Greene has filed a petition in Utah's 3rd District Juvenile Court to terminate Waldholtz's parental rights to their only child.

The former Utah congresswoman has sole custody of 9-year-old Elizabeth. Waldholtz is serving his second prison sentence during the girl's lifetime, a three-to-15-year term that began last May at a Pennsylvania prison for stealing $30,000 from his dead father's estate and other accounts.

Should Greene prevail, Waldholtz could lose all contact with his daughter.

"He's back in jail for doing the same kinds of things to more of his family members. I'm not going to let him get the chance to do it to Elizabeth," said Greene, who declined to say much more.

Court officials could not immediately say whether Waldholtz has hired or been appointed an attorney to represent him. Neither he nor his criminal defense lawyer in Philadelphia were immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

Most parental rights terminations arise in abuse or neglect cases. But private petitions sometimes accompany divorce disputes.

Under Utah law, Greene will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crimes Waldholtz committed indicate he is unfit to provide for his daughter's physical, mental or emotional well-being.

A hearing on the matter is set for June 14 and could take days.

Waldholtz was Greene's husband and campaign treasurer when she was elected to Congress in 1994 with the help of nearly $2 million in illegal campaign contributions. The money was funneled into the election from the personal fortune of Greene's father.

Greene claimed ignorance of any wrongdoing, though she and her father paid federal fines and the scandal contributed to her decision not to seek a second term. Waldholtz served 21 months of a 37-month federal prison term on fraud charges in the case.

More recently, Waldholtz ran into trouble with the law in his home state of Pennsylvania. The 42-year-old was convicted in May 2004 of theft after illegally writing and cashing dozens of checks drawn on the accounts of his stepmother and late father's estate.

Meanwhile, Greene has re-entered public life. In November, she lost a bid for elected office as Utah's lieutenant governor. The year prior, she was elected vice chairwoman of the state Republican Party.

Greene says her legal action has "nothing to do" with any political aspirations.

kstewart@sltrib.com