From One Big House to Another

There are just those stories that make you shudder and shake your head. Despite her weak denials, the odds don't seem to be in her favor, based upon the fact that Susan Tabas Tepper is sitting in jail accused of assaulting her second nanny in a year. See Swinging Susie.

The Inquirer had a follow up article on Tepper after interviewing many of the cadre of nannies and crew of assorted workers employed by her, in Main Line nannies tell tales of terror. They pretty much support the view of the abused nannies, that Tepper is a sad, sick chick. This would be her own sad tale, but for the fact that she expressed her venom in a vocal and violent fashion on the help. Nothing like taking advantage of those least in a position to defend themselves:

Many at Tepper's seven-acre Villanova estate are illegal immigrants who worry she will report them to authorities. Others get paid under the table and don't want trouble from the IRS.

They all describe Tepper, 44, as a temperamental woman who could be funny and generous, but also demanding and explosive. They say she berated, bullied and pushed around the hired help, especially the immigrants who cleaned her house and cared for her four children, ages 2 through 13.

It's the same old story. Money can't buy you love, but it can stave off having to take care of things (including your kids) yourself:

Why did they stay? Money. The banking heiress paid up to $100 an hour, thousands of dollars for overnight stays or to lure back those who quit or were fired in a fit of pique, say former employee Xiomara D. Salinas and others. Some housekeepers earned $100,000 a year.

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Staff worked nearly round the clock, with one shift getting the children up and another putting them to bed. They took them to activities, did the shopping, and ran errands. Some lived in. But they could be fired on the spot.

When the longtime nanny would put Dagny, Tepper's daughter, to bed, the girl would say to her, " 'I love you. You're going to be here tomorrow morning, aren't you?' They never knew if we'd be around the next day," the woman said.

Reading about Tepper reminded me of one of my former law partners who ran through nannies at home and secretaries in the office with Tepper-like speed. In typical bully fashion, he would belittle the support staff in the office, often reducing them to tears. Word was that he treated his nannies at home the same way. In an eerie echo of a tale I once heard about my partner, a nanny described Tepper's temper:

Stacy Leshner said she had witnessed Tepper's fury.

"Oh, my God, she was so mean to Ula," said the Pennsylvania State University student, who worked for Tepper last summer and last month. "When Ula was there, I was really, really happy because I wouldn't get yelled at. Ula was taking all the heat."

Kordzior, who is Polish, was fired and rehired repeatedly over 10 years, ex-workers said.

"She told me, 'I hate Ula. I can't stand her,' " said the longtime nanny, who still has flashbacks. "She would say to her kids, 'Isn't Ula ugly? Tell her she's ugly.' "

One night Kordzior was crying after an enraged Tepper grabbed and twisted the front of her shirt, the nanny recalled. "She was very hands-on like that and in your face."

Police said that on May 20, Tepper scratched Kordzior's face and lip and shoved
her to the ground as the housekeeper tried to get in her car. Tepper also allegedly called the woman's 9-year-old daughter a "bitch" and pushed her out of the way.

And then, if that weren't enough, the Inquirer followed that piece with another article about another rich Main Line family who had a highly regarded, beloved, long term teacher at Baldwin fired because they didn't like the way she (supposedly) treated their daughter. See High stakes in teacher-parent clash. The parents threatened to pull a big donation to the school unless the teacher was dumped, which she was.

Fragile child, no doubt -- having to live with parents like this -- who wouldn't be? After all, they've shown her that everyone is disposable. A valuable lesson to learn early on.

The Save Ardmore Coalition said it best in, To Say You Are From The Main Line is Pretty Embarrassing These Days, commenting on these articles:

[They] read like a warped version of Armistead Maupin's 'Tales of the City'. Or a tabloid like The New York Post. Why?

Because in the ever widening gap between the haves and have nots....in Lower Merion....we have more tales of 'Money Doesn't Know Who Owns It', 'Agree With Me or You're Fired', 'I Can Beat You: You're Just 'The Help''."

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