Apr.26, 2010

MADISON — Jeffrey Hamburg, the ex-husband of the woman found dead in her yard March 3, avoided jail Friday.

Hamburg, 61, of West Hartford, has not been charged in the death of his ex-wife, Barbara Hamburg, 48. The attorney for her estate, Richard Callahan, had asked New Haven Family Court Judge Holly Abery-Wetstone to hold Hamburg in custody until he paid $25,000 toward debts he owed his client.

Callahan asked that Hamburg be put behind bars for “willful noncompliance” Friday, because Hamburg owes his late wife $52,000 in overdue payments, and Callahan said the man has the ability to pay.

Abery-Wetstone ruled there was not enough evidence to incarcerate Jeffrey Hamburg, or prove he is willfully noncompliant with court orders. Hamburg did not offer any money in court Friday.

Barbara Hamburg’s sister, Conway Beach Williams, said she was frustrated by Friday’s all-day court proceedings.

“I just really wish that he would just be a man and take care of his children and take care of the estate now that my sister is no longer with us,” she said. “This can’t just go away because we’re without my sister.”

Jeffrey Hamburg took the witness stand for more than three hours during Friday’s compliance hearing. He appeared calm and repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.

Police have not named Hamburg as a suspect in the killing, but his criminal attorney, Hugh F. Keefe, has identified him as such. Hamburg provided a DNA sample to police last month. Four officers from the Madison Police Department and the state police Major Crime Squad attended Friday’s proceedings.

Callahan’s questions focused on Hamburg’s finances. He said the court could infer that Hamburg had hidden money available to him, because of several thousand dollars he has received from his sister and business associates in the Middle East.

It is not the first time Jeffrey Hamburg has faced allegations related to finances. Barbara Hamburg told police six years ago that Jeffrey Hamburg acquired at least $100 million in an international money-laundering scheme, according to a source who spoke with the Register last month.

Jeffrey Hamburg’s sister, Marcia Carpeni, lent her brother $500,000 between 2000 and 2002 and provided him $8,000 when he was jailed for nonpayment in June 2009, Hamburg testified. A friend, Libania Lewis, told the court Hamburg indicated the car he drove belonged to the same sister.

His sister also made direct payment to Keefe, Hamburg said. He testified that the money is not a loan, that he never had access to the money, and he refused to say how much Keefe was paid.

After the morning break, Keefe entered the courtroom and stood beside Hamburg in order to advise him on when to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.

Hamburg, who had previously told the court he had no ability to get a loan, was also able to secure $1,500 to hire a bankruptcy lawyer March 17, and paid $13,000 toward the $151,000 he owed in total for child support, educational costs and other items March 24.

The money for both of those sums, Hamburg testified, came from loans, one from a Middle Eastern business associate named Usama Lawshimi, and another from the wife of a business associate in Dubai whose last name he said he did not recall.

His wages have been garnished to pay $324,000 in child support, Callahan said, yet Hamburg still has a history of “making deposits when he doesn’t have any income.”

“It always seems Mr. Hamburg is able to obtain money for everything but compliance with court orders,” Callahan said.

Under questioning by Callahan, Hamburg said he did not have money or assets overseas.

Jeffrey Hamburg’s divorce attorney, Paul Carty, said Callahan had failed to provide evidence that Hamburg had the money to make the payments.

“His allegations and suspicion are not evidence,” Carty said. “There is no evidence that a lump sum, between December 2009 and today, was under his control.”

Abery-Wetstone ruled that Callahan had not proved Hamburg gave a stash of money to his sister, and said there was no case law that allows her to hold him in contempt because his sister did not give him money.

She ordered Jeffrey Hamburg to appear before the court each month with proof that he has applied for at least five loans, and reapply for a $600,000 life insurance policy he has been required to hold.