Entertainment
Driver who killed Nicki Minaj's father to serve less than a year in prison
The rapper's father was killed and the driver fled. The culprit now faces a less than a year in prison
May 9, 2022 12:39pm
Updated: May 9, 2022 4:19pm
A hit-and-run driver fled the scene of an accident in suburban New York. Now prosecutors say the man has pleaded guilty. The victim of the tragic accident was no other than the father of rapper Nicki Minaj.
Charles Polevich, 71, admitted on Friday to fleeing the scene of the February 2021 crash that fatally injured Robert Maraj and also to tampering with evidence, according to Nassau County District Attorney spokesman Brendan Brosh, cited by CNN.
The local judge, Howard Sturim, sentenced Polevich to "no more than one year in jail," with community service and license suspension, according to Brosh's statement to the media.
Polevich must return to court on August 3 to receive the sentencing statement.
The Nassau County District Attorney, who recommended a sentence of one to three years, expressed his disappointment with the trial's outcome and the alleged sentence the culprit will serve.
"Given the seriousness of the defendant's conduct, we disagree with the court's sentencing commitment," Brosh told CNN.
"Mr. Polevich is extremely remorseful for any role he played in Mr. Maraj's death. There are no allegations of substance use or abuse as a cause of his conduct, and we believe that a medical heart condition contributed to Mr. Polevich's conduct," Polevich’s attorney, Marc Gann, told the media conglomerate in a statement Sunday.
Maraj, 64, was walking during the night in Mineola, Long Island, when he was "struck by a non-descript northbound vehicle that left the scene of the accident," the Nassau County Police Department said in a February 2021 accident report.
A few hours later, Maraj died in the hospital, according to the report filed with the court.
Carol Maraj, the victim's widow and mother of Nicki Minaj, filed a $150 million civil lawsuit against Polevich a month after his death. That lawsuit is pending, according to online court records.
