DeLorean Has Chest Pains, Is Hospitalized

Former auto maker John Z. DeLorean, embroiled in a rancorous divorce trial here, was admitted to a hospital’s cardiac care unit today after suffering chest pains, officials said.

DeLorean walked into Somerset Medical Center at 12:34 p.m., said hospital spokeswoman Joanne Thorsen.

He was taken to the coronary care unit at the medical center.

“He is under observation,” Thorsen said, adding he was stable condition.

She declined further comment.

Drove Himself to Hospital

DeLorean’s attorney, John Trombadore, said his client drove himself to the hospital after feeling chest pains while en route to the lawyer’s office.

His hospitalization came shortly after a judge interviewed DeLorean’s children in an effort to help determine who should get custody. DeLorean and his ex-wife had been due in court this afternoon.

The judge postponed the hearing until noon Tuesday after being informed of DeLorean’s hospitalization.

DeLorean has bid for custody of the children, Zachary, 13, and Kathryn, 7, saying the jet-set life style of his former wife, television hostess Cristina Ferrare, keeps her away from them too much.

DeLorean, contending that he is in financial ruin after the failure of his car company and a cocaine trial in which he was acquitted, also wants his former wife ordered to pay child support.

Division of Assets

Ferrare, in turn, has asked for custody and support payments. The trial will also decide the legitimacy of a prenuptial agreement and division of the couple’s assets.

Included are a $3.5-million New Jersey estate and a $5-million New York City condominium--properties that DeLorean has testified are all he has with which to rebuild his life.

Superior Court Judge Michael R. Imbriani spoke with the children privately in his chambers to find out who they want to live with, said David Dean, Ferrare’s attorney.

Under an informal agreement approved by the judge, Kathryn was placed in the temporary custody of her mother, while Zachary, who is DeLorean’s son from an earlier marriage and adopted by Ferrare, was placed with his father. Both children have been living with their mother in California.

Imbriani has ruled that the California divorce is technically invalid in New Jersey because Ferrare was not a legal California resident. Ferrare married ABC television executive Tony Thomopoulos after the California divorce.