Lack of cooperation keeps rich man in jail

PHILADELPHIA – A millionaire jailed for more than a decade for contempt in his divorce case continues to block efforts to trace his missing assets and should remain jailed, a three-judge panel has ruled.

H. Beatty Chadwick, 68, who’s ex-wife now lives in Maine under a different name, is believed to hold the record for time served in a U.S. civil contempt case.

In the latest ruling in the meandering case, a three-judge Delaware County panel concluded that the most recent court-ordered financial probe did little to resolve nagging questions about the $2.5 million that vanished during Chadwick’s 1992 divorce.

Chadwick, while claiming cooperation, did not give investigators full power of attorney to follow the trail after he moved the money overseas, the judges said.

Chadwick maintains that he lost the money in an overseas investment. The money would be worth more than $8 million today, experts say.

“Defendant Chadwick’s lack of cooperation undermined the entire investigation, invalidating any conclusions or recommendations,” the judges wrote in their ruling last month.

The ruling kicked aside the recommendation of a retired judge who believed Chadwick was being cooperative and that there was no purpose in keeping him in jail.

In contrast, the presiding judges found little change in the posture of Chadwick, a one-time corporate lawyer who has battled cancer in prison.

Chadwick’s lawyer, Michael Malloy, said Tuesday he will appeal. He said that lawyers for Chadwick’s ex-wife, painter Barbara Jean “Bobbie” Chadwick, did not rebut their expert testimony.