What Happens at Thanksgiving Dinner?

By REBECA IBARRA

The trial of a Long Island attorney accused of swindling family members and friends through an elaborate Ponzi scheme continued on Tuesday as his father-in-law took the stand in a Manhattan courtroom and described how the defendant allegedly cheated him out of $4.6 million.

“He lied to me, he cheated and stole,” Jerry Perelmutter told defense attorney Peter Tomao on cross-examination, referring to his daughter’s husband, Robert Cassandro, 49. “All those years. My hard earned money.”

The Long Island father-of-three allegedly took loans from Perlmutter and his mother-in-law, Jamie Sadek on the pretext of building single-family homes in Long Island from 2002 to 2007. He is charged with fronting the properties to obtain private loans from various people – well over the amount needed to complete the projects – and ended up pocketing most of the money.

Assistant District Attorney Sara Sacks said Cassandro had assured friends and relatives their loans were fully secured.

Perelmutter admitted to being too “hands off” with his investments, claiming he trusted the son-in-law he had known for over 20 years “intrinsically.”

However Tomao argues that the millions lost stemmed from the 2008 housing-bubble bust and a series of real estate investments gone wrong, not a malicious ploy.

“What started out as a good idea to make money for everyone spiraled out of control and became a disaster,” Cassandro wrote in a 2010 email apologizing to Perelmutter and his wife. “I failed both of you miserably.”

Cassandro’s wife was not in the courtroom.

If found guilty of first-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud, Cassandro faces up to 25 years in prison.