The former brother-in-law of former MLB star and current baseball analyst Alex Rodriguez is demanding millions of dollars in back pay from the ex-slugger in a civil suit filed to Miami civil court last week. The suit alleges that a business of A-Rod's tried to profit off of the damage that Hurricane Ike created in 2008 and that the three-time MVP nearly caused the ex-brother-in-law to lose his home.
Constantine Scurtis -- the brother of Cynthia Scurtis, Rodriguez's wife from 2002 to 2008 -- claims that a business relationship between himself and the former Rangers player began to deteriorate as the ballplayer's marriage did. They formed a real estate partnership in 2003 where Rodriguez would make most of the money, as his name was the "cash cow" of the business, and Scurtis would get the rest plus a fee for any acquisitions made.
Then in 2008, Scurtis was allegedly kicked out of his office and, despite reassurances from Rodriguez himself, the business relationship and friendship was dissolved. This became official when, as the lawsuit claims, Rodriguez sold the company's assets to a new company, this one without Scurtis.
"Through their racketeering," the lawsuit said, "Rodriguez and his co-conspirators have caused Scurtis many millions of dollars in damages."
Scurtis goes as far to claim in the lawsuit that Rodriguez committed fraud, claiming that the Yankees pariah falsely reported to the government that Scurtis was sent payments, which resulted in the IRS filing a tax lien and threatening Scrutis's home and bank accounts.
Scurtis also alleges that Rodriguez tried to profit off of Hurricane Ike, as NJ.com describes.
In the alleged scheme, Rodriguez's company, Newport Property Ventures, created accounting records "reflecting significantly inflated damages" to the properties it owned. Scurtis claims that Rodriguez then paid off a whistleblower to stay silent after she called them out on it.
The suit even includes accusations not directly related to the business venture the two shared. Scurtis alleges that Rodriguez looked him in the eye and swore he never cheated on his sister in a conversation that happened just before tabloids would publish stories of infidelity.
This is not the first time Scurtis has tried to sue Rodriguez. His first suit dates back to a decade ago, with a string of failed suits following thereafter. This suit, however, includes a particularly entertaining line that paints the two Scurtis siblings as each being victims of Rodriguez's unfaithfulness.
"After Rodriguez's wife discovered the truth about Rodriguez's infidelity and filed for divorce, Rodriguez then turned on (Constantine) Scurtis and cheated him," the lawsuit says.
