By Susan Bassi and Fred Johnson
Fueled by a profound loss of trust in their spouses, the judicial system, law enforcement, and the very attorneys they hired for protection, over 70 women have stepped forward to expose what they describe as a sophisticated plot orchestrated by Ruth Patrick and the nonprofit she founded, WomenSV. Building on information initially reported in the Davis Vanguard’s Tainted Trials, Tarnished Headlines, Stolen Justice series, the women have meticulously combed through court files, tax records, and social media platforms, connecting the dots to unveil a scheme that 
targeted vulnerable individuals for the benefit of their former spouses—powerful executives in Silicon Valley’s technology, social media, and real estate sectors, and their divorce attorneys.
Furthermore, they allege a concerted effort to shield Silicon Valley’s wealthiest abusers from criminal prosecution, implicating Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, who was an active member of the underground, invitation only Santa Clara County Superior Court Bench-Bar-Media-Police–Committee (BBMP), first exposed by the Vanguard in 2023.
Nonprofit Tax Tricks
Ruth Patrick solicited cash and private donations under the guise of providing essential support to women from Silicon Valley’s affluent communities navigating divorces shadowed by allegations of domestic violence.
Contrary to the proclaimed purpose of utilizing tax-exempt donations for the “vital services” WomenSV offered, donor funds were redirected to the Domestic Violence Intervention Collaborative (DVIC), where Ruth Patrick sat on the board.
According to tax records obtained by the Vanguard, DVIC, a non-profit founded by MFT Nancy Marshall, received donations Ruth Patrick claimed would go to WomenSV.
Donors assert that Ruth Patrick assured them the money they donated would directly benefit WomenSV. However, the tax identification number (EIN) provided to donors by Patrick assigned these funds to DVIC, Marshall’s non-profit, rather than WomenSV.
According to public records obtained through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Ruth Patick was on the DVIC board in 2016, but by 2017, she was replaced by controversial divorce attorneys and minors counsel Constance Carpenter and Kathy Schlepphorst.
Domestic Violence Intervention Collaborative (DVIC) is tax-exempt organization. Santa Clara Family Court Services Director Steve Baron and Ruth Patrick both served on the DVIC’s board during a time when they were reportedly dating and briefly engaged. Baron has since retired from the court but remains a member of the Santa Clara County Child Abuse Council.
DVIC claims to work in unique collaboration with the courts, addressing issues related to domestic violence, though it is unclear what that unique collaboration is.
“. . . . . DVIC works in a unique collaboration with the courts in addressing the issue of domestic violence, and whenever possible staff are present at court to assist and support clients and to consult with other professionals who are involved in the court system.”
In 2012, DVIC founder Nancy Marshall was given access to family court judges, select divorce lawyers, prosecutors, police officers and San Jose Mercury, Los Altos Crier and NBC news reporters. Marshall was invited to speak during off- record BBMP meetings as other journalists and nonprofit leaders working in domestic violence prevention advocacy were excluded.
Judge Towery represented Ruth Patrick in her personal divorce. He acted as BBMP co- chair from 2014 until he retired and the secreted group was reportedly shuttered in 2023.
Public records show the DVIC received state and federal grants during a time when Ruth Patrick, Steve Baron, Constance Carpenter, Kathy Schlepphorst and other BBMP private attorneys sat on the DVIC board.
The online footprint for DVIC provides little information about the services the nonprofit provides. From 2015 to 2022, DVIC received over $122,000 in state and federal grants in connection with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), California’s Department of Child Support Services and the state court’s Judicial Council.
The Vanguard reached out to WomenSV and DVIC board members Contance Carpenter and Kathy Schlepphorst for comment, and to obtain records the nonprofits are required to provide upon request. No response was received from either organization prior to publication.
The DVIC website, www.dvintervention.org, presently points to an offshore gambling and escort service.
Media, Misinformation, and MeToo Movement
For more than three decades the BBMP wielded considerable influence over local news reporting. Journalists invited to participate in BBMP meetings, alongside judges, prosecutors, police, politicians, domestic violence organizations and divorce attorneys, gained privileged access to perspectives, opinions, and ideas exchanged within this closed circle.
Such influence had the power to shape reporting on elections, court proceedings, and individuals, either propelling careers and nonprofits, or stifling stories that posed a threat to those in positions of power.
What effectively served as a media blackout extended to high-profile divorce and custody cases often involving executives employed by Google, Facebook, Apple, PayPal, Netflix, venture capitalists, and Silicon Valley real estate moguls. When allegations of domestic violence are involved, the public has a right to know about abusive individuals in positions of great power.
In 2017, local and national media focused on the criminal prosecution of former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, and related recall of Santa Clara County Judge Arron Persky. However, during this same period, media coverage of Neha Rastogi, the voice of Apple’s Siri, whose ten-year marriage to Abhishek Gattani involved allegations of felony domestic violence, was notably absent. Daily Beast reporter Michael Daly, unaware of the BBMP’s influence, covered the story, highlighting the lack of attention from local news outlets with exclusive BBMP access.
DA Jeff Rosen’s approach to Rastogi’s case raised eyebrows, as prosecutor Steve Fein allowed the case to be reduced to a misdemeanor despite recordings of abuse and history documented by the Sunnyvale police. Fein justified the plea as “fair,” revealing Rosen’s reluctance to pursue felony prosecutions that might lead to the deportation of high-value Silicon Valley executives, according to Daly.
Divorce lawyers, and Favors Nonprofits Garnered with the District Attorney
While serving as a board member for the Domestic Violence Intervention Coalition (DVIC), divorce attorney Constance Carpenter found herself at the intersection of two high-profile divorce cases. Strikingly, neither of Carpenter’s cases garnered any media coverage.
In one divorce case, Carpenter represented Jennifer Higgins Bradanini, founder of the San Jose Women’s March and key figure in the campaign to recall Judge Persky. Remarkably, despite the public visibility of both, the divorce case went unnoticed by local media. Judge Towery concurrently presided over the Bench-Bar-Media-Police committee (BBMP).
In the second divorce case, Carpenter represented Jason Lugaresi, son of a prominent Los Gatos Mormon family deeply entrenched in Silicon Valley’s tech and real estate sectors. Jason married Gen, a Filipino woman he met while on his Mormon mission in the Philippines. Their union led to Jason collecting a dowry with promises of providing Gen and her son with a better life in America.
In 2012, Jason’s parents claimed financial distress, compelling Jason to return to the United States to aid in paying the mortgage on the family home in Los Gatos. Gen and her son were immediately relegated to live in a camper in the family garage, where an old motorcycle and leaking gasoline cans sat nearby.
Gen went to work for La Rinconada Country Club. All of her wages were confiscated by the Lugaresi family in order to pay rent they claimed she owed for living in a camper.
Trapped within the confines of the Mormon household, Gen was unable to voice grievances of abuse she endured as her mother-in-law persistently reminded her of her marital duties.
Police Investigate Dominant Aggressors in Domestic Violence Cases
In the summer of 2012, Gen returned home from work to find her son playing video games with Jason and his brother Michael. Upset that her son had been neglected and exposed to video games instead of the educational activities promised by Jason during their marriage, a verbal dispute erupted, leading neighbors to call the Los Gatos police.
On June 26, 2012, Los Gatos police officers Shannon Knightstep and Leyton Howard responded to the Lugaresi home. The police report reveals challenges officers had communicating with Gen, due to her heavy Filipino accent. It further suggests officers doubted she was abused after Gen pointed to bruises on her brown skin. Despite noting the substandard living conditions in the camper, the officers failed to question the arrangement. Shockingly, after Michael Lugaresi confessed to assaulting his sister-in-law, Gen was deemed the primary aggressor and was arrested for domestic violence.
As Gen was incarcerated in the Santa Clara County Jail, she met Chaplain Mackey who facilitated her release. Shortly thereafter Mackey and his wife offered refuge to Gen and her son, and additionally offered financial help that allowed her to hire divorce lawyer Jason Pintar in response to the divorce case Jason Lugaresi filed with the help of Constance Carpenter.
Under a looming threat of deportation, Gen agreed to a divorce settlement that included a 50-50 custody arrangement, despite the fact her son was not Jason’s biological child.
However, after the divorce settled, Carpenter instigated further proceedings over custody. Judge James Towery presided over the case and assigned Morris Bisted to represent Gen’s son. Bisted recommended Gen be subject to professionally supervised visitation.
Despite Gen’s relentless efforts to cover legal expenses and costs of professionally supervised visits, the untimely death of Mr. Mackey left her in dire financial straits, leading to periods of homelessness and throwing her into a state of poverty. Consequently, Judge Towery denied her additional time with her son, leaving her relegated to supervised visitation.
Arrested during the MeToo Movement
In late 2017, Jason was arrested based on complaints Gen had lodged with the Los Gatos police from the time she was first arrested in 2012.
As Jason Lugaresi remained in jail awaiting his criminal trial, Judge Towery’s family court orders kept Gen on supervised visitation and required her to pay child support to Jason Lugaresi while he was incarcerated. Towery’s family court orders provided for Jason’s brother, Michael Lugaresi, to have full care, custody and control of Gen’s son, Ian, as he collected the child support Gen was required to pay.
When Gen reached out to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Victim Witness Services Office following Jason’s arrest, she was not referred to WomenSV, DVIC, or other county support groups for victims of domestic violence. She was only provided with a list of private divorce attorneys and pro bono attorney networks, none of whom were willing to provide her with any help, support, or legal representation.
Divorce Attorney Client Protection Plan
As she sat on the DVIC board and advocated for victims of domestic violence, Carpenter represented Jennifer Higgins Bradanini and Jason Lugaresi. Both divorce cases were assigned to Judge James Towery who was secretly presiding over the BBMP as he issued orders in the cases.
In the Lugaresi post-divorce proceedings, Carpenter filed a request to subject Gen to a restraining order. Carpenter was assisted by Gen’s son’s court appointed attorney, Morris Bisted. Judge Towery granted the request and set a hearing for midnight on January 15, 2019. Gen was forced to represent herself, unable to pay a lawyer.
Through a series of legal maneuvers commonly seen in cases before Judge Towery, Gen was subjected to a restraining order, and denied care and custody of her son after the criminal charges against her ex-husband were dropped. Eventually, Jason Lugaresi was permitted to move to Hawaii with Gen’s son, Ian, leaving Gen working in Silicon Valley, subjected to a domestic violence restraining order, and struggling to keep up on child support payments she owed.
Five years later, Gen has been left financially devastated and emotionally distraught over the loss of her only son whom she agreed to bring to America on the promise he would have a better life. In an interview with the Vanguard, Gen claimed she had been punished by California’s legal system for speaking up about the abuse she claimed to have suffered in a camper parked in an upscale Silicon Valley garage.
More Favorable Treatment From BBMP District Attorney
In the Bradanini divorce, Judge Towery deemed Bradanini’s activism a sufficient contribution to the community and did not require her to seek work. Bradanini was awarded a Range Roover as part of her final divorce settlement. However, before the ink was dry on the agreed upon divorce, Bradnaini, admittedly driving under the influence of prescription drugs, plowed her vehicle into Timothy Starkey who was hanging Christmas lights for a neighbor on Blossom Hill Road in Los Gatos. Starkey died instantly, according to police reports and neighbors who witnessed the gruesome scene.
At the scene of the incident, Bradanini confessed to the Los Gatos police, but was not arrested and was allowed to continue her political campaign for San Jose City Council. Only after she lost the election, was she criminally prosecuted. However, an appearance of political favoritism continued to taint the legal proceedings.
A plea deal approved by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office resulted in Bradanini’s criminal charges being reduced to a misdemeanor. Bradanini served no jail time after taking a man’s life, angering local victims’ rights advocacy groups.
Government Threats to Chill Speech with Restraining Orders
As the Lugaresi case garnered attention from a nurse on social media. As a mandated reporter, the nurse reached out to the Santa Clara county District Attorney to inquire about the Lugaresi divorce and related criminal case. She was immediately threatened with a restraining order by Santa Clara County prosecutor Oanh Tran.
The nurse then reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the FBI, believing the case involved not just child abuse and sexual violence, but human trafficking that had been concealed in family and criminal court proceedings.
In 2021 Jeff Rosen reportedly informed Gen Lugaresi that her case probably involved human trafficking, but he was unable to reopen the matter, as it had passed the statute of limitations, despite the fact her son remained in Hawaii with Jason and she remained subject to a restraining order issued by Judge Towery.
Where Can they Go?
For over a decade, complaints of alleged domestic violence have been ignored by police, the district attorney, nonprofits, and a county government that receives millions in state and federal funding to assist and educate the public about the complex issues involving domestic violence.
Following Vanguard’s 2023 reporting on WomenSV, the nonprofit’s founder has seemingly gone missing from the Silicon Valley community. After securing $250,000 in grant funding from the county in 2021, Ruth Parick purchased a home in Hawaii, sold her Los Altos home, and was notably absent from the Santa Clara County Domestic violence Conference where a WomenSV board member delivered WomenSV’s presentation.
In early 2023, Constance Carpenter joined the Hoover Krepelka law firm as Jim Hoover continued to remain on the WomenSV advisory board. Carpenter remains on the DVIC board.
In the same month Carpenter celebrated her association with the HK law firm, Michael Lugaresi (Jason’s brother) walked into a bank shooting and killing his estranged wife, Britney, and injuring her co- worker before turning the gun on himself. Britney and Micheal Lugaresi left behind a three-year-old daughter.
The Idaho reporter covering the story noted there had been “no history of domestic violence.”
The Davis Vanguard, and the freelance investigative reporting team, would like to thank the donors who made the Tainted Trials, Tarnished Headlines, Stolen Justice series possible in 2023. Please continue to subscribe and donate so this reporting can continue into 2024.
