Wendi Adelson's Ex-Boyfriend Testified to WHAT Under Oath?

Tony Brueski (0:11)

So if you watch the Hulu documentary about the Adelsons, and you're here now going, I want to learn more. Well, welcome to the fourth part in our series as we break down all of the Adelson's and their lovely ways. If you're just joining us, like I said, this is part four. We've already covered Donna, we've covered Harvey, we've covered Charlie, and the dynamics of the other folks in this, including Catherine McBannowa, and the hitman, Siegfriedo Garcia, all of that. We've hit it all. Now, we're up to the actual woman who benefited most from the decisions that her family made poorly. The big question has been for so many years, what did she know? The answer might be nothing. What did Wendi know about her family plotting to end the life of her ex-husband, the father of her children, the father of the grandchildren, the father of the niece and the nephew of these people that have been convicted of taking his life so they could have more access to the kids. That worked out well, didn't it? Wendi certainly got more access in this whole process.

Didn't quite work out as good for everybody else, though. So, is this a story where the family way oversteps their bounds because they have no boundaries and did what they wanted to do despite Wendi saying maybe it's not a good idea to kill my husband? I don't know. You guys, I don't think it's a nice idea. I just don't think you should do that. It's just yucky. I don't know. I have no idea. But I mean, judging by Wendi's demeanor in court, I'm thinking that maybe it could have gone. Hey, we're thinking of killing your ex-husband. Come on. Rather than no. What on earth are you think that's insane? Guys, I know you love me so much. Again, I have no idea what happened. But judging by the enmeshed family of the Adelson's, that's probably not a far cry from reality, in my opinion. But again, Wendi's never been charged with anything. She's maintaining her innocence. There is one sentence of the DanMarkel case that has now been repeated in courtroom after courtroom, and nobody can play the recording because the recording does not exist. Jeffrey Lacasse says Wendi Adelson said it to him five days before Dan was shot.

According to Lacasse, Wendi asked whether she could tell him something confidential.

Then she told him that her brother, Charlie, looked into every option for dealing with the Danny Markel problem, including hiring a hitman. That would cost about $15,000. Now, why you tell your boyfriend this in confidence is beyond me. Does that make the love bond that much stronger? When you're going at it, it's like, oh, she told me about how, or I told him about how we might hire a hitman. Oh, we're so much closer. I don't think that's necessarily the link. But I do think it's the talking, the sharing of information in very much the same way that a seven-year-old little girl would share a secret. Just can't hold it in. It's just too much. I mean, I better do it, because Wendi, in a lot of ways, as educated as she is, as intelligent as she is, emotionally, I think some may argue, maybe a little stunted. Not that it's, again, not saying it's fault of her own. Again, this is all conjecture. I don't know if she's stunted or not, but judging by the reactions in this case and what we've seen publicly, one may come to that conclusion. I'm going, yeah, wow. Your mom's hiring the TV repair man. Your parents do so much damn shit for you. You're a grown ass adult with their own children, and you're still being treated like you're about 10

That may stunt someone. That may make someone be able to function over here as an adult. And over here, still as if, you know, Disney Afternoon's coming on, it's time to have a granola bar and watch Tails spin.

Or DuckTails, or Darkwing Duck, or Chippendale Rescue Rangers. I know my fucking Disney Afternoon from 1993, god damn it. According to Lacasse, Wendi asked whether...

She could tell him something confidential, confidential. Danny Markel, $15,000.

Lacasse, he called that conversation chilling. He said it made his stomach flip. Wouldn't it, you? With this girl? Family's a little nutty, a little bit extreme. They're talking about her in a hitman. Yeah. Wendi has denied saying it. She's denied knowing that Dan was going to be killed. She's denied helping anyone carry it out. And as of now, she's never been charged with a crime connected to Dan's death. So let's be very clear about where this story begins. Not with a proven confession, not with a recording, and not with a charge. It begins with two people describing the same private conversation in ways that cannot both be accurate. That's what makes Wendi Adelson different from everybody else in this case. Siegfriedo Garcia, Katherine McBonna, Charlie Adelson, and Donna Adelson were all convicted. Louis Rivera pled guilty and testified for the state. Each has either been convicted by a jury or admitted guilt in court. Wendi has not. Prosecutors have called her a conspirator in court, but they have not put that allegation into the indictment. Wendi has repeatedly said they are wrong, and that line matters. The court room cannot transfer guilt through a family tree, no matter how many relatives have been convicted. But those of us on the outside, we can read the tea leaves. Being uncharged does not make the surrounding facts disappear. It means we have to discuss them without pretending the unanswered question has already been answered. Lacasse dated Wendi during 2013 and 2014 when her divorce and custody fight with Dan dominated much of her life. He testified that the case was a constant topic of conversation and described the Adelson's as a family without boundaries. He also spent time around Charlie during a South Florida visit. Lacasse had dinner with Charlie and Catherine McVanua later. According to Lacasse, Charlie bragged that he knew people on both sides of the tracks. I am the dentist everybody wants to know because I know the folks on this side of the track and the folks on that side of the track. I do fillings for each, tight. Doctors and dentists, one side people connected to the criminal world. On the other, Charlie, Charlie after dark, if you will. That's where Charlie. We don't want to see that side of Charlie when he goes to that side of the tracks. Because Charlie, Charlie becomes the wild and crazy dentist at that point.