Henry T. Nicholas III swept through the kitchen of his Newport Coast mansion, cellphone at his ear, talking a mile a minute to one of his attorneys.
"I can't follow your advice because you don't know enough about me to give me advice," the 6-foot-6-inch billionaire shouted into the phone. "Yeah, I thought I was your friend."
The former Broadcom Corp. chief executive is talking to lawyers a lot these days as he endures a public spotlight fueled by a federal investigation into stock manipulation at Broadcom, allegations of drug abuse, an acrimonious divorce and a claim that he once sought to build a subterranean pleasure zone beneath a Laguna Hills mansion.
Nicholas, 47, denies any wrongdoing and says through his attorney that some of his accusers are simply trying to extort money from him.
Citing advice from his lawyers, Nicholas declined to address specifics of the stock probe or the allegations made in court documents against him.
But in a marathon interview that began Tuesday evening and stretched to 3 a.m. Wednesday, Nicholas talked enthusiastically about his eclectic interests -- including his efforts to develop military vehicles that can withstand rocket-propelled grenades, his work to keep California's three-strikes law intact, his attempt to keep his sister's killer behind bars and his venture into the music business.
Occasionally, Nicholas touched on some of the trouble that has come his way.
"If you want to understand my behavior, and my wife, and all that crap, here's what you should know," he said, pointing to a photo of his children. "My wife thinks I should have nothing to do with those kids."
In this week's interview and an earlier one, Nicholas also disclosed a recent cancer scare, which his doctor later described as a precancerous condition known as Barrett's esophagus.
Nicholas' penchant for colorful speech was evident in his discussion of the condition, which UC Irvine oncologist Dr. Kenneth Chang treated this spring by zapping potentially cancerous cells using an endoscope.
"It's kind of like a Korean barbecue, only it's the Chang barbecue, and what it does is it goes down and it creates an intense electromagnetic field, kind of like a barbecue -- actually not like a barbecue, but more like a microwave oven, but directed," Nicholas said. "And it barbecues off only that amount it allows without taking out the whole stomach."
Such monologues are not uncommon for Nicholas.
