Colacurcio's Recession Woes

Federal prosecutors say he was making $100,000 a month a couple of years ago. But Frank Colacurcio Jr. says he's close to broke, is unable to find work even as a gas-station attendant, and can't pay child support—or even help his ex-wife pay her water bill.

His ex isn't buying any of it. He's got two houses and four cars, and, she says, his income has "always been" between $1 million and $2 million. "It is far from the truth that Frank is now penniless," says Tina Colacurcio, who has received a $738 water shut-off notice. Because Frankie and his father, stripper king Frank Colacurcio Sr., are facing federal racketeering charges, she says, Frankie "is only doing this as a front for his case...to show federal prosecutors that he has no money."

What has ignited this family feud, six years after Frankie and Tina divorced?

When Frankie, his father, and business partners were indicted last June for racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud, and prostitution conspiracy, Frankie stopped paying his $9,000 monthly support for their three children. He couldn't afford it, he claimed, because his pretrial release agreement prevents him from associating with the nude-dance business or making money from it.

Frankie, 48, has sought work at Costco, Target, Best Buy, Fred Meyer, and the Richmond Beach Shell station, he says in court documents. To no avail. "I do not have a college education and my only employment has been in the adult entertainment business," says Frankie, who, like his father, has done prison time for evading taxes on their nude-dance-club business, which includes the flagship strip joint Rick's in Lake City.

Tina says her ex could pay the back child support by, at least, selling one of his four cars. She had to sell her own motorcycle, she adds, along with some furniture and clothing, to make ends meet. "Even with all my efforts, our water has been shut off," she says. Court records show that she has since tapped into a $60,000 line of credit the two had set up, which apparently covers the support Frankie owes. But they're now fighting over who has to pay back that loan.

More sure to come.