With a muscular build, not very tall, and often dressed in blue jeans and sneakers, flea market vendor Giovanni Vigliotto hardly seemed like a ladies' man.

However, in 4/1983, at the Phoenix city court in Arizona, Giovanni submitted a list of 105 women from 18 states and 9 other countries whom he claimed to have courted and married over 20 years, all without divorce proceedings. He also created a second list detailing 50 aliases he had used.

Giovanni was accused of fraud by successively marrying multiple women, asking them to move in with him, then packing his wife's belongings into a truck and arranging to meet at their new home. When the wife arrived at the address, no one was there. He would disappear and sell her belongings at flea markets.

Giovanni's wives were unaware of each other and knew nothing of the truth about the man they had married.

Giovanni successfully carried out this scheme with 104 victims but "stumbled" with his 105th wife.

'Prince turned into a frog'

When Giovanni was brought to trial, many wives testified against him. Some described Giovanni as having large eyes, a pleasant face, curly black hair, a charming demeanor, and captivating eyes.

Giovanni Vigliotto. Photo: Gulf Today

Patricia Ann Gardiner, 42, a real estate agent in Arizona, testified that she married Giovanni in 11/1981, 8 days after meeting him at a local flea market. Patricia stated that he told her he had 49 million USD in savings and owned the Queen Mary ship, which was docked in Long Beach, California.

"He looked straight into my face and eyes. I liked that directness," Patricia recalled. Giovanni quickly persuaded his wife to sell her house, and they set off for the California coast in two separate vehicles. Giovanni drove a truck carrying 36,000 USD in cash and his wife's valuables. Upon arriving at a hotel in San Diego, Patricia found herself alone with her pet dog.

Joan Bacarella, 45, from New Jersey, testified that Giovanni proposed one day after they met in 2/1981, urging her to divorce her estranged husband.

Joan planned to marry Giovanni immediately after finalizing her divorce, but he fled before the wedding. Joan said she realized "her prince had turned into a frog" when Giovanni borrowed 1,600 USD in cash and drove away with 40,000 USD worth of goods from her clothing store, never returning to the motel where she was waiting with her mother and three children.

Sharon Clark, a flea market manager in Indiana, told the jury that Giovanni married her in 6/1981 but abandoned her at a motel in Canada three weeks later, disappearing with antiques and other items worth 49,000 USD.

But Sharon did not accept her fate. Knowing Giovanni from the flea market scene, Sharon was determined to drive to every market she could find, hoping to track him down. Sharon pursued Giovanni for three months, traveling over 16,000 km to a Florida shopping center, where she found the con artist and handed him over to the police on 28/12/1981.

Giovanni was subsequently extradited to Arizona to face the charges filed by Patricia.

Master con artist with 120 aliases

During the five-week trial, the courtroom was consistently packed, mostly with women. Many arrived when the court opened at 7h, three hours before proceedings began, often bringing food and drinks, lining up to secure a seat to hear Giovanni's romantic escapades. Many spent their entire 90-minute lunch break waiting in line to avoid losing their spot in the courtroom.

"I suppose this is the best soap opera they've ever seen," said Rob Raker, a judicial specialist for Maricopa County.

Although he admitted to marrying multiple times, Giovanni denied defrauding any of his wives.

Giovanni claimed the figure of 105 wives was merely a joke, but authorities confirmed at least 82 marriages took place across 9 US states, Canada, England, Italy, and Hong Kong. Giovanni also asserted he had worked as a contract agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1953 and 1954 before venturing into the flea market business.

Giovanni claimed his real name was Nikolai Peruskov, born in 1929, to Russian parents living in Sicily. However, prosecutors asserted Giovanni's true name was Frederick Bertram Jiff, born in New York, who had used 120 aliases over many years. Records indicated he had served sentences in three prisons before his arrest in Florida.

On 11/4/1983, Giovanni, in his early 50s, was found guilty by a jury of fraud and bigamy in his marriage to Patricia. He was sentenced to a total of 34 years in prison and fined 336,000 USD.

After the verdict, Patricia spoke about the women who fell into his trap: "I don't think they loved him. They found someone who told them what they needed and wanted to hear at that point in their lives."

Giovanni died of a brain hemorrhage at age 61 in an Arizona state prison on 1/2/1991, 8 years after his sentencing.

Tue Anh (according to 9News, LA Times, Time, NYTimes)