It turns out Michael Lohan was held in contempt of court and thrown in jail over the weekend. Couldn't happen to a better, more deserving fella!

We can think of many reasons he should be locked up - sabotaging his own daughter, screwing over Jon Gosselin, not paying child support, etc., etc.

But it turns out it was a simple phone call that did the trick.

According to police sources, Lindsay's dad was arrested in Medford, N.Y., on Sunday after calling up ex-fiancee Erin Muller. Why was that so bad?

Because Erin has a restraining order against him, natch.

Michael Lohan was charged with criminal contempt of court due to Erin's order of protection barring him from "trying to communicate by phone."

Guess Erin didn't respond to that fake Twitter suicide note, so he got on the horn. No word on how long he'll stay locked up, but it's long enough!

BAD CALL: That would apply to Erin Muller's decision to wed Michael Lohan (which she luckily reconsidered) and his illegal phone correspondence with her Sunday.