BONNEY LAKE, Wash. – Pierce County sheriff's deputies have arrested a man accused of trying to hire a hit man to murder his wife, who'd filed for divorce.

Daniel L. Fiscus, 51, was arrested outside his home early Friday. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, and is being held on $5 million bail at the Pierce County Jail.

Det. Ed Troyer said a man contacted investigators on Dec. 21 and said Fiscus gave him $5,000 to kill his wife. Detectives arrested Fiscus after investigating the man's claims. Fiscus' wife was not hurt, Troyer said.

According to court documents, Fiscus' wife moved out of the couple's home in November without alerting her husband. She filed for divorce in the following weeks, stating the marriage was "irretrievably broken."

The 54-year-old woman, in a motion for a restraining order, said she "had to sneak out of her residence with the assistance of a number of close family friends who assisted me in relocating" because her husband is "physically aggressive and hostile."

She cited incidents in which her husband allegedly "tried grabbing another man out of the car" because he felt the man had cut him off, and other times when he "inflicted extreme physical abuse to our animals," including throwing a dog off of a 15-foot deck and beating another within an inch of his life.

Fiscus' wife said she "lived in a marriage where I walk on eggshells and do everything within my power to keep him from exploding," according to court documents.

She said her husband eventually learned of her whereabouts after "interrogating our friends and family," the document said. "I am literally terrified to the point that I may have to vacate that residence and try to seek a confidential address." The court issued a temporary mutual restraining order until the couple's scheduled court hearing on Jan. 11.

In his formal response to his wife's request for a divorce, Daniel Fiscus denied his wife's claims, adding, "I have not given up on saving our thirteen years together (11 married). But, I also want her to be happy, so if this is the decision (divorce), then I honor her decision."

The accused man said he has "never gotten into a physical altercation with another driver," and that he would never harm his dogs, who "are like are children," the documents said.

However, a co-worker of Fiscus' wife filed a declaration in court, stating she "witnessed Daniel Fiscus jump out of his car and begin striking the car of the other driver with his fists and literally trying to pull the driver out of his vehicle. I was shocked and afraid of what I saw," the document said.

Investigators have not said whether the couple's finances played a role in the deterioration of their marriage or the alleged murder plot. However, the two parties painted two distinctly different pictures in their statements.

The wife's petition for dissolution of marriage claims there is "a great disparity between the earning capacity and education of these parties, and the wife has a need for financial assistance."

Mrs. Fiscus told the court her husband, a Boeing worker whom she claims earns more than $95,000 a year, was "extremely financially controlling and verbally abusive, providing me with $1,000 per month with which to pay our bills."

Daniel Fiscus, however, stated his wife, who works an office manager at a doctor's office, earns $60,000 a year herself. He said she was responsible for paying the cable bill and the mortgage every month, and the $1,000 he gave her was for those purposes.

"(Name redacted) had no financial restraints. She could freely access our accounts," he wrote, adding the couple collectively owns seven homes.

Daniel Fiscus does not have a prior criminal record.