Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the arrests of two men for attempting to extort money from a top executive with the Blackstone Group, a global asset manager and provider of financial advisory services.

STUART ROSS and STUART JACKSON have each been charged with one count of Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, both class D felonies, for their scheme to extort money from David Blitzer, who is Ross’s son-in-law and an executive with the Blackstone Group.  A class D felony is punishable by 2 1/3 to 7 years.

The investigation leading to the arrests revealed that what began as ROSS’S demand for Blitzer to give him $50,000 in June 2008, escalated to a demand for as much as $11 million by August 2008.  JACKSON, ROSS’S attorney, provided an imprimatur of legality to ROSS’S threats to ruin Blitzer’s life, personally and professionally, unless Blitzer paid off ROSS.

ROSS, 71, lives in Aventura, Florida, and is a non-practicing attorney.  He has been estranged from his daughter, Allison Blitzer and her husband, David Blitzer, since approximately 2002, and has never met their children.

In December 2007, after years without speaking to either his daughter or her husband, ROSS contacted David Blitzer and asked for seed money for a new business venture.  In January and May 2008, in response to repeated requests by ROSS, Blitzer sent $15,000 and then $50,000 to ROSS.  Blitzer told ROSS that the $50,000 sent in May would be the last time he would give ROSS money.

In June 2008, however, ROSS demanded more money from Blitzer.  In e-mails, voice-mails, and telephone conversations, ROSS told Blitzer that unless Blitzer gave him another $50,000 to $100,000, ROSS would harass Blitzer with incessant phone calls, and would contact Blitzer’s supervisors, the media, and law enforcement with accusations that he claimed would damage Blitzer’s reputation, ruin his career, and even lead to his arrest.

For example, on June 23, 2008, ROSS left Blitzer a voice mail message in which he told Blitzer that if Blitzer did not send ROSS money, ROSS would “commit open warfare” against Blitzer.  In another message the next day, ROSS continued to verbally threaten Blitzer.

By July 2008, ROSS had enlisted the assistance of JACKSON to help obtain money from Blitzer.  JACKSON, 79, is a longtime friend of ROSS, who lists his law office’s address as 70 East 55th Street in Manhattan.  ROSS scolded Blitzer for not returning JACKSON’S repeated calls. 

On August 5, 2008, as a “settlement offer,” JACKSON told Blitzer’s attorney, Roger Stavis, that if Blitzer gave ROSS $5.5 million, ROSS would forego any rights of visitation he might have with respect to his daughter and grandchildren and would not communicate any further with Blitzer or anyone else at the Blackstone Group.  ROSS  had never before expressed to Blitzer any interest in resuming a relationship with his daughter or in even meeting his grandchildren, much less obtaining formal visitation rights with them. 

On August 6, 2008, in a letter to Stavis, JACKSON doubled the demand.  For $5.5 million, ROSS would “waive his rights of communication with his daughter and grandchildren,” and for an additional $5.5 million, ROSS would agree to stop contacting Blitzer and Blackstone.

Before responding to JACKSON’S letter, Stavis contacted the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.  The following week, Stavis and JACKSON discussed a meeting between themselves and their clients.  In a letter proposing a time and place for that meeting, JACKSON demanded that by August 15, 2008, Blitzer would have to commit to paying $5.5 million to ROSS, or else the offer contained in JACKSON’S August 6, 2008  letter would expire.

On August 21, 2008, JACKSON and ROSS met with Blitzer and Stavis in Manhattan.  At the end of the meeting, JACKSON and ROSS had exacted an agreement from Blitzer that Blitzer would pay $400,000 for ROSS to refrain from attempting to contact his daughter, grandchildren, Blitzer and anyone else at the Blackstone Group.  JACKSON and ROSS also received a $50,000 check from Blitzer at the meeting.

ROSS and JACKSON, who were arrested today, are scheduled to be arraigned later today in Manhattan Criminal Court.  

Assistant District Andrew Seewald is handling the prosecution of this case, under the Supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michael Kitsis, Chief of the Frauds Bureau. The investigation was conducted by Senior Investigator Michael Wigdor and Supervising Investigator Walter Alexander, under the supervision of Joseph Pennisi and Terence Mulderrig, chief and assistant chief, respectively, of the Investigation Bureau.

Defendant Information

STUART R. ROSS, 10/12/36
19501 W. Country Club Drive
Aventura, Florida

STUART A. JACKSON, 12/15/28
24 Yale Drive
Manhasset, New York

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