For a minute there last week, it really seemed like the jig was finally up in the long-running legal battle involving Brooklyn Democratic Party power broker Frank Seddio; Sam Sprei, a sketchy Brooklyn businessman; and $2 million in missing escrow money.
To summarize an extremely shaggy history: Last year, two international investors were persuaded to put $2 million in escrow with a Brooklyn lawyer, Mark Graubard, to prove they had the funds to take part in a business partnership with Sprei. The deal fell through, but when the investors tried to get their money back, Graubard stalled and delayed. When the investors finally sought the help of law enforcement, they suddenly found themselves sued in Brooklyn Supreme Court by Seddio on behalf of Jonathan Rubin, a New Jersey businessman they'd never heard of, to block them from collecting their escrow money.
After nearly a full year of maneuvering in the Brooklyn courts, it seemed like Graubard was going to have to provide a Brooklyn judge with bank statements showing whether the money was still in the escrow account. On December 3, Judge Richard Montelione finally ordered Graubard to file bank records with the court showing whether the $2 million remains in the escrow account.
But since then, Graubard and his lawyer have tried everything they can to wriggle out of Montelione's order.