Divorce Court Judge Chides Lohan's Dad

Divorce Court Judge Chides Lohan's Dad


A judge chided Michael Lohan on Friday for his failure to make child support payments to Lindsay Lohan's younger brother and sister since his release from prison earlier this year.

"The obligation to pay child support is absolute. ... It is not to be taken willy-nilly," state Supreme Court Justice Robert A. Ross scolded Lohan in a brief proceeding inside a small, standing-room-only Long Island courtroom. "Enough is enough."

The court appearance by Lohan and his estranged wife, Dina, who have been separated since 2005, attracted a brigade of photographers, reporters and camera crews eager for any snippet of Lohan news following the arrest earlier this week of their daughter Lindsay.

"She's in a safe place and she's doing well," Dina Lohan said of Lindsay outside the courthouse; she did not speak in the courtroom.

The 21-year-old actress was arrested Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., and released on bail for investigation of misdemeanor driving under the influence and with a suspended license and felony cocaine possession. She has insisted in an e-mail to an entertainment reporter that she is innocent of the latest allegations, which come just two weeks after she was released from her second stint in rehab this year.

Her plight wasn't mentioned in the courtroom Friday.

Ross' primary concern was for the welfare of Aliana, 13, and brother, Dakota, 10. Another brother, Michael, is 19 and doesn't require child support.

Since his release from state prison in March after serving more than 20 months for attempted assault and other charges, Lohan said he has lived and worked at a rehabilitation center called Teen Challenge, but receives no salary that could be used to pay child support to his two youngest children.

He also said he is putting together a rehab center that he intends to run with others beginning in September, and said he should begin receiving income from that enterprise at that time. He wasn't specific.

"For five months, you did not need one cent?" Ross asked about the time spent since Lohan's release from prison. "This is not just about his needs, but the children's needs are not being met."

When Ross asked Lohan what income he had earned as an investment banker before going to prison, he was unable to give a specific answer.

An exasperated judge then imposed a $500-a-week child support order and instructed Lohan to provide proof that he is seeking employment by the next court date on Aug. 10.

Outside the courthouse, Lohan said he has other priorities besides making money.

"I am not on Lindsay's payroll and everyone that cared about Lindsay was extricated, fired, or quit. I was extricated myself, because I care," he said. "I want nothing. This is not a money issue with me, this is a child issue with me. It's about putting my family back together and helping Lindsay and anyone else that I can through the message that I'm trying to share with anyone else."

When asked whether he would seek employment, as the judge ordered, he countered: "I work for Teen Challenge. I work for God."

Besides the proceeding in divorce court, the Lohans are expected in Family Court on Monday to discuss custody and visitation issues involving their younger children.


Emergency Call in Lohan Arrest Released


Authorities have released an audio copy of the 911 call made by the mother of Lindsay Lohan's former personal assistant in the minutes before Lohan's arrest.

The woman pleaded frantically for help early Tuesday because a mysterious car was following her, according to the audio copy, released Thursday. The 911 call lasted nearly three minutes.

Lohan, 21, was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor driving under the influence and with a suspended license, and felony cocaine possession.

Her personal assistant had quit hours before the event, police said.

The woman contacted a Santa Monica police dispatcher shortly after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday while driving on Wilshire Boulevard. She apparently didn't realize the actress was in the white GMC following her.

"We were just about to park our car. We are turning home and out of nowhere a huge white GMC came up," the woman said to the dispatcher.

"We're being followed by a GMC ... the gentleman jumped out of the car," she said a few seconds later. "Oh my God, sir, they're following us. We need help."

The dispatcher repeatedly asked the woman for her location. The woman eventually said she was heading for the police station.

Police said the woman, accompanied by a passenger, drove her black Cadillac Escalade into the parking lot of Santa Monica's Civic Auditorium, about a block away from the police department, followed by Lohan driving a Yukon sport utility vehicle.

During the call, the woman could be heard saying, "Oh my God, what is he doing?" Near the end, hysterical but muffled yelling and screaming is heard.

A few moments later, the woman could be heard in the background, apparently pointing out people to the officers.

"That's him, that's him right there," she said. "And him, stop them."

Authorities saw Lohan and the woman in what police have called a "heated debate." They also said two men were with the actress in the car.

Three men have alleged they were with Lohan when she began chasing the woman, celebrity Web site TMZ.com reported Thursday.

According to the Web site, the men alleged that Lohan commandered the car outside a party in Malibu, about 20 miles away. One of the men claimed to have jumped out of the car just as Lohan accelerated, TMZ said.

The allegations could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.

Lohan's lawyer, Blair Berk, declined comment when reached late Thursday by the AP.

Santa Monica police Sgt. Marty Fine declined comment and referred questions to a media representative who wasn't available.

Los Angeles police and sheriff's officials had no comment. They said they had not been contacted by the Santa Monica Police Department, which is leading the investigation.

Lohan's latest film, "I Know Who Killed Me," opened in theaters Friday.