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Brinkley, Cook stockpile evidence for divorce case

BY LUIS PEREZ | luis.perez@newsday.com

8:28 PM EDT, July 1, 2008

She's got women ready to testify about her husband's cheating ways. He's got birthday cards to show he's a good father.

Lawyers for Christie Brinkley, 54, and Peter Cook, 49, are loaded with ammunition for Day One of the celebrity divorce trial of the season, which begins Wednesday in a Central Islip courtroom.

In Brinkley's corner: Carri Lyn Ciamarra, a second woman identified as one of Cook's conquests, who has been subpoenaed to testify, according to Amy Jacobs, a spokeswoman for the Uptown Girl. And in Cook's war chest, lawyers have amassed letters, cards and published articles that, in Brinkley's own words, portray Cook as a good father.

"The truth shall set you free," said Norman Sheresky of Manhattan, who represents Cook. "My strategy will be to show that he has been a terrific father."

Brinkley's attorney, Robert S. Cohen of Manhattan, shot back: "The first phase of the litigation is the betrayal part, in which Mr. Cook's adultery and cruelty will have to be proven in order to give Christie a divorce."

It was Cook's admitted adultery with 18-year-old Diana Bianchi in 2006 that set off the couple's troubles after 10 years of marriage.

Expected to last four weeks, the trial will first hash out marital issues, them focus on custody and property disputes, according to a schedule set by Acting State Supreme Court Justice Mark D. Cohen.

Cook, a Bridgehampton architect who is Brinkley's fourth husband, is challenging a prenuptial agreement that sets aside three boats and several parcels of East End real estate for her. Brinkley's $30-million home in Bridgehampton is not in dispute.

Cook fathered a daughter, Sailor Lee, 9, with the former model. He also adopted Brinkley's son, Jack, 12, whom she had with Richard Taubman. Brinkley also has a daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, 22, with Billy Joel. Her first marriage was to artist Jean-François Allaux.

The case got messy even before the trial began. Along with Ciamarra, 31, a fitness model from Westchester, Brinkley's attorneys have also subpoenaed Bianchi, now 21, to testify in the first days of the trial, according to Jacobs.

Ciamarra, who was and remains married, had a relationship with Cook in 2007, sources close to the case said.

Two weeks ago, the judge ruled against a petition to close the courtroom that was submitted by a legal guardian for the children. Cook's lawyers supported the motion to close the courtroom, while Brinkley's attorneys opposed it.