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NEW YORK, Dec 29, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A Brooklyn teen says her accusation that neighbors heartlessly tormented her and her mom because of their small stature was just a tall tale.
Concelean "Corie" Pegues, 17, testified that her neighbors Joey and Elizabeth Izzo likened her and her mom to munchkins from Oz. But, now, the New York Post reports, she claims her mother paid her $500 to lie.
Both Pegues, who is 3-foot-6, and her 3-foot-8 mom Debra Shea, testified that the Izzos threatened them and mocked them by chanting, "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go."
The couple pleaded guilty last month -- Izzo to a felony hate crime; his wife to making physical threats. Izzo admitted he painted a yellow line outside Shea's Brighton Beach home and shouted, "Follow the yellow brick road."
Shea contended her daughter, in recanting her charges, was getting even with her for booting her from their apartment two weeks ago and for having her arrested for breaking a coffee table.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2005 by United Press International
