NEW YORK, N.Y. (AP) — A hit-and-run motorist pleaded guilty Friday in a suburban New York incident that killed Nicki Minaj's father and was sentenced to a year or less in prison, disappointing prosecutors and the rapper's mother.
Businessman Charles Polevich admitted fleeing the scene of the February 2021 accident in Mineola that killed Robert Maraj as he strolled down a road.
Polevich got out of his car and stared at the injured man on the ground before driving away, failing to call 911, garaged his car, and covering it with a tarp, according to authorities. Polevich admitted to hiding the automobile and tampering with evidence.The following day, Maraj, 64, passed away in a hospital.
Polevich faces "no more than one year in jail," as well as community service and a suspended license, according to Judge Howard Sturim. On August 3, the 71-year-old will be sentenced.
Carol Maraj, the victim's widow, expressed her displeasure with the proposed sentence to media. The widow, who is suing Polevich, said that seeing him in court made her nervous since she remembered her husband struggling for his life in the hospital.Prosecutors, who had sought a term of one to three years in prison, were likewise unhappy with the proposed punishment.In a statement, Nassau County District Attorney's Office spokesperson Brendan Brosh said, "Given the severity of the defendant's actions, we disagree with the sentencing commitment from the court."
Polevich's attorney, Marc Gann, described the hit-and-run as "totally out of character" for his client, who is from Long Island but owns a drilling and water purification company in Guam.
"He feels immense empathy for Mr. Maraj's family and tremendous guilt for any role he may have played in his death," Gann said after the hearing. He speculated that Polevich had a physical condition that prevented him from being "completely conscious of what he was doing," but emphasized that this was not a legal reason.
Messages were addressed to Nicki Minaj's reps, who described her father's death in a message on her website last year as "the most painful loss of my life."
Onika Tanya Maraj is a Grammy-nominated platinum-selling rapper who is best known for songs like "Anaconda," "Starships," and "Super Bass."
She spoke of a tumultuous connection with her father in interviews from years ago. He had changed, she claimed later.
She wrote shortly after his death that she wished she could call him.
She commented, "He was much liked and will be greatly missed."
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