Rapper Nicki Minaj’s mother, Carol Maraj, filed a $ 150 million lawsuit against the man accused of killing Minaj’s father in a hit-and-run accident last month, said a lawyer for Maraj.
Charles Polevich, 70, is accused of assaulting Robert Maraj, 64, on Long Island on February 12 and 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 reported that Carol Maraj’s lawsuit, opened at the Nassau State Supreme Court earlier this month, claims that Polevich was negligent, reckless and careless when he hit Maraj with his car and allegedly left him at the scene.
“He was not only irresponsible and negligent, but more concerned with fleeing and hiding than seeking help,” said Benjamin Crump, a lawyer known for his work in civil rights cases and with families of victims of political violence, representing Carol Maraj , in an Instagram post on Friday.
Polevich’s lawyer, listed in the online court record as Mineola’s Marc Gann, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 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 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.