Warrant seeks Jonathan Roth, son of man who faked disappearance

An arrest warrant has been issued for a Massapequa man who had been free on bail while awaiting sentencing on charges of conspiring to fake his father's disappearance from Jones Beach last year as part of an insurance scam, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The warrant was issued for Jonathan Roth, 23, after he failed to show up for a routine appearance Friday in Nassau County Court, a spokesman for the Nassau County district attorney's office said.

Roth pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in May and expected to avoid jail because he was helping prosecutors with their case against his father, Raymond Roth, 48, also of Massapequa, according to prosecutors.

Raymond Roth had faced a 90-day jail sentence after admitting he faked his own disappearance, but he now faces a state prison term after being arrested on attempted kidnapping charges just hours after his guilty plea.

Jonathan Roth's attorney, Joey Jackson of Manhattan, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The bail of $10,000 bond or $5,000 cash had been posted by Roth's girlfriend, Kristi Mayleas, 23, of Smithtown, court records show. Mayleas did not return a telephone call left at her home Tuesday.