Infamous Deadbeat Dad Heads Back To Jail

The nation’s worst deadbeat dad was returned to jail for four more days Tuesday after settlement talks and a brief chat with his ex-wife failed to resolve his child support case.

Jeffrey Nichols, 47, owes $580,000 in past-due support for three children he had with Marilyn Nichols-Kane during their 16-year marriage.

State Supreme Court Justice Phyllis Gangel-Jacob refused to free Nichols until a deal is struck for him to pay back some or all of his debt.

Nichols’ lawyer, Mark Kaplan, told reporters he expected his client to be freed Friday, either through a settlement or by immediately paying $68,000 - the amount Nichols owed when Gangel-Jacob charged him with contempt in 1990.

Nichols made $180,000 in 1994 as an investment adviser on commodities and precious metals.

Nichols spoke to his ex-wife briefly before he was led away. She said he had asked her for the first time in years how the children were doing.

“That wasn’t the same Jeffrey Nichols,” she said. “This is a contrite man.”

Nichols was arrested by FBI agents last week at his Charlotte, Vt., home in the largest case ever prosecuted under the federal Child Support Recovery Act. The law makes it a federal crime to cross state borders to evade paying child support.