Lawyer's husband sentenced for bigamy

TAMPA -- A man accused of being married to a South Tampa divorce lawyer and another woman at the same time has pleaded no contest to a bigamy charge.

George Dumstorf Jr.'s own attorney said he received "a sweetheart deal" from prosecutors in Panama City, where the charge was filed. Here's why: Dumstorf's bigamy sentence will run concurrent with a 27-month prison sentence he received last month after pleading guilty to a federal bank fraud charge.

Dumstorf's multiple relationships were recounted by the Times in a November 2007 story. He held himself out to at least four women to be a high-level military and NASA man; in reality he was neither.

The women he conned are not pleased with his bigamy sentence, which they said amounts to no punishment, given that it runs alongside the federal prison time. They are also unhappy that he'll serve his time in federal, not state, prison.

"He’ll be in a country club for 27 months," said Valerie Gaines, whose mother divorced Dumstorf in 1999 after suspecting him of bigamy.

Martha-Irene Weed served as Dumstorf's attorney in that case. She later married him herself in Panama City, but eventually accused him of bigamy when she learned that he had another wife.

Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

[Photo: Times files]

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