Hattip to a reader who sent us information to our email address rallyreform@yahoo.com so we could fully research this story.

You might have read a story  a few days ago about an Iowa County Deputy Clerk Brigitte Van Nice Iowa Clerk Brigitte Van Nice Accused Of Gay Marriage Fraud [On Top Magazine 10/20/12]. You probably didn’t know that she has been a long-time Reece’s Rainbow fundraiser and PAP/AP client who also boasts of being a “middle contact” in the adoption process and gathers “paperwork” for PAPs. The paperwork gathering aspect is particularly interesting given the current charges she faces-“Investigators allege Van Nice forged the signatures of two witnesses on the marriage certificate.  She faces two counts of forgery and one count of perjury.” “Van Nice, who has an ordination certificate from an online ministry program, received $150 to marry Penney and Parker and claimed she performed the ceremony at the truck stop where she had met the couple in February.”

Brigitte Van Nice, Iowa Court Official, Accused Of Gay Marriage Fraud [Huffington Post 10/18/12 by Ryan J. Foley] says:

“Grundy County Deputy Clerk of Court Brigitte Van Nice was arrested at work Wednesday and charged with two counts of forgery and one count of perjury, all felonies. Van Nice, 42, posted bond and was released from jail pending a court appearance scheduled for next week.

The arrest is believed to be the first of its kind in Iowa, one of six states that allow gay marriage, said Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Larry Hedlund.

Defense Attorney Robert Thompson said Van Nice planned to plead not guilty.

“It’s kind of an interesting case,” Thompson said. “Certainly a case of first impression.”

Investigators discovered the invalid certificate after one of the men contacted an attorney in Florida about getting a divorce, Hedlund said.

Prosecutor Jennifer Miller said charges will not be filed against the men, who believed they had been legally married.

“We determined that they basically were the ones that were duped,” Miller said. “I don’t think they were trying to fraudulently obtain a marriage license. They were told it was fine for them to not be in the state when they got married. I don’t think they realized it was not going to be a valid marriage.”

Van Nice became ordained to perform marriages last year through a website. The men started corresponding with her after searching the Internet for Iowa counties where they might obtain a license, Miller said.

In February, she filed a marriage certificate at the county recorder’s office claiming she had officiated the couple’s wedding on Valentine’s Day and that two women had witnessed the ceremony, according to a criminal complaint.

Van Nice told staff in the recorder’s office – located in Grundy Center, population 2,700 – that she had met the men at a Waterloo truck stop the day before and they lined up the witnesses, the complaint says. Investigators later determined that the ceremony did not take place and that Van Nice had faked the signatures of the phony witnesses without their permission, it says.

She was paid $150 for her work.

The complaint identifies the Florida men by name but does not give their hometowns or ages. Attempts to reach them were not immediately successful.

Van Nice officiated one other same-sex marriage in Iowa but it was valid, Hedlund said.

She has been placed on paid administrative leave.

One Iowa, the state’s leading gay rights group, said in a statement that Van Nice “must be held accountable” if she’s found guilty.”

Lying for money! What GREAT ATTRIBUTES to have for the Reece’s Rainbow “ministry”, huh? Reece’s Rainbow QUICKLY scrubbed their site of all of her information; her blog has gone private and she shutdown her Facebook page. But, ahhh, the internet is an interesting thing. As with many Reece’s Rainbow clients, she liked to post on others’ blogs and have news stories about her and Reece’s Rainbow enthusiasts love to copy information onto their sites…a.lot. As of this posting, what we post below can be seen by Googling “Brigitte Van Nice reeces rainbow” (but do the Googling quickly before the entire internet gets scrub-a-dub-dubbed )

Her blog is vannicefamilyjourney.blogspot.com. Cached versions of many posts still available.

(1) “Middle Contact” and “paperwork” gatherer and two at once

“Fundraisers

The Cannells have to raise $48,000 in order to bring the boys home. The money will cover various costs such as plane tickets for the two of them and for the boys, for passports, visas and an apartment to stay in while they are in Eastern Europe.

There is also a team there that is helping them through the process. Some of the money goes to that team.

Bridget[sic] Van Nice, of Reece’s Rainbow, works as the middle contact between the Cannells and the adoption team in Eastern Europe. She is trying to do all she can to help the Cannells gather the funding that is needed, she said. She says the boys will be a great fit for their family.

“I’m super excited for them. I know that they have a lot of experience with EB and I know they are going to be great parents and advocates for their kids,” she said.”

Lodi couple work to adopt orphan with rare skin disease and his brother from Europe

[Lodi News 5/28/11 by Pam Bauserman/News-Sentinel]

From http://rr.florko.com/category/sponsorafamily/travelingnow
“UPDATE: The Van Nice family will also be bringing home Evelyn!
The Van Nice Family is excited to add Landon to our busy family!!!
Joe and Brigitte have been married for almost 11 years. They have 4 children – three bio’s and one Ukrainian prince adopted in June 2009. Joe works as a quality inspector and Brigitte works part time as a Judicial Clerk. They are no strangers to the adoption process as Brigitte works with families adopting from Eastern Europe to gather their paperwork and help guide them through the process.
They thought their family was complete, but God had other plans. Little did they know they would get the Call to adopt Landon from Bulgaria! It was after reading Carrington Burmans story, that Joe was hearing the call to adopt loud and clear. Brigitte quickly jumped on board. Landon will be a perfect fit in their family. All the kids are so excited to have another brother to play with and love on! Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated! God Bless !!!!
7/24/12—WAITING FOR COURT
Follow the Van Nice family’s adoption journey on their blog at vannicefamilyjourney.blogspot.com
$3476.00 is available towards the cost of my adoption! ”

 

(2) Child Collecting

The October 7, 2012 entry in the blog mentions that their cases were submitted to court and that she hoped to travel by the end of this month. She was still trying to raise around $1000 for the adoption at that time.

Besides the two at once in 2012, she was publicly offering to take on a post-earthquake Haiti baby even though she had just adopted her special needs child from Ukraine!

http://randybohlender.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/welcome-to-the-luke-18-school-of-politics/

“Randy,

I have just found your blog through Reece’s Rainbow! We recently adopted a little boy with Down sydnrome [sic]from Ukraine so we have a somewhat current homestudy. We would be willing to help house a child from Haiti if need be. We are in Iowa and can get to Kansas City rather quickly! Please let us know if and/or when there is the need!

(4) Fundraising and other stuff

• In 2010, she helped promote a Dell Mini Netbook giveaway for another client.
• Her August 7, 2012 post shows one of two bunk beds that were given to them which brings up the question of the children not getting separate rooms and how that fits with homestudy qualification. The children would be 8, 7, 6, 5, 5 and 4
• In August 2012, she goes on about using every moment of taxpayer-funded respite care and that is the plan with the new children as well.
• Senator Harkin features Brigitte on his website http://www.harkin.senate.gov/blogitem.cfm?i=32297fca-26a6-4550-bc7d-5c8b9de8ddef complete with a 7 1/2 minute YouTube video . His site says ”
  

  Grundy County – Meeting with Brigitte Van Nice

  Brigitte and her husband, Joe, are parents to four children, two of which, Josie (5 years old) and Jacob (3 years old) have Down Syndrome.   The Area Education Association’s Early Access program has provided a therapist who comes into their home and works with Josie and Jacob.  Josie is currently attending pre-school in Cedar Falls as they are better equipped to work with children who have special needs.  Jacob will start pre-school this fall. The local school system in Grundy Center provides the transportation to and from Cedar Falls.

  Josie will be starting kindergarten this fall and will be going to classes in the Grundy Center School.  Because there are several children who have special needs, the school is considering hiring a teacher’s aide to specifically to work with them.  They are also reviewing the curriculum to see if any accommodations need to be made.  Brigitte and her husband are very pleased with the efforts the local school system has made to accommodate their children.”

• Christian Post even has a story on the arrest, but they do not make the adoption or Reece’s connection. Seehttp://www.christianpost.com/news/iowa-court-official-arrested-for-gay-marriage-fraud-83620/
• http://www.radioiowa.com/2012/10/18/grundy-county-clerk-charged-with-creating-false-documents-for-a-same-sex-marriage/ says that she was due in court on October 22, 2012 and that her case was switched out of Grundy County to Marshall County
• The Iowa public access court case search does not show a case for her at this time. There is a 2009 case listed where she is a defendant NATIONWIDE VS J & P VAN NICE ETAL . Case was dismissed without prejudice on 5/21/09.
• See her mugshot at http://northiowatoday.com/?p=44204
• See the complaint and affidavit here

REFORM Puzzle Pieces

 So does being arrested for felonies preclude one from adopting internationally these days? Anything goes nowadays so I had to ask…

Update: “The court on Monday delayed until next week an initial appearance for Brigitte Van Nice, a public official facing two
counts of forgery and one count of perjury.
Authorities allege the deputy clerk of court falsified information on a marriage license for two men living in Florida. The men hoped to take
advantage of Iowa’s same-sex marriage law but were apparently unwilling to travel to the state as required, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Van Nice allegedly accepted $150 for the marriage license and on the license indicated the men married Feb. 14, 2012, in Waterloo.

The alleged offenses are Class D felonies.
Van Nice is scheduled to make an initial appearance Monday [October 29, 2012]. The Marshall County Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

Clerk’s case delayed, paternity case moves toward trial

[WFC Courier 10/23/12 by Dennis Magee]

Update 2: Brigitte has fourth charge added against her: tampering with records. “Van Nice’s attorney said Tuesday [November 20, 2012] she’ll file a written plea of not guilty in  coming days.”

Prosecutor adds 4th charge in IA gay marriage case

[News Times 11/20/12]

Update 3: A search of public court records reveals that She pled not guilty on November 26, 2012. An order setting a trial was filed on the same day. The trial date is not yet listed in her court file. Though media articles say that the trial has moved to Marshall County, her court file is still with Grundy County.

Update 4: “Trial has been delayed for an Iowa court official charged with lying to help a same-sex couple from Florida obtain a marriage license.

A judge cited “ongoing plea negotiations” in delaying Brigitte Van Nice’s trial from Wednesday until April 17. Prosecutor Jennifer Miller said Thursday that no plea deal has been finalized. Van Nice is charged with tampering with records, forgery and perjury.

Van Nice is accused of filing false documents claiming she had officiated the Florida couple’s Valentine’s Day wedding last year in Iowa. Investigators say the ceremony didn’t take place and Van Nice faked the signatures of two people she claimed were witnesses.

The men thought they could get married without coming to Iowa. They paid Van Nice $150.

Van Nice was a deputy clerk in Grundy County.”

Trial delayed in Iowa gay marriage fraud case

[Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier 2/14/13 by Associated Press]

A look at Public Grudy COunty Iowa court case records shows that she had a continuance on 2/4/13 and 2/11/13.

Update 5: “A former Iowa court official has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor forgery for filing false documents to issue an invalid marriage license to a same-sex couple from Florida.

Former Grundy County deputy clerk Brigitte Van Nice received a suspended sentence and probation after entering the guilty plea Monday.

Van Nice was arrested and suspended from her job in October ”

[WPTV 5/6/13]

“The former Grundy County deputy clerk was arrested last fall and charged with issuing a marriage license to two Florida men who have never visited Iowa.

Joab Penney and Joseph Parker said a Google search led them to Van Nice, who mailed them a marriage license application and told the couple they could marry in Iowa without coming to the state.

Van Nice, who has an ordination certificate from an online ministry program, received $150 to marry Penney and Parker. She falsely told colleagues that she performed the ceremony at the truck stop where she had met the couple in February. The men said they never stepped foot in Iowa, one of 6 states at the time where gay couples could legally marry.

Penney learned that he was not legally married when he contacted an attorney about a divorce.

“I was pretty upset,” he told the AP. “What she did was wrong.”

Van Nice forged the signatures of 2 witnesses to the Valentine’s Day wedding ceremony she falsely claimed to have officiated over.”

Iowa Clerk Pleads Guilty To Forging Gay Marriage Documents

[On Top Magazine 5/7/13]

“Referring to the sentence issued by Judge Bradley Harris, [ Joab] said: “That’s really light. That’s a legal document. If that was me or you, we would be going to prison, wouldn’t we?””

“The Florida men discovered the fraud months later, when Penney contacted an attorney to seek a divorce. The attorney was suspicious because the men had never been to Iowa and Van Nice mailed the application materials from her home, not the courthouse. The attorney contacted authorities asking for an investigation.

Penney said he now wants to marry a woman in Florida, but officials there say that he’s legally married to Parker and needs to obtain a divorce first.

“My marriage never happened. It should be voided. Period. Done. Never happened,” he said. “The lady told me a bunch of crap and got money out of me.”

County Recorder Charles Kruse said Monday he had no idea whether Penney’s marriage remained valid, but that he advised him to “contact an attorney and petition the court.”

Harris found Van Nice guilty of one count of aggravated misdemeanor forgery, and issued a deferred judgment on two other counts of forgery and perjury, meaning they will be wiped off her record if she stays out of trouble.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has said that Van Nice’s arrest was the first of its kind in Iowa, which was the first Midwestern state to allow same-sex marriage in 2009. National experts on gay rights also said the case appeared to be unique.

Penney said he has been frustrated by the lack of answers from officials in Iowa and the legal limbo he’s in.

“I want to get married here to a woman, and I can’t,” he said. “It’s a major headache. I’ve changed my lifestyle because of all of this. It has offended me that much.””

Ex-Iowa Official Guilty in Gay Marriage Fraud Case

[ABC News 5/6/13 by Ryan J. Foley/Associated Press]