Richard Shenkman, who's charged with holding his estranged wife hostage for hours before burning down their South Windsor home, has been ordered to pay her nearly $180,000 after being found in contempt of court orders in their divorce case.
A Hartford Superior Court judge ruled last week that Shenkman has failed to pay Nancy Tyler the money as required by their divorce judgment, according to The Day of New London
Judge Jack Fischer gave Shenkman 30 days to pay Tyler or face being held in custody until he does so. Shenkman is already in custody. He's being held without bail at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield. Interest on the amount will begin accruing at the rate of 8 percent per year.
Following three years of bitter divorce proceedings, Shenkman, 60, allegedly kidnapped Tyler at gunpoint on July 7, the day he was supposed to turn over to her their South Windsor house.
The divorce has left Tyler with two properties that her husband allegedly torched: the South Windsor home, which burned to the ground after she escaped on July 7, and a Niantic home that Shenkman is accused of setting on fire on March 5, 2007.
Tyler has been unable to rebuild the Niantic house because of Shenkman's claim in a separate civil lawsuit that he is entitled to half the proceeds from the homeowner's insurance, according to The Day.
Attorneys attended a status hearing in the case last week, and oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 16.
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Judge Fischer wrote that Shenkman -- a former advertising executive -- is capable of earning $75,000 a year and has other assets, including two warehouses containing business equipment, so he “has the ability to pay” the money he owes Tyler.
