Some high-profile divorces end up being examples to other people of exactly what they shouldn’t do — if they want to avoid serious trouble.
An 81-year-old millionaire who once served as Chairman for Chicago’s Board of Trade has been jailed because of contempt of court following his divorce.
In 2013, the millionaire left the United States for Italy — after moving all his assets out of the country as well. He made the move after his ex-wife was awarded $18 million in their divorce — a sum he decided not to pay.
It’s unclear what he was doing back in the country, although it could have some connection to his medical condition. He has a form of cancer that needs treatment.
Despite that, the judge in his divorce case ordered him jailed for contempt because he hasn’t produced the $1.4 million he need to hand over in cash in order to get bail. Through his attorney, the man somewhat disingenuously tried to convince the judge to lower his bail to a mere $50,000 on the basis that he didn’t have access to a larger amount within the country.
The judge declined the request. She pointed out that it would be akin to rewarding bad behavior to allow him to get out of jail because he’d succeeded in offloading his money to a place it couldn’t be reached from within the country.
She also felt that he still presented a flight risk. Given that he seemed able to lay his hands on several thousand dollars rather easily, she is openly afraid that he won’t stick around for court later. She quipped that at least as long as he was confined to jail, the court wouldn’t be left wondering where he was.
Stories like this illustrate how a refusal to obey the court in a divorce can end up haunting you when you least expect it — even years after a marriage is over and you may believe the issue is forgotten by the courts. It’s much better to deal with property and asset division fairly than end up sitting in jail.
Source: Chicago Sun Times, “Judge orders ex-CBOT chairman Pat Arbor kept in jail, so ‘we know where he is’,” Mark Brown, June 02, 2018
