Posted: Feb. 5, 2013

RICHARD KORN SUES THE HAND THAT RAISED HIM 

By Celia Cohen
Grapevine Political Writer

Not even an arrest for dealing in kiddie porn could cow Richard Korn. He has sued his own mother.

Not only that, if he wins, her home would be sold from under her. She is 93. Also widowed.

Korn should not necessarily be a household political name, but he is working on it.

He is a serial candidate who moved to Delaware from New York after striking out in politics there and winding up in bankruptcy. Running as a Democrat, he lost races here for New Castle County executive in a party primary in 2004, state representative in 2006 and state auditor in 2010.

After making no progress into either the legislative or executive branches, Korn has landed loudly in the judicial with both criminal and civil actions.

The criminal came first, the subject of a press release last month from the New Castle County Police, saying detectives found child erotica and pornography on Korn's home computer in Hockessin. After being jailed briefly and making bail, he issued a statement, which WDEL 1150 AM radio quoted as saying he expected to be exonerated.

The civil action followed last Thursday, when Korn went to the Court of Chancery to sue Sylvia Korn, his mother, for an unspecified amount of money. What would make Richard Korn do such a thing is a mystery because Richard Abbott, his attorney, did not return messages asking about it.

A family spokesperson for Sylvia Korn said there would be no comment at this time.

It seems from the court filing there was once a lot of money flowing from mother to son, until she cut him off for some reason about six months ago, and now he wants the court to maker her give him some more money again.

Richard Korn petitioned the court to divide a Morgan Stanley investment account, which he said was in gold mining stock, between them and also to order the sale of his mother's Coffee Run condominium in Hockessin with half the proceeds going to him.

Sylvia Korn had added Richard Korn to the condo title and to the investment account in 2010 but did not stop there, as the court filing said, because "Mrs. Korn has also given significant gifts over the last eight years or so to Mr. Korn, gifting literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to him."

It ended when Sylvia Korn froze the investment account last summer and declined to unfreeze it since, even though Korn says there is $195,000 of his own money in it. He wants the account to be liquidated, his $195,000 returned and the rest split between them.

Korn also wants his half-interest in the condo, along with attorney fees, court costs, pre-judgment interest, post-judgment interest and anything else the court would consider giving him.

Maybe a heart?

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