Etc...

I've seen enough of your act

A few months ago, members of the Duma, the lower chamber of Russia's parliament, tried to have the reality series "House-2: Build Your Love" banned from TV and its key cast members put on trial for corrupting the morals of young people . Somewhere in the sprawling nation, a viewer is glad they failed. No, not because she wants to be corrupted; it's because she happened to be watching one night recently when Alexei Adeev was a guest on the show and recognized him right away as the man she'd been looking for - literally. Reports say even though Adeev is still in his 20s, he's a career scam artist . In this case, posing as a real estate agent, he bilked the viewer of almost $2,000 that she'd saved to make a security deposit on a house she hoped to buy in Smolensk, a city northwest of Moscow. Adeev was reprising that role on the program, which pairs off male and female contestants and awards a free house to the couple who most demonstrate affection for each other. Alas for him, the viewer telephoned police, and the only residence he won that night has iron bars on it. He'll spend the next 4-1/2 years there.