Sally Arnall

Roland E. Arnall's ex-wife may continue to seek documents and testimony from the Ameriquest Mortgage Co. billionaire as she attempts to show that he concealed his true wealth when they divorced seven years ago, a Los Angeles judge ruled Wednesday. Sally Arnall contends that her former husband failed to disclose significant assets during lengthy mediation proceedings after they separated in 1996, and that he pressured her into accepting an inadequate settlement of $11 million and two homes.

Roland E. Arnall's ex-wife may continue to seek documents and testimony from the Ameriquest Mortgage Co. billionaire as she attempts to show that he concealed his true wealth when they divorced seven years ago, a Los Angeles judge ruled Wednesday. Sally Arnall contends that her former husband failed to disclose significant assets during lengthy mediation proceedings after they separated in 1996, and that he pressured her into accepting an inadequate settlement of $11 million and two homes.

Ameriquest Mortgage Co. founder Roland E. Arnall has plenty of distractions these days -- an investigation of his company by authorities in 30 states, protesters at Ameriquest headquarters in Orange and an expected U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on his nomination to be ambassador to the Netherlands.

Those who know Roland E. Arnall describe him as a down-to-earth billionaire, one who is as comfortable pitching in at an animal shelter as he is commanding his business empire. A Jewish refugee who survived the Holocaust as a child in France, Arnall co-founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center and is one of the nation's top political contributors. The holiday bash last year at his 10-acre estate near the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles was attended by Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

LAST YEAR, WHEN the Berlin Wall fell and the word reunification was murmured in the halls of power, the American Jewish community held its breath. Nobody had to be reminded of what happened to European Jewry the last time Germany was one. Reluctant to risk sparking world ire by opposing reunification while television transmitted dramatic pictures of the decimated Berlin Wall, most American Jews were content to let the British, French, Poles and Soviets express concern on their own behalf.