March 7, 13

NEWS / Marriage certificates show Tennessee town mayor has two wives; prompt mayor’s resignation

Scott Ferguson, the mayor of the Tennessee town of Oakland, resigned after it was discovered that he had two wives. Two different marriage certificates indicate that Ferguson married twice.

His first wife appears to be the mother of his four children, Laurie. His second wife, Miguelina Mora, married Ferguson in West Memphis, Arkansas a few weeks ago on Valentine’s Day.

Ferguson handed his resignation to the Oakland Council of Alderman in wake of the scandal.

“I decided to resign because I have not been true to my wife and I have neglected my family,” he said, as quoted by WMC-TV, a local TV station.

The scandal was made public after Action News unearthed the two marriage certificates, as well as other relevant documentation showing that Ferguson had two wives.

Miguelina Mora is now asking for a divorce or annulment based on the fact that Ferguson’s marriage to her is fraudulent.

Mike Dunavant, the Attorney General of Fayette County in which Oakland is located, said he did a cursory check of Ferguson’s documents and noted that he had not gotten a divorce with his first wife prior to marrying Mora.

One of the reasons why Ferguson may have been able to get married twice was that his second marriage took place under a different jurisdiction – in another state and county, allowing the discrepancy to slip through the fingers of record keepers.

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