Noted economist "on cocaine binge' Tues, July 4, 1995 NEW YORK - The wife of economist Lawrence Kudlow has asked a court to freeze his retirement account, saying otherwise he will spend all of the money on cocaine, according to court documents. Kudlow, who resigned last March as chief economist of Bear, Stearns & Co., was fired as economics editor of the National Review and is in danger of overdosing on cocaine, his wife said in an affidavit. Judith Kudlow made the allegations as part of an effort to bar her husband from withdrawing funds from his individual retirement account at the securities firm. She filed divorce papers Thursday against the former Reagan administration official and supply-side economics advocate. In the last two weeks, the 47-year-old Kudlow "has been on a steady cocaine binge and is desperate for money," she said in papers filed at the New York State Supreme Court. She said her husband's drug counselor thought he would "probably overdose or die of a heart attack" if he had access to the money at Bear Stearns. Judith Kudlow said she wanted to sell both of their Manhattan residences to pay for treatment of his cocaine habit and to pay off $150,000 of debts accumulated because of his addiction. Lawrence Kudlow could not be reached for comment. Lawrence Kudlow first acknowledged last year in an interview with the New York Times that he had a drug- and alcohol-abuse problem. He also said Bear Stearns had forced him out. Initially, his departure was reported as voluntary. >From 1980 to 1984, he served in the federal Office of Management and Budget as associate director for economics and planning. In that post, he helped develop President Ronald Reagan's economic and budget policies. More recently, he was an economic advisor to New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman. July 4, 1995 San Francisco Examiner
