Chapter Thirty-Three:

The Cases Go Underground

   “You want more money of course I don’t mind

What you see is what you get

You’ve made your bed you better lie on it

You chose your leaders and place your trust

As their lies let you down and their promises rust…

I’m going underground”

-The Jam

    After getting in touch with the Hutchisons and listening to the Ellingtons’ experience, we had no favorable opinion of Denise Hubbard left. She had exhausted the benefit of all the doubt we could give her.

    The issue of Cyril’s autopsy report remained unresolved; neither she, nor Dennis Goronstaev or his contact Dennis Kaselak had been any help, and neither had Richard J. Marco Jr., BBAS’s attorney.  

    The lie about Anguel’s timeline, the lies about the Bulgarian process, compounded by the beginning of our ostracism from the BBAS “family” (unbeknownst to us at the time) had finally hit their mark.  

    Following the Hutchisons’ example, we contacted Linda Saridakis of the Ohio Department of Human Services (ODHS) in late January 2000 and wrote out our complaint against the agency, backed up with as much documentation as we could provide.  

    The complaint was sent out on Feb. 4 and when she received it, Ms. Saridakis gave us a telephone call to inform us that she had gone over to see Denise about it.  

    I asked Ms. Saridakis about Denise’s reaction, she said that Denise seemed stunned we had contacted her licensing commission. And had the chutzpah to ask Ms. Saridakis why we had done it.

   Yes, sending Cyril’s story was bad timing on our part, with Anguel’s adoption coming down the pipeline, but we’d had it. 

    We had now put ourselves in the doghouse and although we didn’t know it right then, our “excommunication” from the BBAS “family” began the day Ms. Saridakis visited BBAS office in Denise Hubbard’s home.

    Yet, as we said, we had begun to wonder if there was some way that we could get a gift to Anguel for his birthday. He would turn two in early March.

    We knew that BBAS had families “traveling at all times” who would be so happy to take a gift to a waiting child on behalf of the waiting parents. As mentioned before, I had a two-week vacation scheduled for mid March.  What better way to spend it than visiting my son in Bulgaria?

    I sent the following email, with the subject line “Anguel Journey,” to Denise on Feb. 11:

Don’t pass out, but I do have some vacation time left.  I have a scheduled vacation slot for March 13 – March 26.  Daniel had e-mailed you previously about the logistics of my visiting Anguel at some point.  It wasn’t onw of our hair brained ideas; we were quite serious.

Could this be done?  Is it against Bulgarian law?  I don’t want to disrupt Anguel’s adoption by making the request to see him, but I have been thinking about him and wondering how he is doing.  Heck, my father had even expressed an interest in traveling with me (he has the month off).

I had envisioned spending a few days on my own in Burgas, to take in the place where Anguel came from.  Bulgaria isn’t that difficult to get around on one’s own.  But like I said, I don’t want to come in like the Ugly American.  Is this do-able?  Have others done this in the past?

    On Feb. 19 we received the troubling, evil response from Denise Hubbard, carbon copied to the following recipients: Wendy, Office Manager [Sandy Harding], SO113@aol.com, AttyMarco.  

    Why was this being cc’ed to these entities?  Who was this SO113?

    We have subsequently learned a little more about this person, but do not know his identity other than the apparent name “Craig.” His connection to Building Blocks we don’t know (but he had already been used by Denise to illegally promote her agency before it was licensed or even incorporated).

    AttyMarco was obviously Richard J. Marco Jr. She was now referring to us as “Mr. And Mrs. Case” (picking up on my lead in calling her “Mrs. Hubbard”). Note the caring tone about our son — she didn’t even use his name — and the snide way this email was written.  

    We were officially on the burn.

Mr. And Mrs. Case:  

Please note that we have families leaving for Bourgas at all times, feel free to send the gift to our office and we will see that the child gets the gift.  Also, it has come to my attention that the visit to Bourgas is not pliable.  Both our representative and director of the orphange have limited time and cannot provide you with your request.  The representative advised within the next few weeks he would obtain a video of your child to ensure his well being.

Your updated police clearance and medical were sent to Bulgaria on 2/18/00 via adoptive parent.

Thank you and good day.

Mrs. Hubbard.

    We felt like we had been repeatedly punched. Back in January she said there was a possibility I could visit Anguel, but then, when the going got tough for her, she crapped all over us.

    “Could not provide you with your request.”  Why?

    And since when did the orphanage director have such limited time? Other agencies’ clients had gotten to remove their children from the orphanage on their first visit — how come I could not go and visit Anguel?  

    One other BBAS client was to stay in Bulgaria for three months, visiting her son at his orphanage in Buzovgrad (something she took it upon herself to do to complete her adoption ... as so often, Denise was more hindrance than help in the final stages). 

    Other clients would travel to visit their children two times in the summer of 2000 and winter of 2001. This situation of being “not pliable” (and she couldn’t even use the language properly ... we think she meant “not plausible”) was yet another LIE. One told with the deliberate intention of causing us emotional harm. 

    How could somebody so uncouth run an adoption agency?

    If the email was being sent to the attorney, and the unknown entity at SO113@aol.com, there was obviously a greater problem. BBAS’s resolution arrived late February with the following letter from Richard J. Marco, Jr. Esq., dated Feb. 24, 2000.  

    Again, all emphasis is ours.

Dear Mr. And Mrs. Case:

Denise Hubbard, as President of Building Blocks Adoption Service, Inc. has asked that I communicate with you with respect to a sensitive matter that has recently come to our attention.

Basically, there has been a referral made to the Ohio Licensing Agency with respect to action on your adoption in Russia.  The referral was made as a result of an apparent dissatisfaction by you with Building Blocks Adoption Services, Inc.  The referral information that we received indicates that there is some belief that you were treated in a substandard manner.

There is presently, on going, between you and Building Blocks Adoption Service, Inc. an adoption out of the Country of Bulgaria.  As a result, it would be necessary to complete that contract with you.  However, given the sudden adversarial nature of the relationship between yourselves and Building Blocks Adoption Service, Inc. whether you intended it to be adversarial or not, it will be necessary that most communication with respect to the Bulgarian adoption be handled through this office.  Denise Hubbard will still communicate directly with respect to information and updates.  However, any issues or questions must be directed to myself, in writing.  You will then receive a response, in writing, after I have had an opportunity to discuss the matter with Denise Hubbard.

It is regretful that it has become necessary to take this action.  However, the licensing of the adoption agency is vital to the well-being of the business.  In fact, the operations would cease without it, of course.  Therefore, I am sure you can understand the requirement that we handle your complaint as carefully as possible.  

Thank you for your time and attention.  Please direct all communication to me in writing.

    Well well well.  Denise was now having to pay the big bucks to BBAS’s “Corporate Attorney” to bludgeon the Cases into submission.  

    But to be honest, it was a relief to be rid of Denise and her lies. It would be easier, we believed to go directly through Mr. Marco with our questions about Anguel’s adoption; all BBAS had done was act as a glorified email conduit from Valeri Kamenov and the Bulgarian attorney Mr. Dobrev. Everything was now in their hands as far as Anguel’s paperwork was concerned. 

    We did eventually find a way to laugh at the highlighted materials in the above:   “Substandard manner” ...  that’s how they saw a dead baby, an impossible release for refund, a lie about Bulgarian adoption process and timeline.  

    “Adversarial relationship.” It had become that when Denise brushed off my request to visit my son on my vacation – when others would be granted the same request in the future.  

    Being kicked in the butt was not feeling too good, and Daniel and I went underground that spring and summer.  So Denise thought that she could isolate us so well?

    Anguel got his gift, and I got mine — the last telephone conversation I had with Denise.  

    She called to say she had gotten it, and I asked if there was anything else that I could send along or that was needed.  

    Instead of answering politely, she hissed in a bitchy voice “I don’t need anything from you!” and hung up. (I suppose there was one thing she did need, but didn’t have the nerve to ask for ... the restoration of my gullibility and naïveté)

    That day I vowed she would one day be hurting as much as I was right then.

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