Fight Bigamy

Michigan Man Could be Charged with Bigamy

Milford police are awaiting word from the Oakland County, Michigan's Prosecutor’s Office on whether or not charges will be filed against a Milford man who recently got married in Las Vegas while he was still married to someone else.

The 48-year-old man could face a charge of bigamy, which is a felony.

The man’s first wife, 41, contacted police May 27 after finding out her husband married a 22-year-old Toronto woman on April 22 at the Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas strip. The first wife didn’t serve him with divorce papers until May 20.

Milford police investigators said the Michigan Department of Community Health confirmed on June 10 that there was no record of divorce on file for the man and his first wife.

According to reports, the first wife said her husband admitted to dating the 22-year-old last November, but she had tried to save the marriage for the sake of their daughter.

Her husband left unexpectedly after attending church with her and their daughter on April 19, then telephoned her the next day, distraught and asking for money. She reportedly transferred several thousands of dollars into his checking account, and when he returned home April 24, she drove to the airport to pay his parking fee because he hadn’t been able to.

She learned about the Las Vegas wedding after receiving in the mail documentation from the state of Nevada and payment requests for sending court paperwork overnight.

The man reportedly said he was drunk when he married the 22-year-old and that she had filled out the paperwork. He said he thought the wedding had been a joke, police said, and was trying to get an annulment. The cost of the ceremony was reportedly $129.

The marriage certificate stated the man was widowed in January 2007, police said.

Police asked the man how he could blame the wedding on his being drunk, when he had purchased wedding rings two days prior. The man then asked for an attorney, police said.

Police have been unable to contact the 22-year-old wife.

From HometownLife.com by Aileen Wingblad

Man Allegedly Commits Bigamy in Ohio Ordered to Jail by a Florida Judge

A man accused of coming to Ohio to commit bigamy was ordered jailed by a Florida judge Tuesday. Victor Thomas Clavizzao surrendered to the United States Marshall Tuesday morning, and was ordered to be detained pending a 60-month sentence.

Clavizzao was convicted of mortgage fraud and was to begin his sentence on July 14. He is accused of fleeing to Lisbon, OH (a bigamy misdemeanor state) and marrying Jacqueline Dean without divorcing his previous wife in Florida (a felony bigamy state).

In light of the violation, the court ordered him detained and granted the government's motion to revoke order of release pending execution of his sentence.

From WFMJ.com

Florida Man May Have One Wife Too Many--a Registered Sex Offender

A Florida couple married in Lisbon on June 11 after securing a license may not be legally wed since officials now think the groom has one wife too many.

Marilyn Smith, chief deputy clerk of Columbiana County Probate Court, said a request was filed with the prosecutor's office Wednesday asking for an investigation for possible charges against Victor T. Clavizzao, who claimed he was never married when he filed for a marriage license with Jacqueline A. Dean.

On Tuesday, court personnel received a call from a newspaper reporter in Florida who told them he's in the midst of a divorce from his fourth wife and had other wives in his past. She also told them he's on his way to federal prison after being sentenced to five years for mortgage fraud and that he wasn't supposed to leave the state of Florida.

As for his bride, they were told she also had a past as a registered sex offender who served time in prison after she and her ex-husband, Willie Tarpley, tortured a young woman in 1987.

When the St. Petersburg couple applied for their marriage license, Dean listed that she was divorced once and clerks confirmed the information with Florida officials, with Willie Tarpley listed as her ex-husband. The 45-year-old woman listed her occupation as marketing and sales while Clavizzao, 46, listed his occupation as finance.

They were married by Judge Carol Ann Robb of Columbiana County Municipal Court.

According to Smith, Dean did nothing wrong, but Clavizzao lied about never being married. The official Web site for Pinellas County in Florida lists a case filed on April 20, 2009 by Clavizzao for a dissolution from Angel M.Clavizzao. The case file only showed that the case was filed and didn't say whether the case was finished or whether a dissolution was granted.

Smith said that's something the prosecutor's office will have to determine. If he's still married, a charge of bigamy could be possible, she said, but it will be up to the prosecutor's office how to handle the situation.

John Gamble, chief assistant prosecutor, said an investigator with the department was already reviewing the material forwarded by Probate Court. Possible charges for lying on the marriage license application could include perjury or falsification.

"We'll take whatever steps are appropriate," he said.

By Mary Ann Greier of SalemNews.net

Police Searching for Michigan Woman Suspected of Bigamy

St. Clair Shores, Michigan police have a felony arrest warrant for a suspected bigamist from Bay City.

Investigators say Martha A. Flemming, also known as Martha A. Nellett, may have returned to Bay County after disappearing in April from the Detroit home she shared with Albert Flemming Jr..

Also missing were Albert Flemming's car and an $8,000 inheritance check he received from an uncle and stored in a safety deposit box at a Harper Woods bank, said St. Clair Shores Detective Sgt. Margaret Eidt.

Albert Flemming reported the missing check to Harper Woods police who would not comment because, they said, the investigation remains open.

Police found Albert Flemming's car in Bay County soon after Martha Flemming disappeared, Eidt said.

Martha and Albert Flemming married Jan. 30 although records show Martha Flemming still was married to Charles Nellett, the Bay County man she wed in 1995, Eidt said.

She also may have children who live in the Bay City area, the sergeant said. She did not know the names of the children.

Police describe Martha Flemming as a heavy, dark-haired 44-year-old woman of Caucasian and American Indian background.

She was previously known as Martha A. Smith and Martha A. Chatfield, Eidt said.

By LaNia Coleman of The Bay City Times

Indiana Man to Do Three Years in Prison for Bigamy

John Bragg, who romanced several women at the same time, will do time as part of plea deal.

An Indiana man who made a habit of romancing multiple women in order to steal their money received a three-year prison sentence this week.

John Bragg, who has also gone by alias Sam Blair, pleaded guilty to bigamy and fraud as part of a plea agreement with the Hancock County prosecutor’s office. The felony charges resulted Wednesday in a six-year sentence, half of which was suspended, to an Indiana Department of Correction facility.

From the Greenfield Daily Reporter

Florida Man Charged With Bigamy

A Sebring, FL man was released from jail Wednesday on a $17,500 bond following his arrest Tuesday on a Broward County warrant charging him with bigamy. Konstantinos Vassilakopolous, 47, of 5616 Granada Blvd., Sebring, allegedly married a woman in Broward County in Sept. 29, 2008, while still being married to his first wife, according to the arrest affidavit.

The suspect and his first wife were reportedly married in Queens, N.Y., on May 22, 1986, and confirmed by a New York City marriage certificate. Sworn statements from both Vassilakopolous and his wife revealed they were not divorced, the affidavit stated. Vassilakopolous also stated he did marry his second wife in September, and sworn statements from her corroborated his story.

By Brad Dickerson of TampaBayOnline

Bigamy Charge Reduced to Disorderly Conduct in Florida

Marvin Frazer married a woman named Rebecca in New York in 2000. She left him three years later.

"She said she was going on vacation for a week. It's been a very long week," Frazer, 45, said Tuesday.

He heard from her again in 2006, he said, in an e-mail suggesting he should pay for half of their divorce. He later heard from his parents that she told them the divorce was final.

Turns out, Frazer should have double checked.

In July 2007, at First Presbyterian Church in Zephyrhills, he married a woman named Ilene. (This was his third marriage. There was another in 1992 that lasted until 1998.) Then last fall, Frazer got a knock on his door from two Zephyrhills police detectives investigating an allegation of bigamy.

Rebecca — whom Frazer met in an Internet chat room — had found his MySpace page where pictures from his 2007 wedding were posted. She called the authorities.

Frazer, a preschool worker, was arrested shortly before Christmas and spent four days in jail.

In court Tuesday, he pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. Bigamy, the law says, is having a living spouse and marrying another. Disorderly conduct is defined as acts that are "of a nature to corrupt the public morals, or outrage the sense of public decency, or affect the peace and quiet of persons who may witness them."

Bigamy is a felony. Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor.

Frazer was sentenced to time served.

He answered Judge Pat Siracusa's questions politely and said little else.

"You're down to one wife," the judge told him, noting the divorce had gone through. "That's good."

It was a contrast to his last court appearance, when Frazer mouthed off a little about how long the case was taking. But prosecutors only agreed to the plea deal on the condition that Frazer obtain and finalize a divorce from Rebecca.

A judge signed it last week.

"Unfortunately, she got her way," Frazer said. He paid for the whole thing: $583.

His current wife, he said, has stuck by him through the ordeal.

Later this summer they plan to renew their vows.

By Molly Moorehead of The St. Petersburg Times.