Wife's Manic Spending Led To Bankruptcy Filing

According to a posting on Life of Jason's blog, the reason behind the recent bankruptcy filing by Springfield City Councilman Doug Burlison and his wife, Mellony, is $40,000 in credit card bills incurred by Mellony while she was in a manic phase of bipolar illness.

In an email sent to Jason Wert, author of Life Of Jason, Mellony Burlison wrote:

“Our financial situation is all my doing. I went on a $40,000 shopping spree unknown to Doug. I have Bipolar Disorder Type 1, and this was all done during a manic phase. I opened over 15 credit card accounts in Doug’s name, over the internet, without his consent or knowledge of anything that was going on. I lied to hide my purchases, unplugged the phone when I was gone so he wouldn’t get any phone calls about the cards.

I am not proud of my actions.”

For further information on this type of illness and what can be done on a local level, link over to this site.