M. Gessen

He used to wear cowboy boots and big leather hats.

Now he was dressed in a white shirt and a gray blazer.

Defense attorneys often counseled their clients on what to wear to trial.

The plain white shirt could communicate respect for the court.

The blazer was non-threatening.

But it was Allen's physical transformation that struck me.

He was thin, something he'd never been.

He was stooped.

He'd let his beard grow long and gray.

Well played, Alan, I thought.

We both grew up with stories of our very talented, very entrepreneurial, and somewhat famous great-grandfather.

When he was arrested in Stalin's Russia, he grew a long gray beard to make sure he was perceived as an old man by the court.

That didn't help our great-grandfather, but maybe Alan thought it was worth trying in an American court.

My family had learned a lot in the months since Alan was arrested.

We already knew about the time he took his son, O, from Russia and moved to the U.S.

without telling Priscilla.

And the time he took O from the U.S.

and went to Canada, again without telling Priscilla.

Now we also knew about all the things that had happened to Priscilla during their separation.

How she was evicted, beaten by hired thugs, arrested twice, held for two weeks.