NEW YORK -- The tycoon who offered Paula Jones $1 million to settle her sex harassment suit against President Clinton was arrested -- reportedly in a murder-for-hire plot against an ex-business partner.
Abe Hirschfeld was arrested late Wednesday at his Fifth Avenue home, said police spokesman Dennis Cirillo. He was being held under a sealed indictment.Even though the charges have not been made public, the Daily News said Thursday the charges stem from a murder-for-hire scheme against Hirschfeld's former partner, real estate developer Stanley Stahl. Hirschfeld apparently backed out of the plot, the report said.
In an interview on WABC-TV Wednesday night, Hirschfeld, 79, said he was innocent but expected to be indicted.
"I never had an interest in killing anybody," he said. "I don't need it. Everybody knows I can't kill a fly."
Hirschfeld and Stahl reportedly had a falling out after their real estate partnership involving three East Side buildings and a parking lot site went bad. They had been in litigation over the deals but settled in an out-of-court agreement in February, the News said.
Hirschfeld is already under state indictment for tax fraud and has been sued by his daughter over a business deal.
After the Daily News first reported on the investigation into the murder scheme last year, Hirschfeld -- who once briefly owned the New York Post -- sued the News for defamation, seeking $50 million in damages. The case is pending.
In October, Hirschfeld offered Jones $1 million to settle her suit against Clinton, with the stipulation that the money go to Jones and not to pay her legal bills.
Hirschfeld withdrew the offer a few weeks later after he said Jones attorneys' rebuffed him. Last month, Clinton agreed to pay Jones $850,000 to end the case.