Baretta is broke.
Robert Blake filed for bankruptcy Friday, just two and a half months after a civil jury ordered the actor to pay $30 million in damages for the wrongful death of his slain wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley.
Blake, 72, was acquitted of Bakley's murder in criminal court last March. "If you want to know how to go through $10 million in five years, ask me," he told reporters outside the courtroom. "I'm broke. I need a job."
The comments were a preemptive move in the face of the civil suit filed on behalf of Bakely's children, alleging he had "intentionally caused" their mother's death. Blake even tried to settle the suit before going to trial, but the plaintiffs didn't bite.
"The concept of Robert Blake doing everything he can to avoid paying was highly anticipated," Bakley attorney Eric Dubin told the Associated Press. "And we're ready for it."
In the bankruptcy filing, Blake listed the $30 million judgment as his biggest liability, and also included a $1,274,783 federal tax bill, a $334,337 state tax assessment and a bill for $7,903 for his civil attorney, Peter Ezzell. According to the court document, Blake's total assets are listed between $100,001-$500,000.
Dubin claims that Blake's alleged penury is an act, though he declines to estimate how much he thinks the actor is worth. The attorney says that in addition to selling two homes in the past few years, Blake has spread around numerous other revenues into several different hidden assets.
"Robert Blake has a lot of different corporations--different names--so his assets are pretty spread out in various entities," the lawyer said.
Ezell, unsurprisingly, disagreed. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have written off $200,000 in fees," he told the wire service.
Ditto private investigator Scott Ross, who worked on Blake's criminal defense.
"Dubin will never see a dime," Ross told the Los Angeles Times. "Robert will take it to his grave. He doesn't have anything left. He was wiped out a long time ago. People just refuse to believe it. Including Dubin."
Ross confirmed that Blake had sold three homes in recent years, but said that all the money from those sales went toward paying off debts and legal fees.
"Robert was not extravagant," Ross told the paper. "He did not live in any high-spending way. Even the Dodge [Bakley] was killed in--he bought that used.
"He still has his pension; they can't touch that. It's not as if he's going to starve to death. It's not as if he's going to not live the way he used to."
Ezzell says he will file a motion for a new trial in the civil case once the previous jury's judgment is made official.
The presiding judge in the case fell ill shortly after the verdict was rendered and has been away on medical leave ever since. He was unable to affirm the ruling before his departure.
"We hope he's able to return soon," L.A. Superior Court spokesman Alan Parachini told the Times, adding that the courts would turn the case over to another judge if necessary. "Next week we need to clarify the situation in terms of Judge Schacter's return date."