DISTRICT ATTORNEY - NEW YORK COUNTY
NEWS RELEASE
January 28, 2009
Contact: Alicia Maxey Greene
212-335-9400
http://manhattanda.org/whatsnew/press/2009-01-28.shtml
Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced the indictment of a Brooklyn-based lawyer and his law firm for stealing over $4 million from guardianship bank accounts the lawyer supervised for incapacitated people.

STEVEN RONDOS and his law firm, RAIA & RONDOS also known as RAIA & RONDOS, P.C., were charged with money laundering, grand larceny and scheme to defraud. RONDOS, 44, of Ridgewood, New Jersey, was also charged with offering a false instrument for filing. The crimes charged in the indictment occurred between 2001 and 2008.

The investigation leading to today’s indictment revealed that RONDOS and his law firm engaged in a scheme to defraud 23 incapacitated victims, and the estate of one deceased individual. RONDOS was appointed by various Supreme Court Justices in the New York City metropolitan area and elsewhere as legal guardian of property of incapacitated individuals.  In that capacity, RONDOS was responsible for safeguarding and managing the assets of incapacitated people.  Instead, RONDOS took advantage of the trust placed in him by the courts and the wards’ families and stole their money.  In some instances, RONDOS continued to steal money even after the victims had died.

RONDOS’s victims included mentally and physically impaired elderly people as well as children suffering from cerebral palsy due to medical malpractice at birth.  In the medical malpractice cases, the victims were awarded large sums of money for their medical, physical, and developmental needs.  As guardian of the assets of the incapacitated person, RONDOS was legally obligated to manage and distribute funds as needed for the care of that person.  Primarily, RONDOS’s obligation was to ensure that funds would be available for the needs of the incapacitated person and would be available for his or her lifetime.

However, in addition to making distributions for the incapacitated people, RONDOS wrote checks to himself and used the stolen funds to pay for personal expenses. In at least three instances, when he was confronted with the theft, RONDOS stole funds from another victim to pay back the prior victim.

The investigation further revealed that RONDOS used a large portion of the $4 million that he stole to pay for the mortgage on his home in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and for extensive home renovations, including landscaping, kitchen renovations, and a home theatre.

RONDOS was admitted to the New York bar in 1991. In 1995 and 1996, RONDOS worked as an attorney for the New York City Department of Finance. In 1996, RONDOS opened the law firm of RAIA & RONDOS, along with his wife, Camille Raia Rondos, at 225 Broadway in Manhattan. In 2002, RAIA & RONDOS opened an office in Brooklyn.  In 2002, RONDOS served as President of the Bay Ridge Lawyers’ Association. In 2003, RONDOS served as the Vice Chairman of the Guardianship Committee of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.  RONDOS was formerly a member of the New Jersey bar, but was disbarred by consent on January 5, 2009.

RONDOS and RAIA & RONDOS have been indicted on one count of Money Laundering in the First Degree, a class B felony; one count of Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a class B felony; nine counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony; five counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony; and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony. RONDOS was additionally indicted on two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony. A class B felony is punishable by up to 8⅓ to 25 years in prison; a class C felony is punishable by up to 5 to 15 years in prison; a class D felony is punishable by up to 2 ⅓ to 7 years in prison; and a class E felony is punishable by up to 1⅓ to 4 years in prison.

RONDOS, RAIA & RONDOS, and Camille Raia are being sued in asset forfeiture for approximately $4,720,996.70, which includes the total amount stolen and the value of the law firm.

Mr. Morgenthau thanked Detective William Pulzello, Sergeant Silvia Presto, Lieutenant Linda Amendola, and Assistant Prosecutors Danielle Grootenboer and Brian Lynch of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office for their cooperation in the investigation.  Mr. Morgenthau thanked Lieutenant Richard McAuliffe of the Hawthorne, New Jersey Police Department for his assistance in this investigation.  Mr. Morgenthau also thanked the County Clerk’s offices of the New York State Unified Court System, the Hudson County Surrogates Court Clerk’s Office, Inspector General of the Unified Court System Sherrill Spatz, and Francis Kenna, Managing Inspector General of Fiduciary Appointments of the Inspector General’s Office for their cooperation in this investigation.

Assistant District Attorneys Judith Weinstock and Kim Han presented the case to the grand jury under the supervision of Frauds Bureau Chief Michael Kitsis and Deputy Chiefs Jeannette Molina and Michele Shulman.  Investigator Lauren Liebhauser assisted in the investigation under the supervision of Supervising Investigator Jose Flores and Chief Investigator Joseph Pennisi, as did Financial Investigator Vincent Jones, and Trial Preparation Assistants Kristen McKeon and Diana Rosa. Assistant District Attorney Tara Miner, Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit, is handling the asset forfeiture matter.

Defendant Information:

STEVEN RONDOS, 4/28/1965
332 Greenway Road
Ridgewood, New Jersey

RAIA & RONDOS
466 Bay Ridge Parkway
Brooklyn, New York

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