Dennis Rodman's on a binge, financial advisor says

Dennis Rodman is in desperate need of a rebound.

An Orange County court commissioner Tuesday told the NBA Hall of Famer he faces a possible 20-day jail stint for contempt of court unless he comes up with $860,376 in child and spousal support he owes his ex-wife by May 29, though it’s likely he could get community service time instead, or have the charges dismissed.

Either way, Rodman’s attorney and his financial advisor say, their client’s broke.

“In all honesty, Dennis, although a very sweet person, is an alcoholic,” said Peggy Williams, his financial advisor. “His sickness impacts his ability to get work.”

When his third wife, Michelle Rodman, sued him for divorce in 2004, Rodman sold his oceanfront party pad in Newport Beach. At the time, he listed his previous year’s income as $570,000. He said he had $3.4 million in property and $1.45 million in stocks and bonds.

But, he said, maintaining his hard-charging lifestyle was costing him more than $31,000 a month.

The couple has spent several years attempting to reconcile, but the marriage was dissolved a few weeks ago after his wife petitioned the court again.

 “This case, especially his wife filling for divorce, has put him on a binge that I have never seen before,” Williams said. Rodman, she said, no longer has a job, savings or even a checking account.

Along with the occasional arrest, a rainbow of ever-changing hair colors and the tens of thousands dropped in strip clubs, Rodman also has tax issues. He withdrew his NBA pension for pennies on the dollar to pay taxes owed to California and still owes $350,000 in back taxes, according to Orange County court documents, though his lawyers says it should be substantially less.

Rodman arrived to court Tuesday dressed in a white blazer, black jeans, Converse tennis shoes and a Chicago Bulls hat. Rodman won three NBA championships with the Bulls in the late 1990s and also played with the Lakers, albeit briefly.

He referred to Michelle as his “wife” during the hearing and said the two get along and that they had dined with their two children at an Outback Steakhouse on Monday evening.

 Rodman, who lives in Miami, said their dispute has “never been a hate thing. We’re not like that.” He added the two were “just trying to get it done.”

When court broke for lunch, the two huddled to make lunch plans.

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-- Lauren Williams and Mike Anton

Photo: Dennis Rodman in Orange County Superior Court in 2003 in a civil case. Credit: Mark Boster /Los Angeles Times