Jerry Stiller seinfeld picture

Thanks to a CA judge, "Festivus" is now an official observance for jail inmates. Credit: Columbia TriStar Television / Everett Collection

A rather witty drug felon in California has been feasting on five-star prison chow thanks to a plot line from the '90s sitcom "Seinfeld."

Claiming a strict observance of the religious holiday known as "Festivus," 38-year-old Malcom Alarmo King convinced a California judge that his religion wouldn't allow him to eat the usual prison gruel. According to the New York Post, Judge Derek Johnson took the seemingly sincere request into consideration, ruling "The defendant is to receive a high protein no salami diet three times per day for 'Festivism.'"

Festivus, in case you are not aware, is a fictional holiday invented by Frank Costanza on the show "Seinfeld" as an alternative to traditional holidays like Christmas and Hannukah. Festivus was actually created by writer Dan O'Keefe, in the early 1960s; O'Keefe's son Daniel was a writer on "Seinfeld" and included the celebration in an episode that aired in 1997.

Apparently Judge Johson missed that particular week of television.

We think the "Seinfeld" writers would be proud of Malcom King, though. King's assertion that he needed the special meals as part of his religious observance is precisely the kind of bald-faced scam that could've easily found its way into a "Seinfeld" script, though. Instead, this hilarious bit of prankery aired -- sans laughtrack -- in the America judicial system. And it worked.

Since King's incarceration in May, the inmate has enjoyed pre-packaged kosher meals that reportedly cost more than twice as much as the usual jialhouse slop. Even more hilarious, the Orange County Sheriff's Department didn't realize it was being scammed until someone searched "Festivus" on Wikipedia.

While King has enjoyed the fruits of his "Festivus for the rest of us" prank (the other rites of Festivus include the airing of grievances, feats of strength and the "Festivus pole"), it has taken months for Orange County attornies to overturn Judge Johnson's ruling.

"This guy doesn't need a kosher diet for Festivus," OC Sheriff commander Dave Wilson tells the NY Post. "But any inmate is free to observe the holiday. We don't have Festivus poles, but plenty of our housing locations have bars in them."



Looking for a reason to celebrate your own Festivus? How about these creepy Santas?