Left: Rudy Giuliani attends the game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium on May 28, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City, days after his son says he gifted him World Series rings (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images). Right: Andrew Giuliani, his wife, and his father pose for a photo with the rings (court documents).
Rudy Giuliani and his son, Andrew H. Giuliani, both plan to testify under oath that the former New York City mayor gifted four New York Yankees’ World Series rings to his progeny in an attempt to keep the championship jewelry from being turned over to the two Georgia election workers he defamed to the tune of $148 million.
In the aftermath of Giuliani’s bankruptcy case dismissal, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss, have litigated enforcement of the massive judgment they won against Giuliani, asking U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman to force Giuliani to “turn over personal property in his possession” — including several New York Yankees World Series rings from the team’s most recent championship seasons (excluding 2009).
Court records show Giuliani has rings from each of the Yankees’ titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. Three of those four rings are at the crux of a trial slated to begin next month.
In court documents filed Monday, an attorney representing Andrew Giuliani indicated that his client plans to testify for one hour during the trial.
The topic of the testimony was described as such:
“Rudolph W. Giuliani’s (“Mayor Giuliani”) gift to Andrew Giuliani of four New York Yankees World Series rings — one for each of the Yankees’ titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000, and each engraved with the name “Giuliani” (the “WS Rings”) — three of which are included in the personal property at issue in the judgment enforcement proceeding.”
Andrew Giuliani’s attorney also noted that he planned on questioning Rudy Giuliani regarding the rings for about 30 minutes.
Attorneys for Freeman and Moss also disclosed to the court that they planned to question Rudy Giuliani for about 30 minutes regarding “the ownership status and physical possession of the World Series Rings as well as to the circumstances around which he purportedly gifted the World Series Rings to his son.”
In October, Andrew Giuliani filed several documents claiming that the World Series rings in question belong to him and have for more than six years, as his father gifted them to him after a 74th birthday party in 2018.
“An order requiring transfer of these rings to Plaintiffs would permanently deprive Andrew of his ownership in them. He thus seeks permission to intervene,” one filing said. “The parties consent to this motion.”
The younger Giuliani said in a declaration that he has proof of the gifting: a photo taken with his wife and father after midnight on May 26, 2018.
“I arrived at the party that Friday night somewhat late but with enough time to enjoy seeing friends and family. After midnight and the departure of the guests, my father asked my wife and me to come to the master bedroom. There he opened a dresser drawer and removed four Yankees World Series rings — one for each of the Yankees’ titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000, and each encased in a separate wooden display box-which he had just reobtained from his then-wife in their divorce proceedings,” the filing said, before recalling the “substance” of what Rudy Giuliani said about the rings.
“He said to me, in substance and in part, ‘I told you when I got these that they would be yours someday, and I want to give them to you now,”” Andrew Giuliani said. “As a child and young adult, I had spent many nights with my father watching Yankees games and bonding over our love for the team, and I was excited about receiving the rings.”
The filing added that it’s his “understanding then and today is that these four World Series rings were a gift from my father and that they have belonged to me since May 26, 2018.”
In addition to the World Series rings, the other issue that will be dealt with at trial is the applicability of the Florida Homestead Exemption to Rudy Giuliani’s condominium in Palm Beach, Florida, which is valued at about $3.5 million.
Rudy Giuliani in July filed court documents claiming the condo was his permanent residence. The plaintiffs have challenged that contention because, under Florida law, Rudy Giuliani’s permanent residence could be protected from the debt collection process.
The trial is scheduled to begin in the Southern District of New York on Jan. 16, 2025.
