MINEOLA, NY (AP) – Rapper Nicki Minaj’s mother, Carol Maraj, filed a $ 150 million lawsuit against the man who is accused of killing Minaj’s father in a hit and run last month, said a lawyer for Maraj.
Charles Polevich, 70, is accused of assaulting Robert Maraj, 64, on Long Island on February 12 and then driving without calling 911. Maraj died in a hospital the following day.
Polevich was arrested on February 17 on charges of leaving the scene of an incident and tampering with physical evidence. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail and ordered not to leave New York State.
Newsday reports that Carol Maraj’s lawsuit, filed at the Nassau State Supreme Court earlier this month, claims that Polevich was negligent, reckless and careless when he ran over Maraj with his car and allegedly left him at the scene.
“He was not only irresponsible and negligent, but more concerned with running away and hiding than seeking help,” said Benjamin Crump, one of the lawyers representing Carol Maraj, in an Instagram post on Friday.
A telephone message was left on Sunday with Polevich’s lawyer, listed in the online court records as Marc Gann de Mineola.
Nicki Minaj, who was born Onika Tanya Maraj, made no public statement about her father’s death.
Carol Maraj, the victim’s ex-wife, told Newsday last month that she was “very, very, very happy” with Polevich’s arrest and said that all of Maraj’s children “are satisfied” that the alleged culprit has been arrested.