LOVING AND LOSING

Oh Man! I know I haven't been dutiful. Ok, ok. That's another way of saying I have been so lazy. Haven't been updating my blog.
Actually, I have been away. Working. So tired at the end of the day.

But here's a posting, courtesy HeraldnewsOnline, on love that's turned into a lawsuit:

"It's better to have loved and lost, unless the woman keeps your 50 grand engagement ring and threatens to sell it.
And that's just what the former fiancee of Naperville businessman Richard Phebus did, according to his attorney.
Phebus popped the question to 43-year-old Renee Mingilino of Naperville in December and presented her with a 5.03 carat, center pear-shaped diamond engagement ring.
Altobello Appraisal of Wheaton put the ring's value at a cool $48,000.
But the love affair soured soon after and, by February, the couple was meeting with a counselor in hopes of saving their rocky relationship, according to court papers.
The counselor's guidance apparently provided no remedy for the ailing romance and the two threw in the towel, with Mingilino agreeing to return the ring, papers show.
From there things between Phebus and Mingilino went from bad to worse, according to a complaint filed by Phebus' attorney, James J. Laraia of Wheaton, as Mingilino refused to return the ring, then demanded money from Phebus for it and even threatened sell the token of his affection.
At some point, Mingilino went so far as to claim she had already sold the ring, Laraia said, but Mingilino's 24-year-old daughter revealed it was being kept in a safe deposit box at an undisclosed bank.
But the fear of Mingilino cashing in on the ring was very real, as the complaint alleged she recently declared bankruptcy and was unemployed.
Phebus filed suit against Mingilino on March 22. The case went to court, and he obtained an order for Mingilino to surrender the ring to the sheriff's department.
In exchange, he had to put up a $100,000 bond until the squabble was sorted out. Now, it's all taken care of.
She gave up the ring, he got it back, and their love story has come to an unhappy end.
"He's a sentimental guy and this has affected him," Laraia said of his client, who failed to return calls for comment.
"He really loved her and, for whatever reason, it didn't work out, and he's pretty shaken up about it."
Neither Mingilino nor her attorney, Chris Spesia, could be reached for comment.
As for the ring, Phebus might end up recycling it.
Laraia says his client told him, "Right now, I'm going to hold on to it. Maybe someday, if I fall in love again, I'll give it to her."

Sigh.................