Man says wedding was a sham

DETROIT, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A Detroit-area woman testified in court she was duped into marrying a man while he was married to another woman and father to the other woman's four children.

Not so, countered Eugine Pallisco, who said his marriage to Lesley Keith was a sham concocted to protect him against a police officer who was ticketing his metal recycling business, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

He said he had no intention of marrying Keith, but did so because his faux bride-to-be was related to a police officer who could convince the ticket-writing officer to back off.

"It was to shield me," he said of the wedding that he claims was staged.

Asked by his attorney why he had a lavish wedding at an expensive hotel, Pallisco said he had to make the nuptials "look like the real thing."

Pallisco's attorneys also played several voice mails Keith left Pallisco, in which she sought money and sometimes used profanity. Keith, who now lives in Arizona, is seeking unspecified damages for emotional distress, the Free Press reported.

The judge is expected to take more testimony during another hearing, then decide whether the matter will go to trial.