WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- An insurance company is balking at paying benefits to the husband of a slain woman who lived near Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying he "has not been ruled out as a suspect."

Peggy Perez-Olivo, 55, was shot in the head Nov. 18, 2006, as she and her husband were driving from Manhattan toward their home just three doors from the Clintons in Chappaqua.

Carlos Perez-Olivo, 59, a disbarred lawyer, was shot in the abdomen. He said the shots were fired by a man who cut off their car on a dark road, then climbed in and shot both of them.

The road would not normally be part of the route home, but Perez-Olivo said he had detoured to find a gas station.

In a federal lawsuit filed Nov. 9, the Hartford Life Insurance Co. asks that a judge decide who should get the proceeds of two life insurance policies, totaling $467,000, on Peggy Perez-Olivo.

The policies named her husband as beneficiary and he submitted a claim, but the company says Perez-Olivo "has not been ruled out as a suspect," the lawsuit states. If Perez-Olivo were to be convicted in his wife's killing, the money would go to the couple's three grown children, according to the lawsuit.

Robert Buckley, Perez-Olivo's lawyer, said Monday that his client was innocent. He would not comment on life insurance as a possible motive.

"We have been pushing the insurance company to do this as a first step toward collecting the funds," Buckley said of the lawsuit. "Because the Police Department and the district attorney refuse to rule out anyone in an ongoing investigation, the insurance company is helpless."

New Castle police have made no arrests and refused to comment Monday on any aspect of the case, including whether life insurance is considered a possible motive.

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By Jim Fitzgerald, Associated Press Writer

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