Dentist says neighbor vandalized his risqué Easter lawn display — which he says was a tribute to Hugh Hefner

Kristine Solomon
Dr. Wayne Gangi said his risqué lawn display is an homage to Hugh Hefner, but many see it as lewd Easter decor. (Photo: Courtesy of Alice Stockton-Rossini)
Dr. Wayne Gangi said his risqué lawn display is an homage to Hugh Hefner, but many see it as lewd Easter decor. (Photo: Courtesy of Alice Stockton-Rossini)

A dentist is striking back against a neighborhood woman who he alleges vandalized his risqué Easter lawn display, which features life-size mannequins dressed up as Hugh Hefner’s famed bunnies.

Dr. Wayne Gangi recently set up the scantily clad dummies in front of his dental office in Clifton, N.J. as an homage to the late Hefner, he told WPIX. Apparently, because the exhibit coincides with Easter season, some neighbors are interpreting it as lewd holiday decor.

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One particular neighbor, who identified herself to the news station as Desiree Mozek, was so offended by the sexy statues that she decided to take matters into her own hands. Using a pair of garden shears, the mom allegedly destroyed the five mannequins, which were decked out in bunny ears, fishnet stockings and skimpy lingerie.

“I have a son and he’s 16 years old,” Mozek told WPIX. “He is a good boy and he does not need to be seeing this every time I pick him up from school.”

When questioned by the news station, Mozek doubled down on her decision to destroy Dr. Gangi’s property.

“I think I did something right,” she said. “That’s disgusting already.”

But Gangi, who is known in the community for his flashy holiday decorations, feels the risqué display is completely harmless, and he defends his right to put it up.

“My staff helped me put the characters out on the lawn,” he told WPIX, “and unfortunately there was a total spin on me attacking the celebration of Easter. It just wasn’t true.”

Tuesday would have been Hefner’s 93rd birthday, and Gangi said the mannequins are meant as a saucy celebration of the iconic magazine founder. According to NorthJersey.com, the dentist recycled mannequins that had been part of his Valentine’s Day display this year and simply gave them a sexy wardrobe change.

Gangi’s provocatively posed figures are drawing mixed reactions from other members of the Clifton community. One person on Facebook suggested boycotting the “trashy dentist,” while another wrote, “I question your professional judgment due to the fact that you think it’s OK to put tacky trash on your yard. Yeah you have the ‘right’ to do it. You also have the ‘right’ to yell ‘fire’ in a crowded movie theater. But having a right does not mean it is prudent or well advised to exercise that right.”

“Proves he has ZERO respect for women and the young girls of our town,” another commented. “Would anybody buy a house next door to this?” wrote another. “That’s actually rather nauseating no matter what time of year it is. Sure glad he isn’t my dentist,” said a third.

But others find humor in the display, and expressed that vandalism is never OK. “I think it’s quite funny,” one mom wrote. “But I also have a very good sense of humor! And I have a 14-year-old that would find it funny every time we passed.” Another commented, “Personally think it unprofessional to have it on his lawn of his practice but no one has the right to go on someone’s property and take/destroy it.”

Another suggested that Gangi press charges against the vandal. That doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility — but for now, he said he is in the process of filing a restraining order against the woman, according to WPIX. He added, “This isn’t the first time I had a problem with her.”

Incidentally, this isn’t the first time the town of Clifton has had a problem with his lawn decor, either. In 2013, the city ordered the dentist to take down a ghoulish Halloween display because his electrical cables were hooked up to city-owned trees, according to CBS New York. “Each and every year they do a little bit more to curtail or censor how I decorate,” Gangi said at the time.

NorthJersey.com asked councilman William Gibson what he thought of the display. Gibson said the mannequins were in “poor taste” and “over the top,” and that the dentist “definitely knows he’s walking the edge.” Gibson said he’s been receiving complaints about the decorations, but his wife, Robin Gibson, admitted, “Some people are finding it very inappropriate; others are finding it hilarious.”

Reporters from The Record, a local newspaper, allegedly tried to track down Mozek and rang the doorbell of her New Jersey home, according to Fox News. A man named Tom Mozek, who claimed the woman was not his wife, but that she lived there with her son, answered. He said he had warned her not to deface the display, and that “she has to take responsibility for it.” He also identified her as Desiree Shepstone.

Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to the Clifton Police Department, which is currently investigating the incident. Gangi said the vandalism resulted in about $500 to $1,000 in damages, but he told WPIX he plans to resurrect the display as soon as he can.

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