Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Stranger Than Fiction

Alright television and novel writers, sit back and relax because today, your job was done for you.
This unbelievable headlining story from the New York Daily News today is perfection. The only thing you may need to add is some murder or rape for intrigue and obvious Law and Order: SVU perfection.
Joseph Rosenzweig was a successful NYC attorney, with a beautiful Tribeca apartment, a loving wife, and two daughters. In 1995, Rosenzweig, who had at that point been married for 10 years, went to the New York Dolls strip club with some friends. There he met the alluring dancer Radiah Givens Nunez, a 23 year old stripper by night and Alvin Ailey dance scholarship dance student by day who was just trying to pay her bills. He allegedly fell in love with her so obviously he gave her a credit card, an apartment, an allowance, and paid those bills for her. He even took her on vacations. 
Now the plot on this simple story of an affair thickens. Rosenzweig soon discovered that stripping/dancing wasn't Nunez's only interest. She apparently was a priestess in the Afro-Caribbean religion Santeria. Animal sacrifice is a main ritual in this practice and Rosenzweig noted that in her swank apartment, that he was paying for, she had a "very large altar with all kinds of unusual things upon it." Court documents involving this case state that this sight "pushed the boundaries of Mr. Rosenzweig's comfort level." Yes, I could see how that would be odd and uncomfortable. And hopefully he never showed his affection for her by giving her a puppy. But despite all of this, he continued his secret affair for years and in 2002, asked her to marry him. Now, in case amidst the twist of the animal sacrifice shock you have forgotten, he is in fact, still married to his first wife, who is still is in the dark about this nearly ten year affair with the high priestess stripper.
Rosenzweig and Nunez go to luxury resort in Jamaica and tie the knot. Then the happy couple return to NYC, where it was understood that bigamist Rosenzweig would continue to primarily live with his first wife and family. 
But this silly man didn't get to live out his ideal of having it all very long. Soon after the wedding, a marriage certificate arrived to his home in NYC. The home he shared with his first wife and children. Whoops.
His wife of nearly twenty years obviously flew into a rage.
But it wasn't until 2005 that Rosenzweig ended his relationship and financial support of Nunez. He then later tried to sue Nunez, but she won. And this idiot lawyer's legal troubles didn't end there, he also had to face charges of bigamy and had his license to practice law suspended. 
So there it is, a wonderful parable about why you will always get caught in your lies and a story that is waiting to be ripped from the headlines. And this also totally justifies you feeling suspicious when your man comes home late. 

1 comment:

  1. That was a hawt mess. You just can't make this stuff up. Thanks for the great after dinner story.
    Angela

    ReplyDelete