What do you say to a man who takes his son out of State in violation of court orders? You know, the explicit orders from Alaska Judge Roy Madsen, the one who had the power to grant or deny Neil Mackay’s wish for full custody of Scotty Mackay? It wasn’t like Madsen was coy. He expressly ordered that you — speaking directly to you, Mr. Neil Mackay — “not remove Scotty from the State of Alaska during any visitation” without meeting several critical pre-conditions. “You knew they were explicit, right Neil?” In fact, one was quite explicit: make a “security” deposit. And that wasn’t all.
Don’t pretend you can’t read. To leave the State, you had to:
2) obtain the full and express consent of the legal Guardians and Custodians of Scotty and that such removal not exceed the express period of time consented to; 3) [ensure] that a nurse maid/governess, satisfactory to the Court as set forth in "#4 above", is employed to accompany Mr. Mackay and Scotty, with the responsibility to report to the Guardians-Custodians on a regular basis the status of the parties during said trip; and 4) [be in] full agreement [...] that Scotty will be returned if, for good reason shown, the Guardians-Custodians feel it is necessary and in Scotty's best interests and welfare.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering about “#4” (embedded above)? That refers to your sister, Carolina Willis, along with her husband, Alfred. Remember her? Not to be confused with Jean Sullivan (whoever she is besides no relation whatsoever). Here’s the text. Let’s read #4 above together. Actually, let’s start with #3.
3. That the best interests and welfare of the child, Scotty P. Mackay, dictate that he be left in the temporary care and custody of Alfred and Carolina Willis, who are capable of and have been functioning as Surrogate Parents [and] present the least detriment to the child's welfare because of their love and concern for him... [And]
4. That Alfred and Carolina Willis should be appointed as Co-Guardians of the Person and Estate of Neil P. Mackay AKA "Scotty."
You’re a great lawyer, right Neil? Right? You understand these things. They’re engrained. But let’s move along, shall we… Am I to believe what you said when you first arrived back in Alaska? Because I want to believe you. I really do. You seemed contrite when you said:
- I realize that my actions from December 15, 1977 to March 22, 1978 have created an atmosphere of apprehension and concern with this court that will be difficult to dispel.
- I wish to stress that at all times I have behaved toward my son in such a way as to reflect my love and concern for the boy.
- I love my son and believe I am a good parent, and am as desirous as ever to have the permanent custody of Scotty, and to have Scotty living with me at this time. I appreciate, however, that the Court is of necessity concerned that its present and future orders be obeyed, and I am willing and anxious to cooperate fully with the Court in this regard.
- My motives from December 15, 1977 to March 22, 1978, while they may not be considered a defense in future court actions for contempt, must be considered in mitigation by this court.
- My motives were those of a father whose love for his son overcame other considerations for a time. I will cooperate to the fullest extent possible and accept any reasonable demands requested by the court to convince it of my sincerity.
That’s good, Neil. That’s good. Although you are equivocating a bit, right, with that “reasonable demands” thing? In that spirit, I’d like to show you something else, also from Judge Roy H. Madsen. He sort of anticipated your little Majuro adventure. Well, who could anticipate something that extreme?
Further, that so long is this Order remains in force and effect, IT IS ORDERED that Neil S. Mackay is not to remove Scotty from the State of Alaska during any visitation without (1) first posting with the Court a performance bond in the sum of $250,000.00 which may be in the form of a secured Property Bond, guaranteeing full and faithful compliance of the Orders of the Court with respect to Scotty.
So that was the issue, wasn’t it? The Court couldn’t get you to go along with the program, could it? And I hate to mention this, but it seems that Robert H. Wagstaff — you know, Scotty’s lawyer in this matter? A man you passionately dislike? Anyway, Wagstaff did some homework and here’s what he told the Court, right after you got back to Alaska. Which ultimately led of his recommendations, you might say.
He [Wagstaff] has been unable to find any assets in Alaska belonging to you [Neil S. Mackay]. For example, he has been informed that the Mackay Building [which you once "owned"], belongs to a person named Barbara Homay [your ex-wife, I believe]. And that Neil S. Mackay has no listed real property on the Municipality tax rolls.
What that meant, according to Mr. Wagstaff, was that “if the Court orders any fines for contempt or assessments for costs associated with Scotty’s recovery… That it will have to set a substantial bond for those orders to have any meaning.” Because with no local assets, there’s nothing to “lien on.”
Judge Carlson, in fact, had already recommended increasing your bond to $500,000, since, as he put it, you’ve shown you can’t be trusted. Oh, wait. They’ve already tried that. Yeah. Starting on December 11, 1977, Judge Madsen placed a judicial lien “upon all property wherever situated in the State of Alaska and whether real, personal or mixed, belonging to Neil S. Mackay.” And since then that lien… has been accruing at the rate of ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS AND NO/100 ($1,000.00) per day.
Of course, that whole “blood from a stone” thing applies here, doesn’t it? So by the end of March 1978, you might owe the State another $111,000. Emphasis on “might.” Hope you got the dough, though… Because actually, it gets worse. Remember those March 6, 1977 provisions? The ones Judge Madsen published in his Temporary Custody Order when he mentioned the $250 Grand? How could you forget them? Well, I guess you finally remembered, right? Good boy, Neil. Good boy. And such a move, eh? Getting them to pay you interest!
Oh, and… Welcome back!
P.S. Neil Mackay’s total 1978 Certificate of Deposit with the Clerk of the Court would be worth $2,440,421.78 in 2026 dollars. Yeah, somehow the guy just managed to “find it” somewhere.
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