He testified that he told Dorrejo he would set up a bank account and supply her with a credit card for traveling expenses to New York to buy merchandise.

During his deposition, Melgen said there were transfers and credit cards “close to $900,000.”

“There was a degree of trust here, and that I thought she was going to commit on her part and, obviously, she didn’t,” he said. Melgen testified that at some point he tried to get their agreement in writing, but she refused.

Between October 1998 and July 2000, the sum of $641,217.32 was deposited into the account, Melgen’s attorney said during the deposition. That included $95,000 Melgen gave to Dorrejo in October 1998 to purchase commercial space in Santo Domingo. Dorrejo testified that the money was a birthday gift.

Melgen said he tried to establish a business relationship with a man from Vertigo by directing Dorrejo to invite him to Casa de Campo, the Dominican resort where he owns a home.

Melgen testified that Dorrejo moved into an apartment he bought in Santo Domingo around 1999.

During their romance, he said, he went to the Dominican Republic about every six weeks for three or four days at a time. They would stay at a hotel.

When asked why they didn’t stay in her apartment, Melgen said, “Well, she — since I was — since I am a married man, I was a married man then, she was very concerned that she didn’t want [me] to be seen” entering her apartment. “Later on I find out that she had a lover there and that was the reason.”

Sometimes they took trips, once staying on a yacht in the Bahamas. When in Palm Beach, they would stay together in hotels.

Melgen said he gave Dorrejo money to buy a Mercedes Benz . She used his money for shopping sprees at high-end South Florida shops, once spending $1,059 on a pair of Fendi pants in Bal Harbour.

Their relationship soured in 2000. Melgen said that he had been requesting information regarding his investment and Dorrejo delayed responding.

“And basically one day I call and she had a lover in the apartment who answered the phone,” he said. The lover, who was involved in setting up the Vertigo deal, threatened to kill Melgen and offered to pay him for his investment in Vertigo, Melgen testified. Melgen then asked Dorrejo to move out.

She testified that the relationship ended three months after that telephone call, and said that Melgen harassed her. Melgen testified that Dorrejo had falsely accused him of harassment and death threats.

Dorrejo testified that Melgen “would make calls to witch doctors… he believed in all this esoteric stuff, and cards and stuff, and he loved to call up people and have them say these strange things.”

Melgen said his wife, Flor, didn’t know about his affair when it first started but after she heard rumors, she confronted him and he told her about it.

And then in 2001, Dorrejo called Melgen’s wife.

“Miss Dorrejo called my house and spoke with her at very length with a lot of details,” Melgen testified. Later in the deposition he said: “My wife told her, are you a prostitute that you need to be paid for your time.”

When asked if he was in love with Dorrejo, Melgen said “Yes, I was.” But he added that he was not upset that the relationship ended.

“Because at the time — I mean I was upset because obviously, but I thought at the time it was — when I find out that she was carrying out a relationship for such a long time and being with me at the same time, I thought that she was very dishonest.”