Paralegal admits to stealing more than $900,000 from the firm
11/1/2017
Lucas County Courthouse in downtown Toledo.
THE BLADE
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Leslie Rombkowski
A former paralegal with a downtown law firm admitted Wednesday she stole more than $900,000 from the firm.
Leslie Rombkowski, 55, of Maumee, pleaded guilty in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to aggravated theft and attempted theft from a person in a protected class, both second-degree felonies.
Judge Linda Jennings told her she faces up to 16 years in prison when she is sentenced Jan. 4.
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She is not expected to be ordered to pay restitution because a settlement is being worked out in a civil lawsuit brought against Rombkowski by the victim in the case, the Charles E. Boyk Law Office.
Rombkowski worked for the Boyk firm as its office manager from 2006 until 2015 when she was fired.
Under questioning by her attorney, Jerome Phillips, she admitted she took “in excess of $750,000” from the firm between 2008 and 2015 and that she removed “in excess of $150,000” from the trust of an elderly person who was a client of the firm between 2009 and 2010.
No mention was made of how she spent the money she stole, but Mr. Phillips said afterward that there was no evidence of any drug or gambling problems.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of tampering with evidence and two counts of forgery are to be dismissed at sentencing.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.