About Steve

Our founder, Steven Rondos was a successful New York attorney with a growing practice and a beautiful young family in the suburbs of New York City. However, while unable to properly cope and seek help with certain life stresses, he made bad decisions which resulted in a criminal investigation and prosecution. One early morning in 2008, his life and that of his young children and wife came crashing down when a team of investigators from the New York City District Attorney's Office knocked on his door with a search warrant. Steve ultimately served 4 years and 2 months in various prisons in New York City and State, including Rikers Island. He figured out how to reduce his time to be eligible for parole release by 10 months and made parole on his first appearance before the Parole Board.

After that fateful morning door knock, Steve was not prepared on what to expect and how to navigate what lied ahead, since he had no one to coach and guide him. Steve had many questions: “What will happen upon my arrest?” “What can I do to get a shorter sentence?” “What is life like in prison?” “How do I get out of prison as early as possible?” He learned that there are ways to mitigate the prosecutor’s influence throughout the process - from the pre-indictment stage, plea negotiations, and sentencing, and how to give a voice to a defendant’s story.

Unfortunately, there are many good people in prison who made some bad choices and were over punished with excessive sentences. Through his experiences, hard work and advocacy skills, Steve learned how to navigate the criminal justice system and prison system in the most favorable way possible and significantly reduced his sentence. During his incarceration, he figured out how to survive and circumvent the dangers and pitfalls of dealing with other prisoners (many of whom were violent offenders), corrections officers, and staff.

Steve researched and determined which programs a prisoner should pursue to get out even before parole eligibility. He successfully challenged in court the Temporary Release Committee’s denial of his work release application (Matter of Rondos v Ledbetter, 2013 NY Slip Op 23119 March 20, 2013). His hard work paid off when he was granted parole on his first try after appearing before the Parole Board for the first time.