Steven Dym double murder suicide: real estate exec was being sued for stealing $22k from client. The double life of a real estate magnate exposed.
Steven Dym the real estate executive who murdered his wife and daughter before shooting himself dead at the family Pound Ridge, Westchester mansion was being sued for $22, 000 at the time of the double murders and suicide.
The revelations come after the seemingly ‘happy’ 56 year old real estate magnate who owned a variety of properties in Queens in NY, was found dead on the second floor of his palatial home from a self inflicted gunshot wound. The bodies of his wife, Loretta Dym, 50 and their 18 year old daughter, Caroline, 18 were found on the same floor, after mother and daughter had been fatally shot.
Notice of the double murders and suicide came after neighbors, Friday morning told of hearing gunshots coming from the family home. The trio’s bodies were discovered by a housekeeper on Friday August 25.
At the time, couple’s son, Will, 20 was away in California for school.
The carnage led to family and friends wondering with the Dym’s seemingly buoyant wealth and community involvement, and no discernible signs of depression, what could have led to the violence?
Come Monday, a report via the nypost told of Dym having been in court as recently as the week before to face accusations he’d stolen money from clients and that the family was preparing to sell their sprawling suburban home.
According to one client, Dym had taken $22K from them without explanation along with failing to turn over financial records for their deal once he was caught.
Told Richard Walsh, the plaintiff’s lawyer, ‘We don’t know what happened to the books. We don’t know how much money is missing and we were in active discovery,’
Come Tuesday, that number was upped to $200k Dym allegedly stole over a course of 5 years with buildings he managed.
Noted the suit, ‘The amount of money that has been unaccounted for and upon information and belief has been misappropriated by Gabriel and Dym over a five-year period is upon information and belief at least $200,000.’
But it seems it wasn’t the first time Dim had been in court over allegations of financial impropriety.
Dym, CEO of Gabriel Management in New York City, a company founded by his father, had also been sued in 2014 by a different associate and had been forced to pay out $50,000 to settle that dispute.
‘There were a number of buildings he ripped off,’ Louis K. Maisel, the owner of an apartment in another New York City building which Dym managed, said.
In court last week, Walsh said Dym hedged about the reasons he had not yet returned the six boxes of books and financial records to his Gramercy client.
‘There were a lot of different stories’ about why he couldn’t produce the documents, Walsh told The Post. He said Dym told the court he had the files in his garage at home but could no longer find them.
To date it wasn’t necessarily understood what other financial improprieties may have taken place.
In the weeks before his death, Dym made passing reference to the fact his family’s $1.6million home was for sale but behaved strangely when speaking about it.
‘Not only did he not know where he was going, but he didn’t even know if he was going,’ neighbor Chris Shaffer said.
The home, which boasts plush gardens, a swimming pool and luxurious interiors, was put on the market at the start of summer and was under contract.
Other neighbors recalled going to a tag sale at the home where the family flogged their belongings.
The murders left neighbors and friends in disbelief, who described the family as happy and loving.
‘Never ever in my whole entire life [did I see this coming],’ said Gorana Odobasic, 28, a close friend of Loretta Dym.
‘I’m in such utter shock, Loretta and just the way she spoke about her husband — her kids were her life. It seemed that they were very happy.’
‘The few times I’ve met Steve Dym, he seemed like a great husband and a great father.’
Steven Dym faced financial troubles before shooting family https://t.co/0RfAVWFBvY pic.twitter.com/WPv1GEcVf5
— Hot Story (@hotstorycrime) August 28, 2017
It was not the first violent episode at the house.
On Nov. 11, 1992, Steven Dym’s mother, Paula, attacked her husband, Lawrence — who was also once president of Gabriel Management for years — with the handle of a hatchet, striking him in the head as he slept.
Lawrence Dym survived and his wife, who was under stress at the time for a medical condition, was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation.
Along with being the CEO of Gabriel Management, a realty company founded by his father, Dym’s wife, Loretta was a businesswoman and vice president of Club Quarters Hotels in Manhattan and a volunteer with Make-A-Wish foundation.
The well-heeled pair traveled in high society, along with having political connections, donating money to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo‘s failed 2002 campaign.
At the time of the murders it wasn’t necessarily understood to what degree the Dym family may have over-extended itself and to what degree their financial issues played havoc behind the scenes as the family continued to keep up appearances until the very end….
A funeral Mass for the Dym family will be celebrated August 30 at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church in Bedford.
