trampled on," the attorney told the Post. "We want the kids back where they belong; with their father for Christmas." more ›

Earlier this week it was reported that Courtney Love had lost custody of her and Kurt Cobain's 17-year-old daughter Frances Bean. Reportedly Frances Bean said she preferred to live with her grandmother, and custody was handed over to her, Wendy O'Connor, as well as Kurt's sister. more ›

The Long Island woman suspected of forcing her children to help kill 20 dogs and bury them in her backyard lost custody of her kids yesterday. A family court judge ordered that Sharon McDonough's children be turned over to foster care or to the suspect's 21-year-old son, Douglas McDonough, who first alerted the anti-animal-abuse TV show "Rescue Ink" of the "concentration camp" for animals. more ›

In October 2007, Michelle Malakov, then four years old, saw her father gunned down as she was being taken to her mother for a supervised visit. What unraveled was a plot to gain custody of Michelle; her mother Mazoltuv Borukhova was found guilty of killing her estranged husband (along with a relative, who carried out the actual murder) on Tuesday. These days, 6-year-old Michelle is living her father's brother Gavriel Malakov, his wife and son. Her uncle tells the Daily News, "She's a happy girl, she really is. Very sweet kid. Just like other kids." He also says that they don't discuss the murder with her. While Borukhova plans to appeal, the News says that her parental rights will probably be terminated. Michelle's law guardian thinks her uncle and aunt are "exceptional parents": "If anybody is to adopt, it is them, and that's who I am going to support wholeheartedly. She's totally assimilated into the family." more ›

Nearly a year and a half after a dentist was gunned down in a Queens playground while handing off his young daughter to his estranged wife, the prosecution has rested their case. Daniel Malakov had been embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with his wife Mazoltuv Borukhova, and eventually the Queens DA's office charged her with murder and conspiracy, saying she hired a relative to kill her husband. more ›

Tri-Staters, since we've had a trifecta of gubernatorial resignations (Rowland, McGreevey and Spitzer), it sort of feels good to know that other states' governors suck too, right? Intensely disliked Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) was taken into custody by the feds this morning at his Chicago home; his spokesman initially told a reporter, "Haven't heard anything -- you are first to call." While Blago has been the subject of a three-year corruption investigation, the Chicago Tribune reports the probe has "expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama." More fun: Blago also was angling to be named Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration AND wanted to get members of the Trib's editorial board fired for, uh, editorials critical of his administration. Troopergate almost seems quaint now! more ›

Sandra Boss, the mother of missing 7-year-old Reigh Boss, made a police-filmed video statement, pleading with her ex-husband to return their daughter. The child was snatched by Clark Rockefeller during a social worker-supervised visit in Boston on Sunday, and the paid were driven to NYC's Grand Central. Boss said, "Clark, although many things have changed, you will always be Reigh's father and I will always be Reigh's mother. We both love her dearly and have only her best interests and well-being in our hearts." It's believed that Rockefeller, described as a con man who had exchanged hundreds of thousands in cash into gold, cut Reigh's hair short to make her pass for a boy; authorities are currently investigating sightings of the pair in the Caribbean. more ›

After the October 2007 murder of her father and her mother's arrest for his killing this past February, the Daily News checks in on 5-year-old Michelle Malakov to see how she's doing. According to her paternal grandmother, the little girl calls her uncle "Daddy," "She can't be without him for a minute." more ›

Three and a half months after Queens orthodontist Daniel Malakov was gunned down at a Queens playground in front of his young daughter, his estranged wife was arrested for his murder. Dr. Mazoltuv Borukhova was charged with murder and conspiracy and taken to a precinct house from her Forest Hills home. Malakov's mother told the Daily News, "They're dirty...her whole family, mother, sisters, all of them are animals. They committed such a dirty act, and I ask God for them to get everything they did to me, so that it would come back to them from God." more ›

Cops have a suspect in the shooting of orthodontist dad Daniel Malakov and released a sketch of his playground shooter. Malakov was killed by a gunman who shot him at point blank range with a pistol; the shooting left a handmade silencer fashioned from a bleach bottle wrapped in duct tape. The killing is believed to be related to a bitter custody dispute between Malakov and his ex-wife Mazoltuv Borukhova. Because the murder took place... more ›

The custody battle over Michelle Malakov, a 4-year-old who witnessed her father being shot to death at a Queens playground, continued in Queens Family Court. And the testimony of State Senator Diane Savino underlined how the dispute between the slain man's family and his ex-wife has gone almost full-tilt crazy. Queens dentist Daniel Malakov had been awarded temporary custody of his daughter for about a week. On October 28, he was dropping her off to... more ›

Last Sunday morning, Daniel Malakov was fatally shot three times in the chest just after dropping off his daughter to his ex-wife, Marina Borukhova. While the police have no suspects in his murder, much attention has been drawn to contentious custody battle he had with Borukhova over their 5-year-old daughter Michelle. And with his death, the fight has gotten messier. Malakov had been given temporary custody of Michelle just before his death. The child was... more ›