Santa Claus called for jury duty

A Long Island man who legally changed his name to Santa Claus in 2012 was summoned to jury duty last week. And the 54-year-old Claus, previously Frank Pascuzzi, showed up to Suffolk County Criminal Court sans suit and sleigh, the New York Post reports.

“I wore blue jeans and my green sneakers, a red dress shirt that just happened to have me, my sleigh and the eight reindeer on the back — nothing overboard,” he told the newspaper. “I wasn’t going to wear the suit — they’d lock me up,” he recalled. “I’m not going to tempt fate.”

Claus continued: “When I got there, the police were like, ‘Am I on the naughty or nice list?’ My reply was, ‘If you have to ask, you already know.’”

But the alleged murder case Claus was called for was dismissed.

Claus said he changed his name in early 2012 to match his appearance.

“I look like Santa Claus. Everybody knows me as Santa Claus,” he explained last year. “I decided to take it one step further.”

And while it might not have gotten him out of showing up for jury duty, being named Santa Claus does have its perks. In October, Claus accidentally rear-ended another driver on the Long Island Expressway. The responding officer was so amused, he did not issue Claus a ticket.