Ex-wife's revenge on alleged bigamist
A Viennese man who got married to his girlfriend in Las Vegas "on a whim" regretted his actions 11 years later when his former wife took him to court on charges of bigamy.
The man took his girlfriend to Las Vegas in 2004, and while touring the city they decided spontaneously to tie the knot at a White Wedding Chapel, according to a report in the Kronen Zeitung newspaper.
"It cost $25. There was a Reverend who asked us only the question 'Do you believe in God?'. That's it", said the man. Neither of them took the ceremony seriously at the time, and their relationship broke up a short time later.
Eleven years later, the now 55-year-old man had married another woman, and when registering the marriage, failed to mention the previous ceremony, considering it more of a joke than a real commitment.
Unfortunately, his not quite ex-wife caught wind of his new marriage, and decided to inform the authorities that the man was still married at the time of his second wedding. As a result, he was called this week to face a judge in the Regional Court of Wiener Neustadt.
The judge asked the man why he didn't inform the registry office of the Vegas wedding. He responded that "I felt that I was not married. I didn't think that the ceremony in Vegas had legal validity in Austria."
The man was found guilty of bigamy, and fined 5,000 euros.
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The man took his girlfriend to Las Vegas in 2004, and while touring the city they decided spontaneously to tie the knot at a White Wedding Chapel, according to a report in the Kronen Zeitung newspaper.
"It cost $25. There was a Reverend who asked us only the question 'Do you believe in God?'. That's it", said the man. Neither of them took the ceremony seriously at the time, and their relationship broke up a short time later.
Eleven years later, the now 55-year-old man had married another woman, and when registering the marriage, failed to mention the previous ceremony, considering it more of a joke than a real commitment.
Unfortunately, his not quite ex-wife caught wind of his new marriage, and decided to inform the authorities that the man was still married at the time of his second wedding. As a result, he was called this week to face a judge in the Regional Court of Wiener Neustadt.
The judge asked the man why he didn't inform the registry office of the Vegas wedding. He responded that "I felt that I was not married. I didn't think that the ceremony in Vegas had legal validity in Austria."
The man was found guilty of bigamy, and fined 5,000 euros.
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