How far has Dr. Henry T. Nicholas III, the billionaire co-founder of Broadcom Corp., fallen?

Federal prosecutors argued that Nicholas should be locked up while he awaits trial on drug and options backdating charges, calling him a "danger to the community."

The prosecutors contend that Nicholas, knowing the federal criminal investigation was ongoing, hit one of his close associates in the face last June because he believed that person was wearing a wire, threatening to "chase him to the end of the earth" if he "screwed" him.

In October, Nicholas signed a declaration to customs regarding the amount of cash on board his private jet as he was returning from a trip to Mexico. The next month, Nicholas fled the scene of an automobile accident while driving his Lamborghini, and his bodyguard lied to police and took the blame.

Court papers show that prosecutors have been fighting for months with Nicolas' lawyers, refusing any agreement on bail even after Nicholas checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic and the pilots for his private-jet service signed declarations that they would not fly him anywhere without first checking with the government.

Nicholas was not even sure that prosecutors would allow him to "surrender" voluntarily, as he did, rather than be arrested and make a "perp walk" for the cameras, until just days before the indictment.

So unsure was Brendan V. Sullivan, the power litigator from Williams & Connolly tapped as lead defense counsel for Nicholas in early May, that he took an unusual step: On May 27, he informed the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles that he and his client would be present at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana every Wednesday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Nicholas and Sullivan did just that on May 28: Sullivan flew in from his law office in Washington, and Nicholas checked out of rehab for the day.

If true, the allegations in the prosecutors' request for detention suggest that Brendan Sullivan has one volatile client on his hands.

The motion describes a trip that Nicholas made on one of his private jets to Oakland with "Witness A," a person described as "his longtime friend, personal attorney, and employee." Nicholas accused Witness A of working for the government. After Nicholas hit him and threatened him, Witness A "fell to the ground and walked away." After the plane landed, Witness A stopped working for Nicholas.