Sunday, May 25, 2014

Alimony Racketeering in the Social Justice Paradise of the Soviet Union - 1926


FULL TEXT: MOSCOW, Russia, Oct. 23.— Moscow courts have just passed severe sentences on three women, an “alimony widow” and two female accomplices for fraudulent use of the statute requiring the father of a child to pay one-third of his salary to its support.

The court, taking note of the increasing popularity of the form of fraud, announced that strict steps would be taken hereafter to protect the right of the helpless male population.

The number of so-called “alimony widows” in the Soviet Union has become legion. As the government newspaper, “Izvestia,” says, “They are constantly on the increase. It seems that with them it has become a sort of sport as well as business, a sort of life entertainment.”

~ Live In Luxury. ~

There are women who have five or six children, each from a different father.

But all the fathers have to pay the wife one-third of their wages for the support of the child. Such an alimony widow lives in luxury.

The three women recently sentenced, however, came to grief by being too greedy. Maria Sukhom­lina was married to a poor man.

When their first child came, Maria, envying the affluence of certain friends of hers who had learned the trick of becoming “alimony widows,” determined to choose a richer father for her baby than its real one was.

She picked on a wealthy neighbor, Mr. Vorovsky, a merchant. True, Mr. Vorovsky as a matter of fact had never seen her, but Maria knew I how to attend to that. She conferred with two of her women friends and told them her plan.

~ Hatched Plot. ~

“If I can get the court to recognize Mr. Vorovsky as the baby’s father, he will have to pay me at least 100 roubles a month, and out of that sum I will buy you both new dresses.”

With this inducement, the two agreed to swear to their personal knowledge of her “affair” with Mr. Vorovsky.

The latter, completely dumbfounded at the charge, defended himself vigorously, and when the court, finding him guilty, ordered him to pay alimony, lie refused and was sent to jail.

A month passed, and since Maria had no money with which to fulfill her promises to her friends, they grew disgruntled, and finally, with very little show of caution for their own interests, “squealed” to the authorities.

Maria and her two friends were arrested, Mr. Vorovsky was released, and the three women were sentenced to serve two years in jail.

[“Rich Russian Saved From Alimony Fraud - Women Get Punishment For Deceit - Defendant Claimed Wealthy Man Was Father Of Her Child. - 2 Witnesses Confess Plot – Many Widows Throughout Soviet are Living in Luxury.” Syndicated (INS), El Paso Herald (Tx.), Oct. 23, 1926, p. 1]

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For more revelations of this suppressed history, see The Alimony Racket: Checklist of Posts

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[1545-2/19/22]
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