Ex-Wife, 2 Men Face Charges in Assault Case

A 61-year-old Laguna Beach woman was accused Friday of conspiring with two men to use a flaming road flare to force her ex-husband to agree to a property settlement that would give her their $600,000 house and thousands of dollars in stock.

Helen Westin Ruppert and two men accused of assaulting her ex-husband, Harold Ruppert, 65, pleaded not guilty Friday to four counts each of assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, extortion and conspiracy.

The three appeared before Municipal Judge Pamela Iles here. The men are Richard William Nimmo, 52, of Newport Beach and Ralph Thomas Pueschel , 30, of Grand Terrace in San Bernardino County.

“I’ve heard about people going to all lengths to acquire divorce settlements,” Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Ray Lardie, said, “but this is the first time this has ever happened in Laguna Beach. It’s strange.”

“ ‘The War of the Roses’ is a song and dance compared to what has been going on in this relationship,” Harold Ruppert said, referring to the movie, after his ex-wife was arraigned.

Helen Ruppert, who posted $250,000 bail and was released, called the charges “a total setup. I don’t know anything that’s going on. . . . It’s a nightmare.”

Nimmo and Pueschel remained at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail each late Friday.

Harold Ruppert, who said he owns a Pomona nightclub, hotels in Oklahoma City and other real estate, said he and his ex-wife have shared the same Laguna Beach home for the five years since their divorce--she lives upstairs and he lives on the ground floor--because they have not been able to agree on a way to divide their common property.

Harold Ruppert told police Tuesday that on that day two men came to the house inquiring about his nightclub, which is for sale. At the time, he said, his ex-wife was upstairs in her room.

After he let the men inside, court papers say, Nimmo told Ruppert, “You’re in very deep trouble. . . . Sign the papers if you value your life.” When Ruppert tried to call police, the court papers allege, Nimmo lit a red road flare and held it near Ruppert’s groin.

“I could feel the heat through my pants,” Harold Ruppert said. “I feared for my life.”

According to court records, Ruppert then signed a settlement agreement turning their house over to his ex-wife, along with stock valued at several hundred thousand dollars and other property.

According to the court papers, Nimmo told Ruppert that “we’ll find you if you give Helen any more trouble” and that someone “would kill him if he notified the police.”

When the two men left the house, Ruppert said, he called police.

Nimmo and Pueschel were arrested in front of the house. Police said they had to break down the door to Helen Ruppert’s room to arrest her because she would not answer their calls.

Larry Morris, a Los Angeles lawyer representing Helen Ruppert, denied that his client tried to intimidate Harold Ruppert or to force him into signing any documents.

“Sooner or later Mr. Ruppert is going to have to take a lie-detector test, and the truth will come out,” Morris said.

Morris said Helen Ruppert had planned to ask her ex-husband to accompany her to an escrow company to work on a final house settlement. Morris said Nimmo and Pueschel had gone to the Ruppert house merely to act as witnesses to any settlement.

According to court records, Helen Ruppert filed for divorce on June 10, 1986, after nearly four years of marriage; the divorce became final some time later. On Oct. 25, 1986, Superior Court Judge Charles Garrity ordered the couple to split interest in their $600,000 Laguna Beach home, all stocks, bonds and securities purchased jointly and various pieces of property in Pomona and in Memphis, Tenn.

The judge also ordered Harold Ruppert to pay $37,000 for his former wife’s legal expenses.

Helen Ruppert, apparently dissatisfied with the outcome, filed a motion for a new settlement, but Garrity denied the motion last month. She has filed an appeal that is pending.

Times staff writer Henry Chu contributed to this report.