Unqualified Administrator Made Rucki Custody Recommendation

(Judge David Knutson, Minnesota 1st Judicial District)

An unqualified bureaucrat made a key custody recommendation in the Rucki case.

Laura Miles is a the State Family Court Division Manager at Minnesota State Guardian ad Litem Board, according to her Linkedin profile.

Her Linkedin profile states that she has “(a) demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. Skilled in Communication, Relationship Building, Organizational 

Leadership, Family Law, and Juvenile Court. Strong program and project management professional with a Post Graduate Certificate focused in Forensic Mental Health from Concordia University-St. Paul.”

Somehow, Miles was allowed to do a guardian ad litem report in which she made custody recommendations, in the divorce of Sandra Grazzini-Rucki (SGR) and David Rucki, recommending that David Rucki receive sole custody.

Miles Report by mikekvolpe on Scribd

“It is the opinion of this writer that the children’s best interests are served by granting sole and physical custody to their father, David Rucki,” Miles said in the report dated August 29, 2013. “Ms. Grazzini-Rucki has made multiple allegations of abuse of Mr. Rucki; however, this reporter could find no substantiations by the professionals involved of said abuse.”

It’s not clear how someone with experience in administration could be allowed to make judgments on custody but Miles was appointed on the case by Judge David Knutson, of Minnesota’s First Judicial District.

Neither responded to emails for an explanation.

Knutson held a custody trial on September 11-12th, 2013, in which Miles testified to her conclusions. 

Miles was the second GAL on the case after Julie Friedrich. Friedrich is a non-practicing attorney but still accused SGR of parental alienation, a psychological term.

Friedrich left the case in May 2013, shortly after the two oldest girls, Samantha and Gianna, ran and disappeared on April 19, 2013.

It’s noteworthy that one of the professionals to whom Miles refers, in the report, to not find evidence of abuse was Jim Gilbertson, a therapist also appointed on the case by Knutson on September 7, 2012. 

In the audio recording, starting at 3:10 and until 4:51, Samantha, who made the recording shortly after she ran, describes how Gilbertson gets sexually aroused after touching her shoulder and back.

In the same audio Samantha described how her father ripped an organ leg off an organ and choked her mother with it and then referring to Dr. Gilbertson response, she stated, "unless you have a videotape of this incident going down, that did not- like that never happened. That was always their excuse, 'well you do not have videotape, and I'd be like well, yes, when my mom is getting beaten to death, I'm going to videotape this."

"And then my dad, before the divorce, he'd always come home drunk or he'd beat my mom to no end." Samantha also said in the audio recording above (starting at 4:51 of the recording), "He's choked, slapped and hit, her and verbally abused her throughout their marriage, and he's lost it on us kids a number of times. I mean, he threw Nia into a couch and started choking her once and Nia's my little sister and she's eleven."

Samantha also described how her father made sexual comments, "like how my boobs were looking bigger" and that her father would run his hands up her thigh.

Somehow, Miles found no evidence of abuse though.

Instead, Miles also stated in her report, "Ms. Grazzini-Rucki demonstrates a willful, consistent disregard for this court process and has refused to comply with several court orders."

This report was made again on August 29, 2013.

In the previous year, here are some things which happened to SGR as a result of the court.

On September 7, 2012, she was ordered out of the home she lived on for more than a decade by a court order of Judge David Knutson. That court order is below.

G168-1201-0006 by mikekvolpe on Scribd

That court order followed a non-traditional telephonic conference on September 5, 2012, which she did not attend. She was not made aware of the court order until the morning September 7. A transcript of this highly unusual non-hearing is below.

G168-1201-0669 by mikekvolpe on Scribd

Having been thrown out of her home, she was left homeless. She was also only allowed to see her five children twice from September 7, 2012, until now, but in that case, August 29, 2013.

Both those visits were supervised.

Judge Knutson ordered Tammy Love, her ex-husband's sister, to live in the family home and temporarily take care of the children on September 7, 2012, taking custody away from both parents.

But the children ran that day- September 7, 2012- to the police station and were allowed to stay with SGR's sister.

Then, on April 19, 2013, her five children were again ordered to live with their paternal aunt in their family home and told this would be temporary until they would live with their father.

SGR was not told of this and she was surprised that day with a frantic phone call from her two oldest daughters- Samantha and Gianna- who ran rather that being forced to live with their father.

"We're running with or without you," she was told by her daughters.

This is what the court orders had created in her life and yet, according to Ms. Miles, she was at fault and Miles could not understand why SGR wouldn't follow the court's instructions.

"This reporter is somewhat baffled by the conduct of Ms. Grazzini-Rucki," Miles stated in her report.

Miles even added a bald face lie, "According to reports and court records agreed to Tammy Love having temporary custody of the children in 2012 and at one point agreed to 'give custody to the father.'"

In that same September 5, 2012, telephonic conference, Lisa Henry, SGR's then attorney states, "My client's position is that the children should remain in her care."

Miles does not cite which court records and reports this was in.

The September 5, 2012, conference was not attended by SGR; the September 7, 2012, order, was done based on that conference, and since she didn't attend, SGR could not have given any consent.

Miles claims later, "Ms. Grazzini-Rucki refused to meet with this Guardian ad Litem."

If that's the case, SGR never told Miles that she wanted to give custody to the father and since the custody arrangement was determined at the September 5, 2012, non-hearing, there is no place when SGR made either stipulation.

Miles assertions- that SGR wanted to give up custody to David and she agreed to Tammy taking over temporary custody- are absurd.

If SGR wanted to give custody to David Rucki, why would she have taken her two girls to the horse farm for abused children run by Doug and Gina Dahlen when they ran on April 19, 2013.

She never said this nor did she ever give her consent for Tammy Love to move in.

Maybe, if Miles was qualified to do one of these reports, she might know that none of this is allowed.