TV & VIDEO - Dec. 29, 1988

Comedian and perennial presidential candidate Pat Paulsen is being accused by his wife--whom he married only last July--of marrying her solely to gain control of the production-syndication company they jointly own. Linda Chaney Paulsen filed the counterclaim in a Golden, Colo., court in response to a suit Paulsen brought against her in September. The counterclaim accuses Paulsen of racketeering, libel, slander and conspiracy. She alleges in the suit that Paulsen took control of property belonging to her and the corporation, Pat Paulsen Enterprises Inc., and then demanded $85,000 to get it back. Paulsen’s suit claimed she defrauded him of $200,000 by diverting the money from business accounts to her personal accounts. The couple met in 1985 and formed Pat Paulsen Enterprises in 1987.