Leroy N. Soetoro
2012-10-24 16:46:23 UTC
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Iowa-court-official-accused-of-
gay-marriage-fraud-3959899.php
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) A rural Iowa court official filed false documents
to say she had married a same-sex couple from Florida, even though she
never met the men and they had not traveled to the state for a ceremony,
investigators said Thursday.
Grundy County Deputy Clerk of Court Brigitte Van Nice was arrested at work
Wednesday and charged with two counts of forgery and one count of perjury,
all felonies. Van Nice, 42, posted bond and was released from jail pending
a court appearance scheduled for next week.
The arrest is believed to be the first of its kind in Iowa, one of six
states that allow gay marriage, said Iowa Division of Criminal
Investigation Special Agent Larry Hedlund.
Investigators discovered the invalid certificate after one of the men
contacted an attorney in Florida about getting a divorce, Hedlund said.
Prosecutor Jennifer Miller said charges will not be filed against the men,
who believed they had been legally married.
"We determined that they basically were the ones that were duped," Miller
said. "I don't think they were trying to fraudulently obtain a marriage
license. They were told it was fine for them to not be in the state when
they got married. I don't think they realized it was not going to be a
valid marriage."
Jennifer Pizer, a same-sex marriage expert and former legal director of
the Williams Institute at UCLA, called the arrest "quite unusual" and said
she had not heard of anything similar elsewhere.
Van Nice became ordained to perform marriages last year through a website.
The men started corresponding with her after searching the Internet for
Iowa counties where they might obtain a license, Miller said.
In February, she filed a marriage certificate at the county recorder's
office claiming she had officiated the couple's wedding on Valentine's Day
and that two women had witnessed the ceremony, according to a criminal
complaint.
Van Nice told staff in the recorder's office located in Grundy Center,
population 2,700 that she had met the men at a Waterloo truck stop the
day before and they lined up the witnesses, the complaint says.
Investigators later determined that the ceremony did not take place and
that Van Nice had faked the signatures of the phony witnesses without
their permission, it says.
She was paid $150 for her work.
The complaint identifies the Florida men by name but does not give their
hometowns or ages. Attempts to reach them were not immediately successful.
Van Nice officiated one other same-sex marriage in Iowa but it was valid,
Hedlund said.
She has been placed on paid administrative leave. Defense Attorney Robert
Thompson said Van Nice planned to plead not guilty.
A message left at her residence wasn't immediately returned, and it wasn't
clear whether she had retained an attorney.
Van Nice received no sympathy from One Iowa, the state's leading gay
rights group.
"If Brigitte Van Nice ... is found guilty of falsifying information on a
public record, she must be held accountable," executive director Donna Red
Wing said.
--
Obama's black racist USAG appointee.
Eric Holder, racist black United States Attorney General drops voter
intimidation charges against the Black Panthers, "You are about to be
ruled by the black man, cracker!"
Eric Holder, prejudiced black United States Attorney General settles the
hate crime debate, "Whites Not Protected by Hate Crime Laws."
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact, to
former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel of New
York's million dollar tax evasion.
Barack Obama and Eric Holder, committed treason by knowingly and
deliberately arming enemies of the United States of America through
Operation Fast and Furious. Complicit in the murder of Federal employees
during the execution of their duties.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ***@netfront.net ---
gay-marriage-fraud-3959899.php
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) A rural Iowa court official filed false documents
to say she had married a same-sex couple from Florida, even though she
never met the men and they had not traveled to the state for a ceremony,
investigators said Thursday.
Grundy County Deputy Clerk of Court Brigitte Van Nice was arrested at work
Wednesday and charged with two counts of forgery and one count of perjury,
all felonies. Van Nice, 42, posted bond and was released from jail pending
a court appearance scheduled for next week.
The arrest is believed to be the first of its kind in Iowa, one of six
states that allow gay marriage, said Iowa Division of Criminal
Investigation Special Agent Larry Hedlund.
Investigators discovered the invalid certificate after one of the men
contacted an attorney in Florida about getting a divorce, Hedlund said.
Prosecutor Jennifer Miller said charges will not be filed against the men,
who believed they had been legally married.
"We determined that they basically were the ones that were duped," Miller
said. "I don't think they were trying to fraudulently obtain a marriage
license. They were told it was fine for them to not be in the state when
they got married. I don't think they realized it was not going to be a
valid marriage."
Jennifer Pizer, a same-sex marriage expert and former legal director of
the Williams Institute at UCLA, called the arrest "quite unusual" and said
she had not heard of anything similar elsewhere.
Van Nice became ordained to perform marriages last year through a website.
The men started corresponding with her after searching the Internet for
Iowa counties where they might obtain a license, Miller said.
In February, she filed a marriage certificate at the county recorder's
office claiming she had officiated the couple's wedding on Valentine's Day
and that two women had witnessed the ceremony, according to a criminal
complaint.
Van Nice told staff in the recorder's office located in Grundy Center,
population 2,700 that she had met the men at a Waterloo truck stop the
day before and they lined up the witnesses, the complaint says.
Investigators later determined that the ceremony did not take place and
that Van Nice had faked the signatures of the phony witnesses without
their permission, it says.
She was paid $150 for her work.
The complaint identifies the Florida men by name but does not give their
hometowns or ages. Attempts to reach them were not immediately successful.
Van Nice officiated one other same-sex marriage in Iowa but it was valid,
Hedlund said.
She has been placed on paid administrative leave. Defense Attorney Robert
Thompson said Van Nice planned to plead not guilty.
A message left at her residence wasn't immediately returned, and it wasn't
clear whether she had retained an attorney.
Van Nice received no sympathy from One Iowa, the state's leading gay
rights group.
"If Brigitte Van Nice ... is found guilty of falsifying information on a
public record, she must be held accountable," executive director Donna Red
Wing said.
--
Obama's black racist USAG appointee.
Eric Holder, racist black United States Attorney General drops voter
intimidation charges against the Black Panthers, "You are about to be
ruled by the black man, cracker!"
Eric Holder, prejudiced black United States Attorney General settles the
hate crime debate, "Whites Not Protected by Hate Crime Laws."
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact, to
former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel of New
York's million dollar tax evasion.
Barack Obama and Eric Holder, committed treason by knowingly and
deliberately arming enemies of the United States of America through
Operation Fast and Furious. Complicit in the murder of Federal employees
during the execution of their duties.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ***@netfront.net ---