Sat, Nov 30, 2024 | Jumada al-Awwal 29, 1446 | DXB ktweather icon0°C

Video: Meet the conman who wed over 100 women, holds world record for most bigamous marriages 40 years on

Giovanni Vigliotto would decamp with his wives' possessions after tying the knot

Published: Fri 7 Apr 2023, 5:38 PM

Updated: Fri 7 Apr 2023, 5:40 PM

  • By
  • Web Desk

Top Stories

A man in the US earned the distinction of being the world’s biggest bigamist by marrying as many as 105 women, without getting divorced, between 1949 and 1981.

Each time, Giovanni Vigliotto would propose to the woman on their first date and then decamp with her possessions after getting married.

According to the Guinness World Records, Giovanni Vigliotto is not the real name of the person but just one of the aliases he used with his last wife before getting caught. In 1983, Giovanni Vigliotto was awarded 34 years of imprisonment on charges of fraud and bigamy along with a fine of $336,000 (approx. Dh1,233,992).

Giovanni Vigliotto tied the knot with 105 women from across 27 states in the US and 14 other countries. He would meet the women at flea markets, confess his love to them on the first meeting and then soon arrange a wedding while keeping his real identity concealed.

His modus operandi involved asking his wife to pack all her belongings and join him after getting married. Vigliotto would then flee with the woman’s possessions in a truck and look for his next target.

The conman sold the belongings at flea markets and kept evading arrest for a long period of time. But Vigliotto’s last wife, Sharon Clark, managed to locate him by herself and the was finally arrested on December 28, 1981.

Vigliotto was charged with fraud and bigamy for his marriage to a woman from Arizona while he was still married to Ms Clark.

In an interview, Vigliotto said, “The police have this thing all wrong. I don't recall half a dozen times when I had to ask anyone to marry me. It was always the women who popped the question”.

Vigliotto added that he treated the women he married well and said, “If the rest of the men in the United States don't treat women that way, then I'm sorry for the women in this country”.

During his trial in 1983, Giovanni Vigliotto claimed that his real name was Nikolai Peruskov. He also listed down 50 aliases he used while duping his victims along with the names of his 105 wives with their addresses. Vigliotto denied committing any fraud.



Next Story