A Slidell area bait shop owner was arrested for allegedly trying to hire a hit man to kill his wife and end a bitter divorce, Sheriff’s Office officials said.

Danny Willingham, 56, offered one of his customers of Blue Dog bait shop $10,000 on three separate occasions to kill his wife of several years, Sheriff’s Office Capt. George Bonnett said.

The couple, who had a history of fighting, were in the midst of a “contentious property settlement,” when the murder-for-hire plot unfolded, Bonnett said. The couple frequently fought over the ownership of the bait shop as well as the couple’s home, a tugboat parked on the Pearl River behind the shop at 47611 Louisiana Highway 90 in Slidell near the Mississippi border.

But when the arguments got too heated — Sheriff’s Office deputies were called at least five times in the past several months — Bonnett said Willingham wanted his wife dead.

He finally set his sights on a frequent bait shop customer to do the job. Each time the customer was asked however, the 46-yer-old said no and brushed it off as a joke.

“Unfortunately, the customer liked the wife more than he did Danny,” Bonnett said. “Finally, he went to the wife and said this guy Danny is serious, you’ve got to do something.”

The wife called authorities on Oct. 5. An investigation was launched, and Willingham was arrested at the tugboat without incident Oct. 14.

As of Tuesday morning he was in St. Tammany Parish Jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond. If convicted, he faces five to 20 years.

Willingham is no stranger to domestic violence arrests. In January 2006, he was arrested after he locked his wife inside the bait shop and used his backhoe to push “mounds of dirt and debris” against the door, preventing her from escaping, Bonnett said.

Stuck inside, she called authorities, who eventually arrived and opened the door.

But before Willingham was handcuffed, deputies allowed him to eat a sandwich and drink a Coke inside his store to quell his diabetes. He then asked to use the restroom.

He was granted permission, but only if a deputy escorted him to the bathroom.

Willingham “didn’t like that idea,” according to police reports and said, “I might as well just (urinate) on the floor.”

With that said he unzipped his pants and used the bathroom in front of deputies. In addition to false imprisonment and battery charges, the stunt also landed him obscenity charges, Bonnett said.

In January 2008, he was also arrested on domestic violence charges, including disturbing the peace, false imprisonment and resisting arrest.

The facts and outcome of that case were unclear at deadline.