‘I Do’s’ on TV Turn Into a Don’t

--It appeared to television viewers watching a newscast in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., like a love story come true. One viewer apparently knew better. After an on-camera ceremony joined Richard Charles Lindner in holy matrimony with a fellow employee at the Thunderbird Swap Shop, a woman claiming to be Lindner’s wife called police, reporting that what viewers were actually witnessing was bigamy, a third-degree felony. Deborah Lindner said she had married Lindner in 1981 and hadn’t seen him for several years. The two were never divorced. Detectives who checked county records to verify Deborah Lindner’s story found that Lindner had already been charged with bigamy in 1984, but adjudication had been withheld and he had been put on a year’s probation. Lindner was arrested once again on bigamy charges and freed on $1,000 bond. In the meantime, the oft-wed maintenance man has filed for divorce from his television bride of two weeks.

--New York wasn’t impressed with whiz kid Stephen Baccus, even though he had accomplished the extraordinary, finishing law school at the age of 16. So the pubescent attorney has taken his shingle elsewhere, opening the offices of Baccus, Marinello & Brady in Miami, Fla. New York state regulations prohibit anyone under 21 from taking the bar exam and exclude anyone who started law school before age 18. But the Florida Supreme Court admitted Baccus to the Florida Bar last year despite its rules requiring that an attorney be at least 18. Baccus, who will specialize in computer law, enrolled in the University of Miami Law School at the age of 14 and was graduated two years later. Baccus doesn’t worry that his age will put off clients. “So far, I’ve found that’s not the case,” he said. “People have contacted me even when I was in law school.”

--The Army and Air Force weren’t too thrilled with Margaret Berlin’s idea for a calendar featuring the men of the military. But the Navy, still basking in the glow from the bronzed bodies in “Top Gun,” pledged full cooperation, provided Berlin permanently grounded the Army and Air Force from the project. Berlin agreed, and the Washington woman was soon flying high with “Flying High,” which features Marine and Navy aviators and the aircraft they pilot. Berlin, a one-time aide to Republican presidential candidate and Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, got the idea after seeing “Top Gun” seven times. She borrowed $100,000 to finance the venture but figures to make that back, plus the money she spent on all those “Top Gun” tickets.