rombom hires high power lawyer to make the payoff

8/13/2019 ROMBOM HIRES HIGH POWER LAWYER TO MAKE THE PAYOFF

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. [)LOMBARDI SALERNO PLLC

·Attorneys at Law

- ---- - -·-·- - - . ;;;Dino J_ LombardiLaure Salerno

January 31,2011

Via Fax No. 212-417-2021. ·and First Class Mail

James HerkenhamNYS Department of State .123 William StreetNew York, NY.l0038-3804

Re: Steven Rombom and Pallorium Inc.

Dear -Mr . Herke.nham:

As you know, this irm represents Steven Romboni and Pallorium ; Inc.

52 Duane Street • 7 >F lo or

New York, New York 10007Tel. No. (212) 619-8328

Fax. No . 21:2}·7·32- 6323

As you also lmow, l wiote you pn Decemb er 8, 2010, indicating my ~ s representation o f Mi ·Rombom and Palloriwn, Inc., and further indicating that we were making every effort . o · complywith your records request and thatMr. ·Rombom would be made available for an t e r v i ew .

.Subs equent thereto, I have -spoken with you on several occasions in an effort to ascertainspecifics as to 'cert.aiD. of your document requests and .to bring to your attenti on .certain concernswe have regarding th e -nature andintegrity 9fyour agency's investig ation o f Mr. Rombom and itsimpact on his confidentiality with his clients, his prof essional reputation, and hi s ·livelihood . ·Itwas my understanding a t th e reasons for those concerns were already ~ you .yet youstated that you had no idea o he matters of which I spoke. I will expand upon those mattersb e l o w

Additionally , hQwever, I asked you about certain letter s and call s you bad directed~

Mr.Rombom's office landlord, .Gutman Managem ent Co ., Inc ., .seeking no t only confirmation o f Mr . -Romb om's and Pallorium s status as a commercial tenant. at 78 Webster Avenue in Brooklyn,where ~ oeen quite · b v i o us l y ~tenant since 1 9 9 ~ ,but r e n t a land le .ase g r e e ~ e n t s

financial records, etc ." and "an 'explruiation in writing as to where those records may be and howlo n g Steven Rombomi.Pallorium -has been a tenan t of yours at 78 Webster Av enue whichspecifically includes any term( s), conditions(s) , rental amount(s), payments( s);-an d duration(s) o fthe lease ·or agreement. A copy of a l etter from you to Gutman, dated D ece mber 9, -2010, is

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ANDREW M. C UOMOGOVERNOR

STATE OF N EW YORK

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

1 2 3 WILLIAM STREETNEW YORK N Y 10038-3804 _

Via First C la ss and Ce r t i f i ed Mail

Steven RombomPa l or ium Inc.78 Webster Ave BCSBrooklyn, NY 11230

Dear Mr. Rombom:

Steven RombomPallori u m Inc.P. O .-Box 155 , Midwood StationBrooklyn, NY 112 30

January 24, 2011

RUTH N OEM I COLONACTING SECRETARY OF STATE;

P lease be advised that the Department of State ha s b een a t tempting to conduct an audit of your businessrecor:d s since August 11, 2010. To -date, these reco rd s have not been made avai.Jable to the De pa rtmentand this lawful request has not been complied with.

Accordingly, please forward the following records directly to th e und ersigned at ·123 Williams St r ee t,9 ' b Floor, New York, NY 1003 8 no later than J ~ m r y3 1, 20 11 :

2 Co p ie s o f th e company's last 4 quart erly payro ll s since August l l , 20092 Copies of the company's las t 4 weekly payro ll s since A ugust 11, 2009A ll per so nnel f il es · · ·Copes o f co nt racts and advance statements of se rvices in effect si nce. A u gust 11, 2009Li st o f se c urity guard assignments or sc hed ul es, if applicableA copy o f the firm's . li ab i li t y in su rance ·All se c urity g uard emp loyment records , i f applicableA separa te li st identi fy ing each in d ividual on the payroll sp e c ifying that-emplo ye e 's jobtitle, date of hire , ·and date of termination ·. ·A li s t of a ll Officers, Directors, Principals Members Partn e rs Stockhold e rs o 10 ormore and No n -S ecurity Personnel or Support Sta ff and Investiga - ors.

T his request is being made pursuan t to A rt ic l e 7 of the general busin ess l aw and fai lure t o comp lymay negatively affect your sta tus as a li ce ns ee of this Department.

S incerely ,

< S

James Herkenh amLicense In vestiga t or

. (212) 41 7 -2063

cc: Dino Lombardi

WW W .DOS.S TA T E .N Y . U S • E MA IL: IN FO@OOS . STATE . NY . U S

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James HerkenhamJanuary 31, 2011Page3

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no communication from you, written or otherwise. In your telephone conversation with M r

Romhom on October 22od you confirmed to him that you had been assigned an investigaf:ion 'ofhim and faxed him the August 22nd and 26th le tters, which are standard audit letters·. You alsostated to him that you were leaving .for vacation and would be in further contact with him upon

your return.

After your r ~our client and you .spoke again by telephone on November 8. During thatconversation, Mr. Rombom brought to your attention an article in the Albany Times-Unionedition from March 7, 2010 which contained a number ofoutrightfalsehoods ·and disparaging

· comments about Mr. ·Rombom attributed to Joe l Barkin, an official spokesmarrfor-t:heDepartment of State. You claimed no lmowledge of that article or any matters of which thereporter or Mr Barkin spoke in the article. ·

To me, in our most recent telephone conversation just days ago, you professed ignorance of even ·· discuSsing the·article with our client on November 8, 2010. Moreover, your claims o f absolute

ignorance with re spect to any of he hi story of this so-call ed investigation, made first to Mr.Rombom a:nd then to me, seem at odd s with the fact that our client' s prior counsel, JeffreyRutherford, was told by John Goldman ofDOS on June 8, 20i0 that you had be en assigned to the ·matter only after our client 's and prior counsel's inquiries to .Mr. Goldman, Dan Shapiro of DOS,and Michael Elmendorf o.f DOS all resulted in a confusing and vague overall response which

never confirmed or substantiated the false arid outrageous statemen ts made byMr

Barkin in ·the ·ATU article. As la t e as September 21, 2010, one month after you claim you faxed your auditletter to our client, prior ·counsel was still receiving vague and conflicting information from Mr.Go ldman as o th e nature of the investigation or whether there would be any need for Mr

Rombom to provide information or documentation at alL

Despite · his confused and disturbing history, despite the fact that an officia l spokesman for youragency not oruy made false and disparaging stateme nt s abo ut our client but commented publicly ·about a purportedly pen9ing investigation to a newspaper reporter before any offic ialconclusions had .been drawn 1, despite the fact that agency officials have since th en failed tosubstantiate any of tho se statements, arid despite your assertirig statutory authority you don t haveand claiming that our client and his repre se ntatives are dragging their feet in response to -this

investigation, our c li ent and we are in the proces$ of comp lying with your recor9s request andwill be available for an interview. · ·

HoweveT, as we discussed, the copies of contracts and advance statements of services sinceAugust 11, 2009 are _being provided to you in redacted form With respect to any and all

1In fact, it is our understalld.ing that any inquiries DOS/DL S had made with respect to our client, in

resp onse to b ase less complaints made against him . had to that point bee;n resolv ed in his favor.

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· James i-Ierkenham

January 3 1, 201 1Page

id entifying information as to the clients and the subje c t matter of he e r v i e ~until such time ast h ~integrity and legitimacy of the DOS/DLS in ves tigation of Mr. Romb om is reviewed by your

superiqrs and the Office of the State Inspector General, to whom this matter is being referred inits entir ety. Copies <;>fsix (6) of Mr Rom born s Letters of Agreement are attached hereto. Theycomprise all of the agreements to perform work as a private investigator licensed by the State ofNew York entered into by him during the .subject. time period . ·Mr Rom born performs consultingwork to media and other work which is not pe1formed under the auspices of his private ·

investigator s license.

A 7 h agreement is being searched for and I will apprise you as soon as poss ible as -o whethe r ithas been located. Mr. Rombom s .o:ffice sustained significant damage due to flooding in the pastcouple of years. His normal routine is to scan and then shred the hard copies after a certain timeand that 71h agreement may have b een lo st to flood damage before it could be scanned ~ ·reprodu ced for thi s production. Likewise, a few very smal l work agreements may have suffered a

. similar fate and may he lo st. Mr. Rom born is searching his ·databases to see i f any of hes e four· matters was saved in a ·computer :file. I will apprise you as soon as possible as to the results o f

th at search. .

Any interview o f our client will be limited to in fonnation regarding the .contents of his renewal

application, especially since that is what you indicated to our client was the sole subject matter ofyour investigatitm, and any other matters which will not comproill.is<?the confidentiality o f hisclient relationships.

We cannot cooperate with, nor does Article 7 of the GBL allow, in vestigations and investigativetactics which are designed to primarily, or even incidentally or out of negligence or 6onfusion,harass or impede our clien t in the practice of his profession, <?Tcause permanent bami to hisreputation arid livelihood, only to find out l ater that there was no legitimate cause for theinvestigation or violations by the lic ensee.

Attached also is our client s certificate of insurance as requested. As we discussed, all othercategories o f request, other than the service contracts di scussed above, are not applicable to Mr.Romboni because he is a so le practitioner without employees . Should you wish to conduct theinterview on February 2 <1 as you requested, we will ma k e ourselves available on that date at youroffices, subject to th e limitation s discussed above. ·

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concerns we had regarding the disclosure of the identities and contact information o f Mr

Rombom s clients given the defamatory and completely improper statements made byJoel Barkin as official spokespe rson qfthe Department o f State to the Albany Times- ·Union and published in that papeJ; on March 7, 2010. I explained to you that we haddirect evidence o f at ieast one client terminating a business relationship with Mr.Rombom .and his firm as a result of hat negative and false story and were concerned thatfurther disparagement to his clients could result in similar loss o f business and harm tohis professional standing. I further explained to you in those conversations that noofficial of the DOS had ever substantiated any o f Mr ·Barkin s comments to Mr.Rombom or his represep.tatives despi te repeated inquiries. You professed a combinationof gnorance and unwillingness to discuss this history and our concerns.

Accbrdingly, we had a very real concern, and still do, about the integrity o f your agency sinvestigation .I stated to you that I would prefer i m y client produceci at that t ime

redacted copies of those contracts. You made some comment that you would reserveyour right to call for unredacted contracts in th e -future, period. Prior to the interview, Ireceived no such demand either verbally or in ··vrritingfrom you to produce unredactedcontracts. As regards your request for them now, .we are taking it under advisement andwill respond to you at a later date .. . . .

As regards the four (4) contracts which we and our client disclosed to you, our client iscontinuing to search for them and in the event he cannot locate them, .we are taking underadvisement your request for the identities and contact information ·pertaining to those fourcontracts.

2) · We and our client are ~ g to obtain records which will document the flooding which

occurred at his business premises and will provide them to you as soon as they becomeavailable to us .

3)

Upon .information and belief, there were more than two (2) floods. Al so, there was a firein th e ·basement severe enough. to have caused the FDNY to smash down our client soffice door before he was able to respond from home. To thoroughly document c h andevery event will take some time and would not in c lude insurance claim information fromour client in that he made no direct claim. Rather, he settled thr< ;mgh the building smanagement ccimpany which did advance a claim on the building owner s insurai::J.ce policyto recover for our client s damages as well as their own.

Our client is contacting the building manager and their insurance adjuster to obtain

relevnD:t r ec ords and we will forward them to you as soon as possible.

Our client may have some photos o f some o f the damage and flooding and will search forand produce them i you wish to se .e .them. Please advise.

M r . Rombom has stated clearly and unequivocally i n the interview and, through counsel,i n writing that he has does no t .have ruiy employees. You asked him at that time about the



4)

5)

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hearsay statements attributed to Button, Petro, Ethier and U cd .inthe aforementionedAlbany Times-Union article and he told you name of he licerised private mv:estigator,Theresa Balfe, who worked with 1iim, but not as an employee , ·in some ·o f hose ·investigations. The other private investigato r who worked with him in those matters wa s .Scott SchuSter ofServico, As for. whether or not either P.l waslicensed at tl;le time ofthose investigations , it would seem that your agency would have that fuformation i n that it .lice.ilses them. To the best of his recollection, there were no other private investigators ·working . With Mi . Rombom in those investigations.

Neither our client nor thiS office are in possession of a Final NYPD Determination, datedJuly. 28, .2008, .revoking [Mr. Rombom slgun licenses. Repeated requests by. our clientan d this office to Mr. Rombom s prior counsel .in the NYPD t t ~for the files fu thatmattyr have as yet failed to result in the production o f hose.files. f ou have a specificdocument which you Wish Mr:Rombom to respond to in wr .ithig, through counsel, l e s ~

provide it to the undersigned arid we ·will take such Tequest .under advisement In .anticipation of receiving that record from you, however, please be advised that Mr .Rombom was represented by counsel in that proceed.ing, .inade factual assertions in :therecord for consideration by the NYPD , and the NYPD made its determination . It is whollyimproper to ·ask Mr. Rom born to provide a detailed written response to an agencyfinding which he did not author and obviously c:lisagreed with. As I stated to you at theclose o f he February 25 interview, .ifyou have any questions of Mr. Rombom whichcomport with your authority under Article .7 of he General Business Law and also relate tothe u b s t n c ~of the NYPD gun-license proceedings ,.you need only ask him. ·

·w e are similarly not in possession of any relevant hearing reports to thosedeterminations. In that you told us at the n t e r v i e ~that you have access to all thosematerials, which are public records and easily obtainab le by you, I trust that you eitheralready have them or can .get them. f you would like us to provide you additional copies, .we will endeavor to do so when and i f prior counsel responds to my request for those filesand only i f hey are contained in those files.

A copy of he complete liability insurance P?licy wil l be provided.

Copies of cable, internet, phone and/or utility bills for the last year for Mr . Rombom soffice will be provided to the extent they e20St.

We will endeavor to provide the requested records and information as soon as possible, but do not

anticipate needing more than two weeks form today . Mr . Rombom has beeni l l

for the past weekand unable to search for and produce th e .adc4tional requested records. As requested, i any of herequested information is not available, we will provide an explanation..

~ an indication of our ongoing concern regarding the integrity o f your agency's investigation ofour client, I pointed out to you at the interview, .and before, .that your letter ofDecem .ber 9 ; 2010,to Mr. Rombom s landlord ' s management company improperly cited your authority under Article12-A o f he New York State Real Property Law to demand o f hem lease agreements and financial

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4) Plea se provide a detailed written re spo n se to th i s D e partm ent o f th e F in a l NYPD Determinationdated J uly 28, 2 00 8 revo king your gu n li censes. Please a lso pr o vi de a ll re levant h ea r i-ng reportsto th o se determination s. In th i s response please also specifically ex pla in to the Department w hyth e addresses yo u were si multan eous ly providin g to DOS an d NYPD were determ ined to l >e falseby .NYPD

. 5) Please provide your co mplete li ability in sura n ce poli cy.

6) Plea se pr o vide cable, internet , phone, and utility bill s for your 78 Webster Aven u e bu si n essaddress.

. . . .

I f any of the above reque s ted inform a ti on i s not available please include a d etailed explanation as tow ~ .

This request is bein2 d ~ pursuant to Article 7 o f the g e nera l business law and failure to complymav negativ e ly affect your s tatus as a licensee of this Department.

Sincerely ,s c == C C -

J ames HerkenhamLicense Investigator

212)417 -2 06 3 .

cc : Dino Lombardi



LOMBARDI & SALERNO PLLCAttorneys at Law

------ ------ ------ ------ ---------- ----··Dino J. LombardiLaure Salerno

January 31, 2011

Via Fax No. 212-417-2021and First Class Mail

James Herkenham

NYS Depart:t:nent of State· .123 William Street

New York, NY 10038-3804

Re: Steven Rombom aiJ d Pallorium Inc.

Dear Mr . Herkenham :

As you know, this firm represents Steve n Rombom and Pallorium , Inc.. .

52 Duane Street • 7 h FloorNew York, New York 10007

TeL No. { 2 12) 619-8328·Fax . No. (2t2) 732-6323

As you also know , I wrote you on ~ c e m b e r8, 2010, indicating my finn's representation o f Mr .

Rombom and Palloriwn, Inc., and further indicating that we were making every effort to complywit your records request and that Mr Rombom would be made available for an interview .

Subsequent thereto, I have spoken with yo u .on several occasions in an effort to ascertainspecifics as to certain o f your docwnent requests and to bring to your attention certain concernswe have regarding the nature and integrity o f your-agency' s investigation of Mr. Rombom and itsh,npact .o.n .hi s :.c.onfi feritiality witlihis eli n ~ ~N ~·p f ' f e ~ s ~ 9 ~ 1 i t ? P ~ ~ B . P . .ap d h i s l i Y ; ? l i h o ~ ~·

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w ~ s ·i n y\lnderStan.clli:tgt:lmtthe· eas011S o r _ t l i ~ s : e:c 6 n ; ~ r # ~\ v t ~ #~ ~ e a d y ; J i n ; o : W #t o j r " ' u - j e t y ~ u

Stilted ' that youh dno ' idea o f he matters ofwhlch 1 spoke·.· \ \.riii eXpaild~ P o nthode matMrsbelow .

Additionally .however , I a sked you about certain .letters and calls you had directed to Mr.Rombom ' s office landlord, Gutman Management Co., Inc., seekingnot only confirmation ofMr .Rombom's andPallorium's status as a commercial tenant at 78 Webster: Avenue in Brooklyn,where he has been quite obviously a tenant sinc e 1992, but " rental and lease agreements,financial records, etc." and an explanation in writing as to where those records may be and howlong Steven Rombom/Pallorium has been a tenant of yours at 78 Webster A venue whichspecifically includes any term(s), conditions(s), rental a m o u n t ( s ) ~payments(s) , and duration(s) o fthe lease or agreement." A copy of a letter from you to Gutman, dated December 9, 2010, is



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item 4 If Restricted Delivery is desired .• Print your name and address on the rever.;e

so that we can return the ca rd to you .• Attach this card to th e back of the maflpiec e ,

or on th e front if space permits.

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B. R e ~ iv e dby (Printed Name ) I . Date o f Delivery

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1- Restric ted Delivery? (ExtraFaa) 0 Yes

2 . Article Number(Transfer from s e r v i c ~labeQ 7009 1680 0001 7493 1992

P S Form 3811 , February 20 04 Domesli c Return Receip t 102505-02-M-1540

SENDER COMPLETETHIS SECTION

• Complete item s 1, 2, and 3. Also completeitem 4 if Restri c ted De livery is desired .

• Pr int your name and add r ess o n the reverseso that we ca n return th e ca rd to yo u. .

• Atta ch this ca rd to the back of th e ma ilpiece,or on the fro nt if s pace pe rmits. _

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D. Is d elivery ad d ress di fferen t from item 1? 0 YesIt YES, enter delivery address below: O N o

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James HerkenhamJanuary 31,2011Page3

no communication from you, written or otherwise . In your telephone conversation with Mr.Rombom on October 22nd, you confirmed to him that you had been assigned an investigation o fhim and faxed him the August22nd and 6th letters, which are standard audit letter s. You alsostated to him that you were leaving for vacation and would be in urther contact with him uponyour return .

After your return, our client and you spoke again by telephone on November 8. During thatconversation, Mr. Romhom brought to your attention an article in the Albany Times-Unionedit ion from. March 7, 201 0 which contained a number of outright falsehood s. and disparagingcomments about Mt:. Rombom attributed to Joel Barkin, an of:ficial ·spokesm:an ·for ·theDepartment of State . You claimed no knowledge of that article or any matt ers of which thereporter or Mr. Barkin spoke in the article.

To me, in our most r ecent telephone conve r sa tion just days ago, yo u pr ofesse d ignorance of evendiscussing the article with our client on November 8, 2010. Moreov er, your claims o f absoluteignorance with respect to any oft_he history o f his so-called in v estigation ; made first to Mr.Rombom and then to me, seem at odds with the f a~ t that our client ' s prior counse l, JeffreyRutherford, was told by John Goldman of DOS on June 8, 2 010 that you had been assigned to th em atter only after our client's and prior counsel' s inquiri es to Mr. Goldman, Dan Shapiro of DOS,and Michael Elmendorf o f DOS all resulted in a confusing and vague overall re spons e whichnever confirmed or substantiated the false and outr ageo us statem ents made b y Mr. Barkin in . the

ATU article . As late as September 2 1, 2010, one month after you claim yo u faxed your a uditletter to our client, prior counsel was still receiving vague and confl c tin g information from Mr.

Goldman as to the nature of he in vestigation or whether there would be any n eed for Mr.Rombom to provide information or documentation at all.

De spite this confused and disturbing histqry, despite the fact that ·an official spokesman for your:agency .nQt:()ii)y -,mad,e ( a 1J ? ~· _q i ~ p 8 f ~ g: ~ t e m e n t s a b o u tou r 'client. .but o m m e ~ t e d.publicly~ ~ ~ ~ ~ a p ~ h . r t ¥ W :k~~ ~ # gf ~ f ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~1~·a n~W s ~ a p e r e~ o r . t e rbefo:e :any o f f i ~ ~ h l

conclusmns had been drawn 1, desp1te tlie fact that agency officials have smce then failed to

substantiate any of hose statements, and despite your asserting statutory authority you don't ha veand claimin g that our client and his r e p r e ~ n t a t i v e sare dragging their feet in respons e to thi sinve stigation , our cli ent and we are- in the proce ss of complying with your recor ds request andwill be available for an interview.

How eve r , as We discus se d, the copies of contracts and advance statements of services sin c eAugust I 1, 2009 are being provided to you in redacted form with respect to an y and all

1 In fact, it is our und ers tanding that any inquiri es DOS/DLS had ma d e with respec t to our cli ent, inr espo n se to b ase less complaints made aga inst him,bad to that point b een r eso lved in his favor.



James Herkenharn. January 31 , 2011

Page 5

Based on the foregoing, any attempt to act against our client s status as a licen see on the groundof non-compliance, as referred to you in your letter .of January 24 , will be premature and Will bem t with appropriate action . Please be guided accordingly .

Very truly yours,

. DJL:hnm

cc: Victoria Cline, Supervi sing Investigator, DOS/DLS (viafrrst class mail w/ attachments)Daniel Shapiro, .F ir st Deputy Secretary o f State via first class mail w/ attachments)Ruth Noemi Colon , Acting Secretary of State (via fi r st cla ss mail w / attachm entS) ·

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0210112011 17:04 L S (FAX)21273263Z3 P.0011004

LOMBARDI SALERNO PLLCAttorneys at Law

~ @ 8

Dina J. LombardiLaure Salerno

To:Of:Fax :

From:Rc:Date:

Pgs:

J URGENT

F A C S T h l l L E T R A N S ~ f i A ~ A J o S R ~ E T

James HerkenhamNYS Dept. of State212-417-2021

Dino J. LombardiSteven Rombqm PaJlorium, Tnc.Feh. J, 2011l (Illduding cover)

O oR REVIEW 0 PLEASE COJY MENT

52 Duane Street.- 7th FloorNew York, New York 100 07

TeL No. (1.12).619-8328Fax. No. (212) 732- 6323

0 PLEASE REPLY

I F YOU DO NOT RECEIVE ALL PAGES, PLEASE TELEPHON O US llvlMEDf;\TELY AT (212) 619-8328 .. rfhis facsimi le transmission is sent y an attorney or his her agent and is intendea only for the addre ssee tiud in Jy

con lain information which is privileged and confidential. l f the reci pient is a cHent this m e s s u g c m ~ yalso cortc;tinztelegai-ndv ice that is privileged. ffyou are not the intended recipient you are h e r e b y • r i c i t f ~ dtlfit: aoyiciiCnttxm, ..d i s t r i b u t i o n ~duplication or dissern.ination o f this communicafion is strictly pra:hihited. 1fyou bave received. thiS.comniunication in error, please notifY us immediately [lrtd return the originnl without making a copy. · ;

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U Z I J l i ~ U l ll i :U4 L ~

LO:tviBARDI & SALERi \lO :Pi :t c,. Attorneys at Law

Dino J. LombardiLatire Salemo

February 1, 201.1

Via Fax No. 212-417-2021

James HerkenhamNYS Department of State123 William StreetNew York, NY 10038-3804

Re: .Steven Rombom and Pallorium Inc.

·Dear Mr. Herkenham:

This finn represents Steven Rornborn and Pallorium, Inc.

(FA:<)2127326323

5 Duane Street· rn FloorNew York, New York 10007

Tel. No. (212) 619-8328Fax. No. (212) 732-6323

I have been at tempting to reach· you by telephone all day yesterday and today to confirm yourinterview of our elient scheduled fortomonow, February2, at 10 a.m. at your office. I have notheard back from you. V. e remain available for that interview but would appreciate yourconfirmation IV1r Rom born will. be out of state all next week on business

. Furthermore, Ihave been attelllpting to discuss \ \ ~ t hyou our concerns over· this investigation and

. o ~ f ~ l ) l i : ~1\:i d ? ~ o ,iYf Sruiip1yset fortli.in. 91J <:civer e f t e r w h i ~ h .qeco;:ict6im.ied the dcicuine]]Jp r o i l t i , C t i o n . t o y m i y e s t e r c i ~ fr \yill o t · r ~ p e i i tthose concerns :lde: .. . . . . . . . .

- . . . " ....: ~ } . . - - . - .- - -- : - - .

I wish only to add that we do not wish to interfere with the prerogatives of your and your·agency sjurisdictionover our client. We have absolutely no problem providing unredactedcopies of the documents sought, and cooperating with a thorough and broad-ranging questioningof our client in ·any interview. We would welcome a frank discussion as to how that can beaccomplished while assuring our client that there will not b<;"firrfuef actions on the part of DOSpcrso09-el which damage perhaps permanently our c l len fs profession al reputation andlivelihood. ·," ·

· To date, o w e v ~ ~there has been either an unwillingness or an inability to even acknowledge

ij



02/0112011 17:04 l S . (FAX)2127326323 P.003/004

James Heikenham-Februaty l , 2011Page2

those -concerns much less engage in some discussion as to how they might be addressed whiles t ill providing you the kind of unfettered ac cess to i.nfonnation and documentation that you seek.

Please make no mis take about the history o f his matter to ibis poinl The published commentso f Joel Barkin, an official DOS spok{:$person, in the Albany i m es -U n i o ~_a r t i c 1 e led c irectly toMr. Rombom being discharged by one l i ~ n twithout payment despite } . ~ n s i v ework hep erfo rmed , and has almost certainly led to a chilling effect am ong th o se wh o uwould hire hiin.The damage to his professional r ep utation, given the fairly wide .reach of that article in this age o

in te rnet republication , is -unden ia ble. Given th a t none o f he agency offipials -re f erred to in ourle tter to you yesterday has Sl.J:bstantiated any of the harmful and disparaging statements made byMr . Barkin and publi shed by the ATU- in fact, though 1he o l l ~ c t i v eresponse -to our inquiriesbas b een confusing and vague since the article s publication, that response bas for the most partcleared our client of any violations whatsoever - we are left with the conclusion Lh.at -at least cineDOS official purposefully sought to and did ca u se harm -to our client without any justification orbasis in fact.

Accordingly, Ol1f concern now is that you will seek to contact ex i sting clients of Mr. Rombomand make similar s tat ements to his clients with the likely re sult. that Mr . Rombom s pr e se nt andfu tu r e bu s ines s will be se · :ly and ir r eparably damaged. I wish to stress here th at we do nothave specific reasons to believe that yo u, Mr. Herk enham or Ms . Cline, are proceeding with any

inte ntion to harm our client or step outside of. the bounds o f th e nonual course of in vestigation o f .a lice nsee. We do , however , have rai sed co ncerns du e to some o f the tactics engaged in as se tforth in yesterday s letter. The added fact that you ha ve refused to ackno w ledge or speak to thosec o n c e r n ~and th e tactics employed thus far has only given us additional cau se for co nce rn. Thereis an o bviou s vacuum that has thus arisen around thls stage o f he investigation which can o nlybe fill ed by frank and dire:ct commUnication between us.

To the exterit tha t my frustration with the . history q his:matter has contributed .to alireakdown illthose ~ ~ m l i ~ ~ t i o r i s l ~ h :f ui ~ . j S ~ i t r e

1Y . 6 t ttt u t ~ ~ i ~ i l i ~r e a d y·~ d ;.i ~·_f J P y ~ ~~ k c i ~ ~ t e ·.

with this investigation. IiJ. specific, i f you wished to contact Mr. Rombom s clients illorder toverify th at they have employed him and to ascertain i hey ha ye·any complaints with regard to .his semces, we would be only too happy to assist in that process . We are only seeking some ·as suran ce that such questioning o f his clients would be in goo d -faith and l imi ted to the type o froutine questions asked in any in ves tigation o f a licensee under Article 7 o f he Gene ral Business ·

. .

In closing, we wish to leave no room for doubt as to our client s and thi s firm s in t entions to. e>... tend full co op eration. We ·are available for th e htterview sc heduled for tomorrow. Pleas e

co ntact the under s igned a ur earliest opportunity thi s evening or tomorrow morning to confirm

- ·· : -:· ·. • ·. ., .. ·

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James Herkenharn

February 1, 2 011Page3

(FAX)2127326323

our appointment as ou.:r client wi ll n eed tWo hours travel time i f we are going forward.

Very truly yours,

LOMBARDI SALERNOPLLC

By:----..:.

Dina J. Lombardi

DJL:hrun .

cc: Victoria Cline, Supervising Inyestigator, DOS/DLS (via fax)

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records pertaining to Mr. Rombom s office t enancy. You repeatedly r e:fused to respond to myqu esti on why you WQuld cite your authority in this matter.regarding a lic ensed private inves ti gat oras deriving from a statute that only authorize s your agency to investigate the practice s oflicem sedreal estate brokers and salespersons .

Finally, at the interview, in a coy and dismis sive manner, acting · s i f he a,nswer and the authoritywere obvious, you stated that Gutmari Management Co., Inc ., is al so a l i c e l l e ~ r e a lestatebrokerage. Tbat may well be but there is nothing in the relationship betw een Mi Rombom andGutman that has y ' t l r l n gto do with real e state brokers - they are the manag ement company forthe bwidlng where he ·rents an office . f you are . nvestigation Gutman as to their brokeragepractices, mvo k:ingyour authoritY under At1icle 12-A .ofthe RPL is appropriate. In this matter,your authority derives solely from Article 7 of he GBL, and while .it obviously allows you to seekinformation from .our client s landlord, your citation of he RPL statute was obviously ex ce eding .your authority ndwe will continue to take that position with your sup eriors and the Office o f heState Inspector General. ·

Based on the foregoing, and our continuing concems, I also hereby demand that an y and ll

further iri.terviews of our Client be recorded and that a copy o f he recordirig be pr omptly providedtous . ·

very tru ly yours,

·DJL hnm

cc : Victor ia Cline, Supervising Investigator, DOS/DLS (via fax)Daniel Shapiro, .First Deputy Secretary o f State (via first class mail )



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Feb 24 11 0 1 17p 19 176T /7 187

LOMBARDX SALERNOPLLCA ttorn eys at Law

Dino J Lombard iLaure Sa1erno

February 24, 20 11

ia Fax No. 212-417 .-2021

James HerkenJ1amNYS Department of State·123 Willjam Street1 \ew York, NY l0 0 38-3804

R e: Steven Rombom an d Pa llo rium Inc .

D ear l\.k He rkenham:

..

T his firm represents S teve n Rombom and Pallorium, Inc.

9176777187 . p .1

52 Duane Street· 7th FloorNew York, New York 10007

Tel. No. (2 12) 619-8328Fa x. No. (21_2) 732 - 6323

Pu r suan t to th e telephone e s s a g ~r eft yo u ear li er in the week , thi s le tter \viiJ co nfirm th3.t 1have a rece ntl y deve loped ·a conflict for tomo rro w morning, Friday FebruarY. 25 201 1, rega rdj ngthe sche dul ed intervi ew of m y client S teven Rombom . A.cco rd jn gly, as I ind icated to you in that

phone message, we w ill be a vail a bl e at your conv enien ce any ti me tomo rrow from 1 00 p.m. on.

Please advise today as to wha t tim e tomorrow you w ish to conduct the t e r vi ew .

Thank you.

Very truly YQW S, .. -: :;- : · : · ~..-~ ~ ' .· " ' ~ ~ ~- : . . :~ ·.: : ~ · .. < . ·

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concerns we had regarding the disclosure of the identities and conta ct info=ation of Mr.·Rombom ·S clients given the defamatory and completely improper statements made byJoel Barldn as official spokesperson of the Department of State to the Albany TimesUnion and u b ~ i s h e din .that paper on March 7, 2010. I explained to you that we had

direct evidence of at least one client terminating a usiness relationship .with lvfrRombom and his firm as a esult of that negative and false story and were cimcemed thatfurther dispa ragement to his clients c ould result in simila r loss of business and harm tohis professional standing. I further explained to you in those conversations that noofficial of the DOS had ever substantiated any of Mr. Barldn s comme nts to Mr. ·Rombom or his representatives despite repeated inquiries. You professed a combinationof ignorance and unwillingness to discuss this history and our concerns.

Accordingly, we.had a ve ry real concern, aod still do, about the integrity of your agency sinvestigation. I stated to you that I would prefer i fmy client produced at that timeredacted copies of hose contracts. You made some comment that you would reserveyour right t call for unredacted contracts in the future, period. Prior to the interview, Ireceived no such demand either verbally or in writing from you to produce unredactedcontracts. As regards your r<;quest for them now, we are taldng it under advisemen t andiVill respond to you at a la ter date.

As regards the four (4) contracts which we and our client disclosed to you, our client iscontinuing to search for them and in the event he cannot locate them,.we are taldng underadvisement your request for the identities and contact information pertaining to those fourcontracts.

We and our client are seeking to obtaill records which will document The flooding whichoccurred at his business premises and will provide them to you as soon as they become

available to us.

Upon information aod belief, there were more than two (2) floods. Also, t here was a firein the basement severe e nough to have caused the FDNYto smash down our client soffice door before he was able to respond from horne. o t ~ o r o u g h l y d o c u m e n t<;ac h andevery event.\\ill;take sometjme·and would not inClude :iriSurance claim infoiinati on fromour clientc ii. i:haO:),emade rio direct claim. Rather, he settled through the building smanageme nt company which did advance a claim on the building owner s insurance policyto recover for our client s damages as well as their ovm .

Our client is contacting the building manager and their insurance adjuster to obtain·relevant records and we will forward them to you as soon as possible. .

Our client may have some photos of some of the damage and flooding imd will search foraod produce them if you wish to see them. Please advise.

Mr Rombom has stated clearly and unequivocally in the interview and, through counsel,in writing that he has does nol have aoy employees. You asked him atthat time about the

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records pertaining to Mr. Rombom s office tenancy. You repeatedly refuse d to respond to myquestion why you would cite your authority .in this matter regarding a licensed ·private investigatoras deriving from a statute that only authorizes your agency to investigate the practices o f icen sedreal estate brokers and salespersons . ·

Finally, at the interview, in a coy and dismissive manner, acting is i f he answer and the authoritywere obvious , yolJ st:lted that Gutman Management Co., Inc., is also a licensed. real estat ebrokerage. That may well be but there is nothing in the relationship between Mr. Rombom andGutman that has anything to do with real estate brokers - they are the management company forthe building where he rents an office .. f you are investigation Gutman as to thei r brokeragepractices , invokin g your authority under Article 12-A oftb.e RPL is appropriate. In tllis matter,yo ur authority derives solely .from Article 7 of he GBL, and while it b v i o ~ l yallows you to e ~ k

information from om:plient s landlord, your citation o f he RPL statute was obviously exceedingyour authori .ty and we will continue to take that o ~ i t i o nwith your superiors and the Office of the

State Inspector General.

Based on the foregoing, and our continuing concerns, I also hereby demand that any and all

further interviews o f our client be recorded and that a copy of he recording be promptly providedto u s

Very truly yours,

~ : ~ R N ~Dt J. ombard1

DJL:hnm

cc : Victoria Cline , Supervising Investigator , DOS/DLS (via fax)Daniel Shapiro, First Deputy Secretary .of ~ t e(via first ~ a s s~

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LOMBARDI SALERNOPUC. .

Attorneys at Law

~ · 8Dino J. LombardiLaure Salerno

Apri119, 2011

James HerkenhamN) S Departm ent of. State123 William.StreetNew York, NY 10038-3804

Re: Steven Rombom and Pallorium Inc.

Dear Mr Herkenbam:

As you know, this finn represents Steve n Rombom and Pallorium, Inc.

52 Duane ~ e t• 7 • FioorNew York, New York 10007

Tel. No. (2 12) 619-8328Fax. No. (212) 732-6323

Enclosed please · ind the following do cuments which are produced pursuant to your request for

additional records:

- Veclzon statements for Pallorium s office ·telephone account for the years 2009 and 2010 s

well as the most recent statement (a few months within that time frame are missing because they

could not be located).

- a NY Telephone Co, Customer Receipt showing the account opening in 1991 and the service

address of78 Webster Avenue, Brooklyn.

a declarations page for Pallorium s commercial general liability policy for 2006-07 showing 78

Webster Ave. as the busines s address.

- Pallorium s most recent Cablevision bill showing service at 78 We bster Ave.

- copies of emails between the licensee and building management referencing the floods and firewhich have occurred at 78 Webster Ave. during 2009 and 2010. ·

The following photos are also provided:

- FDNY personnel inspecting Pallorium s office following the fire.

- Bud Barger, the management company s adjuster, inspecting damage to Pallorium s office in

2009.

. . .

··-----·· --·



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James HerkenhamApril 19, 2011Page2

a burst steam pipe inside the wall .by the licensee's de sk, which caused the 2009 flood.

- Pallorium ' s office after a p artial cleanup following th e January 2010 flood .

a door in Pallorium's office knocked down a:fi:er the ftre.

-the hallway outside Pallorium s office destroye d by the flre .

Additionally, building management ' s superintendent, .Carlos Coronel, is a witness to the floods

and fire as well as the resultant damage . In addition to Mr. Coronel and Mr Barger, .who wasrepresented to the licensee as the insurance adjuster, Sam Gutman of building management alsowitriessed the floods, fire and damage. Th e fire .can presumably ·also b e confirmed by FDNY

records. In addition to flood and fire damage , electrical surge s damaged Pallorium' s computerdrives on two (2) occasions . Presumably , this can be confirmed by building management selectricians (names unknown). Also, building management s plumber s can presumably con:fumtheir repair of burst pipes on three (3) occasions in Pallorium's office (names unlmown) .

I t would seem that the floods and fire and the resultant dam age therefrom are adequatelydocumented by the materials provided herewith as well as the letter from Gutman Managementconfirming same which was provided to you on April 6th

Moreover, the enclosed photos would seem to confirm that Pallorium maintains an office at 78Webst er Ave. replete with computers, phones , fax; furinture, files, etc .

I received no re sponse from you to my March 17, 201lletter. If there are issues which you stillwish to discuss or further documentation you are seeking from our client, please advise in

writing ,.'; _;.:1. ' .•- · : . ~ . t

v ¢ c y ::® ~ f ~ ~ ~/

DJL:hnmEncls.

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LOMBARDI SALERNO PLLCAttorneys at Law

---------------------- ---------- ----- · ·Dino J. LombardiLaure Sal erno

April 19, 2011

Jam es HerkenhamNY S Department o f State123 William Street

New York, NY 100 38- 380 4

Steve n Rombom and Pallorium Inc.

Dear Mr Herkenham :

As you know, this fum repre se nts Steven Romborn and Pallorium, Inc.

52 Duane S£rcet • 7 Floo rNewYo rk, New Yo rk 10007

Tel.:t-l o. (2 12) 6 19-8328Fax . No. (212) 732 - 632 3

Enclos ed pl ease find the following documents which are produced u r s u ~ tto your request foradd itional records:

- Verizon sta tem ent s for Pallorium s office tel ephone account for the years 2009 an d 20 10 as

well ·as the most recent state ment (a few months t h i nthat time frame are missing because theycould not be located ).

- a NY Telephone Co. Custom er Receipt showing the ac count op ening in 19 9 1 and the serviceaddress of78 Webster Avenue, Brooklyn.

- a :~~~;~ * ~ 1 : \ o ~ : P a . ~ ~ r ~ ~~f ~ ~ ~ Y ; m ,· ~~CQ I I ? W ~ f . ~ i f l lg ~ p . ~ r ~ ~ ~ P ~ . Y:oolicy.for 20 06 -07 showing 78. ~ ~ ~ ~A ~ e.. t t:p.e O \ l.$ 1 I l ~ S ?aqqress. · .

· :. _-..i. • .

- Pallorium s mo st recent Cablevision bill showin g se rvice at 78 W ebster Ave.

- copies of em ails between the lic ens ee and buildin g mana ge m ent referenc in g the floods and firewhich have occurred at 78 ~ e b s t e rAve . during 2009 and 2010 .

The following photo s are also provided ;

- FDNY personnel inspecting Pallorium s office following the fire .

- Bud Bar ge r, the manag eme nt company s adjuster, inspecting damag e to Pallorium s office in2009.

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L AW OFFrCE S O F

F R E D E R I C K L. S O S I N S K Y

1-5 BRO A D WAY, 3 0 ~ F L O O R

N E W YOR I < . N E W Y O R K 1 6

TE:LEPHONE 21 21 2G 5 · Z 2 7 0

TELECOPIJ : :R<2 1 2 1 5 9 · 8 4 3

E M A I L : FrcdS@newyork-cr imin a fdefense.com

Scott Nejame , Esq. .Administrative Law JudgeNew York State Department of State

·Office o f Administrative HearingsOne Commerce Pla2a ·99 Washington Avenue ·

Albany," New York 1.223 I -000.

October 4, 2 1 2

Re: · Dept. o f State v .Pallorium Inc. , & Steven P. RombomFile# 20 09-064 7

Dear ALJ Nejame:

As .you are aware, f rep resent Pallorium , fn c. and Steve n P. Rombom inconnec tion With t n ~above m a t t ~ r .~ a ~ nwriting to re spectfully reques t that . the da te

.sched uled for th e hea.rll)g in .this .matter , Octob er 25 , .201 2, be resc heduled to the we ek o fDecember 3, 2012 or to another date in December. I make this r eque st beca use I ampresently preparing for two separate trials , one sc heduled to begin shortly oefore October2 5 (October 22 ) and anot her to s tart on Novemb er IJ, 2 012. ·In both cases , my clients are

incarcerated and have been awaiting trial for a. n"t mber of ·years. Due to my trialcommitments to "hese ·clients, r will be unable to begin ~ h i shearin g on the dat e scheduled,but should be ·ab le to coriunence the hearing in Derember.

I have spoken with Linda l e a r yEsq. from DOS .and she has no objection to thisfirst request for an adjournment o f he proceeding or to the dates propo se d.

Th<in.k you for your consideration.

FLS: .bms

cc: i n d ~C leary ·(by First .Class an .d E lectronic Mail)

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rombom hires high power lawyer to make the payoff

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