>BY NANCIE KATZ, BARBARA ROSS and DAVE GOLDINER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Monday, August 4th 2008, 10:18 PM
Prosecutors are investigating a politically connected Brooklyn lawyer and his wife for allegedly siphoning off “potentially millions” of dollars from unwitting clients, including crippled kids, sources said.
Steven Rondos, 43, and his lawyer wife, Camille Raia, 47, are suspected of stealing the money from so-called guardianship accounts set up for victims of medical malpractice and personal injury cases.
A source close to the case said many of the victims are children who suffered serious injuries in car crashes or other accidents. The couple manages accounts worth up to $50 million.
Rondos and Raia have an office in Bay Ridge and own a $1.4 million home in leafy Ridgewood, N.J. They have not been charged, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office refused to comment on the alleged scam, which sources said may have gone on for years.
Judges in several boroughs and counties have started removing Rondos and Raia from their positions of authority over the accounts.
“[Officials] are in the process of petitioning to remove Rondos,” said David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the city Office of Court Administration.
Rondos and Raia did not return calls for comment.
The alleged scam started unfolding when officials at brokerage firm Smith Barney, which manages several of the accounts, noticed unusual withdrawals.
nkatz@nydailynews.com
