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11/12 Strangers step in to offer wedding for terminally ill bride | recordonline.com

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Strangers step in to offer wedding for terminally ill bride

Friends in bride scandal open up

Duped donor says lying bride needs

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NEWSWATCH: Newburgh bride

indicted in cancer scam

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By Doyle MurphyTimes Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 04/26/10

CITY OF NEWBURGH The young woman hurts.

Knees. Feet. Bones.

She shuts her mind to all of it and locks onto the questions of the moment: Long, flowing train? What

about the veil? Ivory? Pure white?

Dozens of wedding dresses hang on racks at Bella Couture in

Newburgh. Many young women have lingered here, musing

on the combination of details that must come togethe r to

create the perfect dress.

Jessica Vega is a good age 23 for this adventure. She and

a girlfriend pick their way through the aisles.

Keri Ciastko is working alone in Bella Couture when Jessica

comes in, but that's no problem. She's a natural at this. Even

pregnant, Keri reflects the energy of the young women who

go whirling through the store, matching their giddy anticipation.

Jessica, however, presents a problem. She needs the dress by May 2. The sta ff at Bella Couture

usually have months for the fitting, tailoring and pe rfecting all the little details to make sure the dress

is THE dress for the wedding day.

But Jessica can't wait months.

Keri takes in the close cut of Jessica's hair and begins to unde rstand. She makes a phone call to her

bosses a couple of minutes later, and by the time she calls her sister-in-law a few minutes after that,she is nearly in tears.

I don't know what I can do, Keri tells her sister-in-law.

Campus romance blossomsThe young man hurts.

He worked a 16-hour shift the day before. He's grate ful for the work. Hours were hard to get during

the w inter, but he wrenched h is back jumping off the truck last night. He's 23 and moves like an old

man today.

Michael O'Connell was like a kid, eager, two years ago when he finally had the opportunity to walk

Jessica to class on the Manhattan campus of the Institute of Culinary Education.

You going to give me your number? he asked her. You going to give me your number?

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Michael O'Connell and Jessica V ega kiss after getting their marr iage license at

City Hall in Newburgh. Doctors say Jessica has 6 to 8 months to live.

Times Herald-Recor d/JEFF GOULDING

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He asked five times before she finally said he could call. It wasn't long before they we re spend ing

long weekends together, and not long after that they moved in togethe r. Their daughter, Ava Lily

O'Connell, came in May 2009.

The restaurant where Michael worked suddenly closed, but he was able to find a construction job

with Boyce Excavating Co. to support his young family.

Jessica had worked as a private chef in Westchester County until the diagnosis.

They didn't believe the doctor at first, but a second op inion came back the same: acute myeloid

leukemia. Terminal.

Jessica never knew Michael to cry, but he cried with her each day for two weeks. Just the two of

them, sitting in their car parked outs ide their apartment.

One day, they stopped crying. Jess ica stopped talking about the pa in. Michael tried to forget the

doctor's letter was even in the house. Instead, they would focus on a wedding.

From makeup to flowersKeri's phone calls that day from the bridal shop unearth a spider web of connections.

Her sister-in-law, Rachel Taylor, does ha ir and makeup aside from her duties as a technical sergeant

at Stewart Air National Guard Base. Without ever meeting Jessica, Rachel volunteers to do hair and

makeup for her and all seven bridesmaids on the day of the wedding.

Bella Couture owners Gina Verdi and Tara Pellegrino agree to give Jessica her dress for half price, and

then recons ider. Just give it to he r, they tell Keri.

Honeymoon? Rachel talks to her husband, Vinh, and they decide to give up their time-share so Jess ica

and Michael can spend some time alone in Aruba.

Flowers? L isa Stoker, a friend of Michael's mother, owns the Wallkill River House. She sits Jessica

down and opens a big book of options: First, I need to know from you what you want.

What e lse? Rachel is dedicated to this mission now , and her mind scans through a vast network of

connections.

Military contacts. Relatives. Friends. There, at the edges , she ha lf remembers a little boy and his

family. It's been more than a decade since she 's seen them.

Rachel picks up the phone and punches in the numbers.

Arranging for the ringsTom and Kim Kavanagh's son, Shawn, was 10 years old when he was diagnosed with leukemia.

It was a frightening time for the family, and they took comfort in the Young Champions program at

Stewart Air National Guard Base. The soldiers treated Shawn like a friend, inviting him on base for an

awards ceremony and then back as an alumnus for parties.

Shawn e ventually recovered and grew into a s trapping, 22-year-old Marine. Tom and Kim never forgot

the Young Champions program.

So when a soldier and longtime Young Champions volunteer named Rachel calls Kavanagh's Jewelers

one day, it takes about 30 seconds for Tom to offer two wedding rings to a young couple he and his

wife have never met.

Letters that will last foreverThe only time Jessica gets angry about her future is when she allows he rself to think about the best-

case scenario.

Maybe she quadruples the 6- to-8-month time frame doctors have given her. Maybe she even gets

four or five years be fore the disease takes her. Her daughter, Ava, still won't remember her, she

thinks.

Jessica has considered solutions and has settled on letters.

Each one w ill be in its own envelope, stowed away so that Michael can bring them out, one at a time,

as the girl grows older and asks questions only her mother could answer.

Jessica thinks she might write one about the prom. Maybe anothe r for graduation.

And in one envelope, Jessica plans to w rite a letter Michael can bring out at just the right time.

Ava's mother w ill tell her about love.

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11/12 recordonline.com - Bride's 'Till death do us part' story was false, husband says

ww.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100906/NEWS/9060333&cid=sitesearch&templat

Bride's 'Till death do us part' story was false, husband says

He disputes wife's claims she was dying

By Doyle Murphy

Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 09/06/10

Michael O'Connell preferred to pretend there was only today and to forget that his wife's cancer would

probably kill her in less than a year.

That's the way he used to think.

"I had to prepare for her to die," O'Connell said.

Now O'Connell says his wife, Jessica Vega, had pretended saying she had terminal leukemia in order to

scam him, everyone they knew and a long list of strangers who heard her story and wanted to help.

O'Connell and Vega were featured April 26 in a Times Herald-Record story about the many people who had

come together to organize a dream wedding while the bride was still strong enough to walk down the aisle.

The story prompted dozens of others to help the 23-year-olds and their baby daughter in the week leading up

to their May 2 wedding.

Strangers had donated everything from Vega's dress to wedding photos. For the couple's honeymoon, they

flew on donated plane tickets to Aruba, where they stayed in a donated time share and spent donated money.

O'Connell said recently that it was all based on a lie. Vega's health hadn't gotten any worse, and he believedshe never had a terminal illness.

O'Connell insisted a letter from Dr. Dan Costin that described her diagnosis was a fake.

When I was reporting the April 26 story, Vega showed me the letter to verify her diagnosis.

Now O'Connell had invited me to listen in when he called Costin's Westchester office and asked about

Vega's medical records: "Never a patient here" was the response.

He hadn't wanted to look at Costin's letter before. And Vega had said in April that she kept it hidden to make

life easier for him. O'Connell said he now wished he'd checked out the letter sooner.

In his mother's house in Walden, he switched on the speakerphone and dialed Costin's number.

A receptionist transferred O'Connell to an administrator who sounded exasperated to hear from him again.

"I can tell you for sure this person was never a patient here," the woman said, adding that they didn't want to

keep receiving his calls. O'Connell hung up and pumped his fist.


5/19



"Yes! I did it!" he said. O'Connell has said he's glad to think Vega will live, but he is candidly bitter about

being duped.

He hit redial on the phone so I could hear the greeting on Costin's automated calling system. I copied down

the phone number and checked it against the one I had for Costin. The numbers matched.

Vega had been hard to reach. I called her for several days before overhearing the conversation with Costin's

administrator. She hadn't responded to messages left on her cell phone, her father's phone or in her e-mail.

Her mother, Diana Vega, did answer a later call. "Jessie would never do something so manipulative," Diana

Vega said and agreed to pass on a message to her daughter.

Vega calls husband abusive

Jessica Vega called the next day and said she had not lied about her diagnosis or the letter, although she now

doubted their accuracy. She said she had a new doctor in the Bronx and was getting better away from

O'Connell by eating fresh food, exercising and drinking nothing but water and tea.

She promised to let me tag along on her next doctor's visit when she was due to have a white-blood-cell

count taken.

Vega was unhealthy living with O'Connell and left because he was physically abusive, she said. "I don't think

he really wants to go down that route of me exposing him," she said.

O'Connell had previously said he'd bitten Vega on the elbow once when they were living in Yonkers.

He said he was trying to escape her headlock at the time, but it still led to his arrest and a temporaryrestraining order against him.

He said he also slapped her during a fight at their Montgomery apartment before they separated. He claimed

Vega had torn up his car and punched him in the face that day because he was kicking her out.

"I slapped the fire out of her," O'Connell said. "Enough is enough."

No trip to the doctor

After the conversation with Costin's administrator, I called Vega, told her what I'd heard and asked her again

if the letter was real.

"I really did receive it," she said; it came in the mail.

I reminded her that she told me in April that Costin had typed the note in front of her and handed it to her.


6/19



Vega paused.

"I guess I did not do that," she said. Asked to clarify, she paused again, then said he did type it in front of her,

but he also sent it in the mail.

She said we could still go see her doctor in the Bronx. I agreed to go, but said I also wanted to see Costin.

She agreed and promised to send a text message with the Bronx doctor's address as soon as she hung up.

The text message didn't come after she hung up, and it didn't come the day after or the day after that.

On the day we were to visit the Bronx doctor, she sent a text message saying she'd just received her divorce

papers and had to cancel the blood test.

"I have to meet up wit my lawyer instead hope u understand that settlin my divorce is more important and time

consuming than this article," she wrote.

The only other messages she sent in the week that followed were about preventing an article and "legal

consequences." There were no more plans for doctor's visits.

O'Connell said he would fight for full custody of their daughter in the divorce. He's now consumed with

preparing for a future he had tried not to think about for so long: life as a single parent.

[email protected]


7/19

11/12 Anger mounts against dying' bride | recordonline.com


Anger mounts against dying' bride


Duped donor says lying bride needshelp, not prison time



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But some are still buoyed by good deeds


Published: 2:00 AM - 09/09/10

A lot of generous people a re left to decide what to do, now that a young bride's story has turned

from tragic to dubious.

Photographer Joel Schreibman has a lready made his decision. I'm going after her, Schreibman said.

Schreibman was one of dozens of people who helped pull together a dream wedding for Jessica Vega

and Michael O'Connell, because he thought the bride was dying of terminal leukemia.

O'Connell now says Vega was lying. Staff for a Westchester

cancer specialist who supposedly treated Vega backed up

O'Connell's claim when they denied she was ever a patient.

Schreibman donated after reading an April 26 sto ry in the

Times Herald-Record about the couple's supposedly doomed

future. Now, he's furious. It is despicable what she did and

how w e were conned by her, Schreibman sa id.

Vega had previously denied doing anything wrong and did not

respond to a request to comment for this story.

Schreibman estimated the portfolio of wedding photos he

donated to the couple through his company, Mandon

Productions, was w orth as much as $1,100. Schreibman said

he's contacted the Ulster County District Attorney and

planned to file charges.

News of the sweetheart story turned sour spread rapidly

across the country and beyond. O'Connell has requests from

several national television programs to appear on their shows

and more producers and reporters call every day.

The story broke Denise Taylor's hea rt. She dona ted $500 to

the couple and wept when she learned of the accusations.

I feel like I've been s lapped in the face , she said. Still, she doesn't reg ret her good deed. I felt

good for weeks because I thought I had helped someone, Taylor said.

Lisa Stoker, owner of Wa llkill River House, said she 'd like to see Vega prosecuted and will consider it a

lesson learned.

Stoker said she thought she was helping grant a dying young woman's wish when she offered free

flowers for the ceremony. So she didn't sugges t cheaper alternatives when Vega picked out an array

of premium flowers for the May 2 wedding. The retail value of the flowers to taled about $2,200,

Stoker said.

She and he r husband will continue help people privately, Stoker said, but she'll probably never put

her business on the line again. Wha t she did makes it horrible for the people who have real need,

Stoker said.

Tom and Kim Kavanagh, owners o f Kavanagh Jewelers, donated tw o white gold wedding bands to

the couple. Their son had survived leukemia a decade ago and they we re quick to help the young

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Tom Kavanaugh and his wife, Kim, of Kavanaugh Jewellers, look over the r ings

they had donated to Mike O'Connell and Jessica Vega's wedding about six months

ago. The groom's father r eturned the rings before the story br oke, raising doubt

about the bride's stor y.

JEFF GOULDING/Times Herald-Record

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11/12 Anger mounts against dying' bride | recordonline.com


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not prison time

Bride's 'Till death do us part' story wasfalse, husband says




Orange arrested


couple.

The Kavanaghs were shocked by the sudden twist but said they would not be deterred. As

unbelievable as this sounds , Tom Kavanagh sa id. I still wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I got the

same call tomorrow.

[email protected]

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11/12 Newburgh bride tops most heinous' list for now | recordonline.com


Newburgh bride tops most heinous' list for now






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By Jeremiah HorriganPublished: 2:00 AM - 10/01/10

Jessica Vega, the young Newburgh bride who turned a bogus

cancer story into a bounty of free we dding gifts last spring,

holds the top spot as The Most Heinous Bride Ever at Glamour Magazine blog site.

Vega claimed to have on ly months to live. She got thousands of dollars in donated wedding services

and paraphernalia. She and her husband, Michael O'Connor, who says he was duped by her story,

have since separated..

[email protected]

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11/12 Newburgh bride tops most heinous' list for now | recordonline.com


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11/12 AG probes Cancer Bride case | recordonline.com


AG probes Cancer Bride case






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Published: 2:00 AM - 08/25/11

The Cancer Bride is under investigation by the state a ttorney general.

Jessica Vega enjoyed a dream wedding and honeymoon to Aruba in May 2010, thanks to the

generos ity of big-hearted donors w ho we re touched by the young mother's claims that she had

terminal cancer. Her story began to unravel whe n her new husband, Michael O'Connell, said she had

faked it all. Staff at a Westches ter doctor's office where Vega claimed she was diagnosed also den ied

she had ever been a patient.

Now, the attorney general is involved.

Investigation under wayInvestigators began interviewing donors and O'Connell in

February. Investigators also contacted the Times Herald-

Record earlier this month. The paper has declined through a

lawyer to participate in the investigation.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general on Wednesday

declined to speak about the investigation or possibility of

criminal charges against Vega.

Following a previous request for comment, spokesw oman Michelle Duffy said, "While we cannot

comment on potential or ongoing investigations, we are aw are of the situation."

Vega did not respond to a reques t for comment.

Joel Schreibman donated his photography services for the w edding in the hamlet of Wa llkill. He was

furious when he learned that he might have been duped, and he said he spoke to a state

investigator at the beginning of the year. He said he's one of the few donors who wanted to pursue a

case against Vega.

"People don't want to admit they've been had," Schreibman sa id.

He'd love to see her go to jail or pay back the donations, he said, but he's more concerned about

Vega's baby daughter, Ava.

"She's going to have to grow up , either being deprived of a normal family life or hea ring, 'Your mother

did this to people,'" Schreibman said.

O'Connell said he and Vega ha ve divorced. Ava is staying with Vega in Yonkers, and he has moved to

Virginia for work, he said. He's still in touch with the attorney gene ral's investigators, and he 'd still like

to hear Vega admit she lied, but it's not the all-consuming issue it once was . "I'm at the po int where,

really, I'm over it," he said. "I'm not even mad about it."

Shop owner lined up donorsRachel Taylor said she doesn't hate Vega e ither. Taylor worked tirelessly to line up donors for Vega's

wedding. She styled hair for the bridal party, donated he r time sha re in Aruba for the honeymoon and

even lent Vega he r entire summer wardrobe for the trip.

When a n investigator called in February, she told him what she knew and moved on. She and he r

sister-in-law Keri Ciastko bought Bella Couture in Newburgh. It's the bridal shop whe re Ciastko first

met Vega more than a year ago .

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Jessica Vega on her wedding day, M ay 2, 2010. Donors gave her a dr eam

wedding, when they thought she had terminal cancer.

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11/12 AG probes Cancer Bride case | recordonline.com


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It's sad, Taylor said as s he worked in the store on Wednesda y, but she'd do it all again if she could

help someone.

[email protected]

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11/12 Duped donor says lying bride needs help, not prison time | recordonline.com


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By James NaniTimes Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 04/10/12Last updated: 6:04 PM - 04/10/12

GOSHEN A woman who thought she was helping a cancer victim get the wedding of her dreams

before she died wants the fake bride to get help, not prison.

Jessica Vega faces charges she faked te rminal cancer to score a dream wedding and honeymoon, the

state attorney general announced on Monday.

Lisa Stoker of the Wallkill River House said she feels no ange r towards Vega .

In no way am I saying she's guiltless , but sitting in jail isn't

helping. She should get mental help, make restitution and

apologize, sa id Stoker.

Stoker said the whole reason Vega allegedly made lied about

her cancer diagnosis was to get Michael O'Connell to marry

her.

She got caught in this snowball of a lie...at that point she

didn't know how to get out of it. She wanted it so badly. said

Stoker.

Stoker said she doesn't defend Vega's actions, but thinks

Vega's actions don't deserve prison time.

Ultimately you're going to pay the price one way or another,

said Stoker.

An Orange County Grand Jury has indicted the 25-year-oldformer Montgomery resident on s ix felonies: five counts of

grand larceny and one count scheme to defraud.

By pretending to have a terminal illness , Vega inexcusably took advantage of the community's hearts

and minds, and profited off of their generosity, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. Our o ffice

will hold this individual accountab le for fleecing the pub lic through lies and deception.

Hamlet of Wallkill resident Keri Ciastko, 28, was one of those who he lped get the charitable snow ball

rolling for Vega.

When Vega walked into Bella Couture back in 2010, Ciastko noticed her short cropped ha ir and need

for a wedding dress . She out two and two togethe r and quickly and started making calls.

Ciastko said she helped Vega with everything from a veil to wedding shoes. She said she would the

split the costs o f wedding items with her sister-in-law Rachel Taylor and pulled money out of her own

back account to help Vega.

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Michael O'Connell and Jessica V ega dancing at their M ay 2, 2010 wedding

reception.

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I was five months pregnant and up at five in the morning, said Ciastko.

Ciastko said when she first found out, she was angry.

I feel kind of betrayed, said Ciastko.

Preparing for the wedding, Ciastko said Vega's claim of cancer was something she didn't hide.

It wasn't the e lephant in the room, said Cias tko.

Even when she saw Vega drinking and partying at her wedding, she said she thought it was strange

but didn't think much of it. Ciastko said she asked he rself what she would do if she were dying.

Wouldn't she want to enjoy her time left too?

I just hope that the truth is found out, said Ciastko.

The story Vega told in early 2010 was a heartbreaker. Then 23 years old, she claimed to be dying of

acute myeloid leukemia. She sa id she wanted to marry Michael O'Conne ll, the father of her young

daughter, before she died. Friends and strangers rushed to give Vega a beautiful wedding and

honeymoon. A Times Herald-Record story about the couple led to more donations.

According to the indictment, Vega accepted thousands of dollars in donated services and goods. The

couple married in May 2010, followed by a honeymoon in Aruba.

It all came apa rt four months late r when O 'Connell accused Vega o f faking the illness and called the

Times Herald-Record. Vega had offered a letter, purportedly from a Wes tchester doctor, as proof of

her diagnosis, but the doctor's staff later denied seeing Vega. Along with the felonies, Vega faces a

misdemeano r charge of possessing a forged instrument.

O'Connell said the couple divorced over the incident, and he moved to Virginia to find wo rk. On

Monday, O'Connell said he later helped Vega join him in Virginia, hoping to help her turn her life

around. They now have a second child, and O'Connell said the children need the ir mother.

She's a good mom, and that's a ll that counts at the end o f the day, O'Connell said. I want my kids

to have their mother back.

O'Connell was once Vega's biggest critic and cooperated with the attorney general's investigation. He

still says his ex-wife shou ld repay donors and apo logize, but he said mental health treatment is a

better option than jail.

The maximum prison sentence for any of the felonies is 4 years. Vega was taken into custody on April

3 in Virginia and extradited to Orange County, where she was a rraigned on Friday. She pleaded not

guilty and was sent to Orange County Jail on $10,000 cash or $30,000 bond. She's due to appear on

April 20 in front of Judge Robert Freehill. The state police assisted with the case.

O'Connell said Vega was in good spirits when she spoke to him by phone from jail. He and his family

are taking care of the kids in New York, and he 's hiring an a ttorney for Vega.

You know why? O'Connell asked, because it's the right thing to do.

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15/19



1 Hour Ago Reply

Mark T. Larrabee

This is just my opinion, but shouldnt this newspaper be also charged with some of these crimes? It was what

they published in print, which led to more donations? This couple didnt go asking all these people for everything,

the article in that newspaper that led to more donations. If not the newspaper, then it should be person who

wrote the article, without checking his sources.

I live in the Buffalo, NY area & we have a great cancer hospital here. They cant tell you stuff about theirpatients, but they can tell you if they are get ting treatment. If I were to ask them if Jane Doewho claims to be

a cancer pat ient dying with XYZyou can ask them if they are in a treatment program there? Im sure they

would answer with a yes or no one by that name is registered in any of our t reatment programs.

By her doing what she did & the newspaper not checking their sources, they have made it look so bad for the

poor souls who do have cancer & may have the dying wish. That is why I say there are more to be charged in

this scam case. If there is to be any restitution in this case, the newspaper should be held for a percentage of

it!

11 Hours Ago Reply

Michael

This is actually not that uncommon. I met someone who claimed to be dying of cancer. I was also stupid enough

to get romantically involved with her and within 2 months we were pregnant. We did not take the proper

precautions and she claimed that the doctors said it would be impossible f or her to become pregnant. Well with a

year I discovered she was lying. Which may sound unbelievable, but she was very good at faking it - making

fake trips to the hospital and refusing to let me go. Now we have a child together and I have to support her as I

am afraid she will take my child away from me. This is because she is from abroad and part of her visa condition

is that she is my dependant.

13 Hours Ago Reply

John E

I remember the days when journalists had to check all their facts before a story would be printed in the paper.

Why didn't the journalists who wrote t his story check with her doctors prior to publishing the orignal story and

where were the editors when all this happened?

14 Hours Ago Reply

Tricia

I have no idea what people think that "treatment" could do for this scam artist.

Meanwhile, those who think she should get treatment instead of jail time should remember that the nex t time

they or someone they know get scammed by a transient contractor looking to repave their driveway, a

"telemarketer" who is raising funds for "local law enforcement", or any of the hundreds of other scams out

there. This woman wanted something and lied to others to get it, that doesn't make her any different than the

rest of the con artists who want to bilk your grandmother out of her life savings.

Love likes this.

8 Hours Ago Reply

nmariong

Did this woman get 20million and then cover the lies with following her heart? Cheat and get

caught, scam artist. Cheat and get away with it, smart business woman.

Tricia

A thief is a thief if they commit thievery, not if they get caught. It's not the "getting

caught part" that makes them a criminal. It's the thievery that makes it so.

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Reporters Heathe r Yakin and James Nan in contributed to this s tory.

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16/19



3 Hours Ago

16 Hours Ago Reply

harrigan82

What a nice donor, but sorry this sad excuse for a person needs jail time for t his.

16 Hours Ago Reply

harrigan82

this garbage happens all the time. There are fund raising sites all over t he internet and you can just create your

own "fundraiser" for whatever reason you wish AND the website controllers do not, do not, do not, monitor how

the fundraiser money is spent. I've ev en sent complaints to some fundraising sites about monitoring or at least

getting proof of receipts for whatever cause it may be.

17 Hours Ago Reply

James J Nani

Just got call from BBCWorldNews for interview on story of bride who allegedly duped people into thinking she

had cancer http://bit.ly/Hy08wo

20 Hours Ago Reply

Love

You can bet this is not the first time this sociopath has scammed people, and stores out of goods and services.

I can picture her purchasing an item from China~Mart using it while it suits her needs, and then returning it (

with complaints)

so she can "get" something different. "What a self serv ing piece of crap!" I sure hope that they f ind her guilty

on all counts. Sheknew exactly what she was doing, and had so many chances to stop the scam, and just laughed at a ll the "

stupid " people who

she deceived .

21 Hours Ago Reply

Klaus Flauten

She should have used that money for contacts and tatt oo removal.

Yesterday Reply

B

I am a patient that is under going treatment for AML. This woman really needs to be punished and psychological

help. May community service helping in an infusion center where cancer pat ients receive chemotherapy. Then

she can hear a ll of the stories of us and how cancer has forever changed our lives and the pain and suffering

that goes along with it. I have no sympathy for this woman at a ll.

Love likes this.

7 Hours Ago Reply

mountaindreamer1

My husband also suffers f ro leukemia. I think you idea of community service at a cancer

hospital is a wondeful idea!

maybe a round or two of chemo just to see what it is like!

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17/19




Orange arrested





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18/19

11/12 Friends in bride scandal open up | recordonline.com







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'She wanted it so badly'

By James Nani

also by Doyle MurphyTimes Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 04/11/12

Special Report: Bridal Scam

GOSHEN They helped get her the wedding of her dreams. Now they just want her to get help.

Touched by the story of Jessica Vega, more than a dozen people donated gifts, services and cash for

her wedding to Michael O'Connell when she revealed she was diagnosed w ith terminal cancer.

It wasn't until after the wedding that folks began to learnthey were possibly victims of a hoax.

Vega, formerly from Montgomery, is now facing charges she

faked terminal cancer to score a dream wedding and

honeymoon, the state attorney general announced on

Monday.

Vega's story has since gone viral, with news outlets across

the globe calling the Times Herald-Record Tuesday for

information and photos. Lisa Stoker o f the Wa llkill River House

supplied flowers for the wedding. She said she feels no ange r

toward Vega.

"I'm in no way saying she's guiltless, but s itting in jail isn't

helping. She should get mental help, make restitution and

apologize," said Stoker.

An Orange County grand jury indicted Vega Monday on six

felonies: five counts of grand larceny and one count of

scheming to defraud.

The maximum prison sentence for any of the felonies is four years. Vega was taken into custody on

April 3 in Virginia and extradited to Orange County, where she was arraigned on Friday. She's

pleaded not guilty and is being held on $10,000 cash or $30,000 bond in Orange County Jail.

The story has gone global. National and international television and wire news outlets have picked up

the story.

Stoker said the reason Vega allegedly lied about her diagnosis was to get Michael O'Connell, the

father of their young daughter, to marry her.

"She got caught in this snowball of a lie. At that point she didn't know how to get out of it. She

wanted it so badly," said Stoker.

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Walkill River House owner Lisa Stoker supplied flowers for the wedding of Jessica

Vega, who allegedly feigned cancer to exploit others' generosi ty.

CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

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19/19

11/12 Friends in bride scandal open up | recordonline.com

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The couple have since divorced but were living together a t the time of her arres t in Virginia. They now

have two children together.

Hamlet of Wallkill resident Keri Ciastko, 28, was one of those who helped get the charitable donations

rolling for Vega.

When Vega walked into Bella Couture back in 2010, Ciastko noticed her short-cropped hair and need

for a wedding dress in a short time. She put two and two together and started making calls.

She said she helped Vega w ith everything from picking out a ve il to wedding shoes . She split the

costs o f wedding items with her s ister-in-law Rachel Taylor and pulled money out of her own bank

account to help Vega, even though she had a baby on the way.

"I was five months pregnant and up at 5 in the morning," said Ciastko.

Preparing for the wedding, Ciastko said Vega's claim of cancer was something she didn't avoid talking

about.

"It wasn't the elephant in the room," said Ciastko.

Even when she saw Vega drinking and partying at her we dding, she said she thought it was s trange

but didn't think much of it. She asked herself what she would do if she were dying. Wouldn't she want

to enjoy her time left, too?

Taylor did the bridal party's hair and makeup and even loaned Vega her summer clothes for a trip to

Aruba.

Taylor was deploying to Iraq and would be gone all summer, but she w anted the clothes back

eventually. It never happened. Vega denied she faked cancer, but eventually stopped answering her

phone and dropped out of sight.

There were the letters Vega said she was writing for her daughter as a way to give advice after shewas gone. She also talked about wanting to write a diary during the supposedly small amount of time

she had left. Taylor went to Barnes & Noble and bought her a beautiful leather journal.

"That's the stuff that when I think back that either she deserves an Oscar beyond any actress

I've seen in my life, or she ne eds mental health treatment," sa id Taylor.

"I still stand by my position that someone who is in their right mind doesn't concoct a story like this,"

Taylor said. "I really hope she gets some sort of help."



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