Orthodox Couple Flip Their Wig on ‘People’s Court’

By Michael Kaminer December 9, 2010

Talk about wigging out.

A young Orthodox couple took their grievance to television’s “People’s Court” after a dry cleaner allegedly washed — and ruined — the woman’s $3,000 human-hair wig, the blog FailedMessiah reported. But if “Heidi and Mendi” were as shocked as they claimed when the sheitel came back looking mangy, they must have been even more aghast at Judge Marilyn Milian’s verdict.

In what Orthodox blog HaEmtza called “a nightmarish Chilul Hashem” — desecration of God’s name — the couple was exposed as liars after some detective work by Judge Milian. “Heidi and Mendi” claimed they’d bought the wig for $3000 from Georgie, whose web site bills it as “the World’s largest manufacturer of Mono-filament, European, Human Hair, Blends, & Synthetic Wigs & Falls for women.” The couple presented a Georgie invoice for $3,000. But the suspicious judge phoned the wigmaker during a recess — and found out they don’t even stock the wig at the center of the case. And the real $3,000 perruque? “You are passing this excellent wig on your head, that costs $3,000, as the receipt for the wig that you want to be recompensed for here,” said Judge Milian, pulling out the invoice with a flourish.

Mendi’s sullen comment to a post-court interviewer, before the couple skulked off: “Georgie’s out of town, so we don’t know how [Milian} spoke to her.” The dry cleaners, Jose and Mildred Geraldo, were more sanguine. “The judge is a smart woman, and she saw through them,” a beaming Mildred Geraldo said.

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