A male nurse from New York voluntarily confessed to setting the 1999 blaze that killed billionaire Edmond Safra and admitted that he made up a story about confronting intruders to make himself look like a hero, a senior judicial official told two members of Congress.  

Addressing criticism from the family of Ted Maher, a former Green Beret from Stormville who cared for the ailing 67-year-old banker until his death on Dec. 3, 1999, the director of judiciary services for the tiny European principality wrote U.S. Reps. Sue Kelly and Benjamin Gilman of New York that Maher is not being made a scapegoat, as some have suggested.  

"The criticisms made of the Monaco judicial system have proved after an objective examination of the contents of the dossier to be unjustified, even slanderous," the official, Patrice Davost, wrote in a June 7 letter to the two upstate New York lawmakers.  

Davost sent the six-page letter in response to one Kelly and Gilman mailed to Prince Rainier III late last year expressing their concerns about the claims that Maher, 43, was coerced into signing a confession. Heidi Maher said her husband was forced to sign a self-incriminating document written in French, which he does not read or write, after being told by police that they were holding her and that he would never see her or the couple's three children again unless he signed.  

"We have been following this case closely, and based on reports we have received, we believe that the international human rights and civil liberties of this American citizen and his family have clearly been violated," Kelly and Gilman wrote.  

The letter from Monaco, which was translated into English by the Congressional Research Service, represents the first in-depth response to allegations that Maher's rights were violated since he was arrested by police 19 months ago.  

According to Monaco authorities, Maher stumbled bleeding into the lobby of Safra's bank building and personal penthouse at about 5 a.m. on Dec. 3, 1999, and told the concierge that he was stabbed by two hooded intruders and that Safra and nurse Vivian Torrente were hiding.  

Believing initially that there were intruders, police blocked firefighters from entering the building for nearly an hour after Maher was taken to a hospital to be treated for stab wounds to his abdomen and thigh. Safra and Torrente, who were in regular contact with a nursing supervisor via a cellphone Maher gave them, died from carbon monoxide fumes in Safra's ultra-secure penthouse residence.  

On Nov. 23, 2000, according to Davost's letter, Chief Examining Magistrate Patricia Richet questioned Ted Maher during a closed pretrial court hearing about the claims of his wife and mother-in-law that he was coerced into confessing and that Heidi Maher was held against her will for three days when she tried to visit him in the hospital.  

"What explanation have you for this?" Richet asked Ted Maher, according to Davost's letter.  

"I know that my wife has received many reports from investigative journalists here and who came to Monaco to make inquiries," Maher allegedly replied. "I have tried to tell my wife the truth about what really happened here ... but my wife does not want to believe it because this is not me. That is to say, this does not correspond to my character nor the way I usually behave."  

Richet has yet to formally conclude her pretrial investigation, which will determine the charges Maher will face during a trial expected to begin this fall. Kelly and Gilman did not return repeated calls for comment about the letter.  

Heidi Maher, who is also a nurse, said she was angry when she received a copy of the letter from Davost last week. Davost denied that Heidi Maher was held against her will or that her passport was confiscated.  

"I was certainly held against my will and my passport was taken," Heidi Maher told Court TV this week. "I'm willing to take a polygraph test if that is required."  

A judge in Upstate New York has yet to rule on a motion by Heidi Maher to depose Safra's widow, Lily Safra, and other members of the Safra organization about their role in the alleged abduction. Lily Safra's attorney opposed the motion, claiming that it amounts to pre-lawsuit discovery and that Heidi Maher has no grounds to sue anyway.  

Heidi Maher's lawyer, Mark Kurzmann, said the response to the congressional members' letter is inadequate and did not address many of the concerns that were raised about Heidi Maher's treatment in the days following the fire and her husband's hospitalization.  

"The six-page letter is embarrassingly misleading and evasive. It is as notable for its glaring omissions as it is for its confirmation of some of Heidi Maher's key claims," Kurzmann said in a statement.  

"Even Messr. Davost concedes that the Maher room at the Hotel Balmoral was searched by police personnel in Heidi's presence. Yet, in a narrative replete with detailed facts, figures and adroit excuses, he offers no justification for this plainly warrantless search," Kurzmann's statement continued. "Not even Davost contends that Mrs. Maher consented to this gross violation of civilized norms. Nor, does he state that such searches and seizures are legal under his law."  

Heidi Maher, citing legal advice, declined to discuss the letter's claim that Ted Maher tried to convince her that he intentionally set the fire to win favor with his wealthy boss. She said that when she last spoke to her husband Wednesday morning, as she does every week, he sounded anxious for the trial to begin.  

"It's tough on him. His birthday, my birthday and two of the kids' birthdays just passed," Heidi Maher said.  

Michael Griffith, a New York lawyer helping Ted Maher's Monegasque defense team, said a recent New York Post column that discussed a possible plea bargain was erroneous and fully expects the case to go to trial.  

   Even if the trial judges refuse to accept Maher's contention that he was stabbed by intruders and that he lit a fire under an alarm to alert authorities, there is nothing in the disputed confession that rises to the intent necessary to hold Maher responsible for the two deaths, Griffith said.  

"Either way, whether there were intruders or whether he is stuck with the confession, there was no intent," Griffith said.