The trainwreck in Cook County

Eddie Engles got slapped down a lot by opposing counsel and the judge.

Judge Regina Scannichio from Fra Noi

The scene was akin to a slow moving trainwreck in the courtroom of Cook County, Illinois Judge Regina Scannichio on December 16, 2024.

On one side was Eddie Engles, representing himself.

On the other side was his ex-girlfriend Feliza Castro, represented by two lawyers from the Beerman Law Group: Enrico Mirabelli and Jonathan Steele.

Jonathon Steele conferring with his client during a break in the hearing on December 16, 2024.

It wasn’t a fair fight, akin to the doormat NFL team versus a high school team.

Eddie came in hoping to introduce exhibits like text messages and emails from his daughter and the testimony of Dr. James T. O’Donnell.

Steele, who took the lead in the hearing, easily got most of Eddie’s evidence dismissed.

He argued that his daughter’s emails and text messages were hearsay, while he argued that Dr. O’Donnell’s testimony was no longer relevant. It would have been devastating if it mirrored his affidavit.

Dr. O’Donnell, if he stuck to his affidavit, would have testified that Feliza has a drug problem, mental health issues, and she should only see her daughter in a supervised setting.

Mr. Steele easily knocked the witness out by arguing that Dr. O’Donnell’s conclusions were incorporated into a previous court order.

Jonathan Steele, from the Beermann Law Group website.

Indeed, that’s correct. Dr. O’Donnell- one of many court appointees on this case- had his term end in March of 2024. That’s when the parties agreed to an order that Eddie has been trying ever since to change.

The current court order gives Feliza physical custody, despite Dr. O’Donnell’s findings. Mr. Steele argued correctly that Dr. O’Donnell could offer nothing new, so his testimony was moot.

Judge Scannichio is a stickler for rules, so his testimony wasn’t allowed. It is why Eddie’s daughter’s text messages weren’t allowed, because that’s hearsay.

Except, one of the motions Eddie filed was to allow his daughter an on-camera interview. Judge Scannichio denied that also. Eddie argued that Feliza is still doing drugs. His daughter may be a witness. If her text messages aren’t allowed and she’s not allowed to testify, how does he prove it?

Judge Scannichio also applied the rules rather haphazardly. Even as Eddie was denied a chance to submit evidence repeatedly, she allowed Mr. Steele to both present evidence, raise objections, and to testify.

Generally, lawyers aren’t supposed to testify in cases they are trying, though this may have been a good exception. Mr. Steele testified to how much work he had done on this case in the previous six months, in lieu of attorney’s fees.

Who else, but Mr. Steel, could provide testimony on that matter? He charges Feliza $475 per hour, Enrico probably charges more, and she has at least one more attorney, Max Goodman, in a defamation case she brought against Eddie.

So, now, we get back to this March 2024 court order. If Dr. O’Donnell presented evidence that Feliza was using drugs, why would Eddie agree to give her physical custody? Why agree to an order you then fight vociferously?

He was pressured; he told me. This was the best deal he would get.

This was not the first, second or even third court order in this case. In fact, the case started in 2013. The parties discussed court orders in 2015, 2018, 2022, and 2024 in the hearing on Monday.

Feliza has at different times had supervised visits, 50/50, and now physical custody.

Feliza has been able to use the old family court fan favorite of parental alienation to increase her custody time.

Feliza has had court whores like Dr. David Finn and Pam Kuzniar bolster this claim.

Finn didn’t care, instead finding Engels guilty- so to speak- of parental alienation.

His evaluation downplayed the drug test failures, and it recommended Castro get custody.

I reached out to Dr. Finn, but he did not respond to my voicemail at his office.

Finn and Kuzniar, are two of several court appointees who have made a lot of money making sure this case never ends. I reached out to Kuzniar, but she did not respond to my email for comment.

With Finn, Kuzniar and others ready to testify, Dr. O’Donnell’s testimony would have likely been drowned out.

So, Eddie took a bad deal. The real loser is his daughter, forced to continue in an environment she hates, as the text messages which weren’t allowed in would have revealed.