Cops told the Daily News they remain stumped by the bizarre disappearance of the doctor's wife.

"We have nothing. Absolutely nothing," one investigator said. "We're right where we started, which is nowhere."

Police have chased down a series of leads in the hunt for Aronov — a baffling mystery that could have unfolded in one of the Russian novels the missing woman traded as a rare-book dealer.

They've looked into the possibility her disappearance might be linked to the Russian mob. It was revealed that the 44-year-old mother of two had carried on a long affair with a Manhattan lawyer. A witness spotted her climbing into a cab with her dog, Bim, on the afternoon of March 3 — the day she was last seen.

Still, more than a month later, police say they have no real answers about what happened to her.

And investigators become more convinced every day that she is dead.
"The further you get away from the day a homicide is committed, the tougher it is to solve," a high-ranking police official said. "If this is a homicide — and we believe it is — we are going to have a very hard time getting to the bottom of it."

Large task force

The NYPD remains vigilant in the search. A dozen detectives are assigned to the case — an unusually large number of investigators when the missing person is a healthy adult. Detectives have traced phone and bank records and analyzed security tapes from buildings along the route the missing woman — carrying only a cell phone and a key — took from her home on York Ave. between E. 63rd and E. 64th Sts. to E. 68th St. That's where police bloodhounds lost her trail.

Cops tracked cab records after interviewing John Palacio, a parking garage attendant, who said he saw Aronov get into a gypsy cab about 2:30 p.m. March 3.

"I bent over to pet the dog, and a cab pulled up," Palacio said last week. "The driver just drove over to her like they arranged to meet there. I'm very worried for this woman. I hope she's well."

But none of these leads have led anywhere.

Cops — pursuing various theories fueled by speculation — have even explored the possibility that she might have been killed because of business dealings by her husband, Dr. Alexander Aronov.

She had handled the bookkeeping for his medical practices in Manhattan's Murray Hill and Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

Detectives pored through records to determine whether the doctor might have been involved in any kind of insurance fraud or have any links to the Russian mob.

The cops' theory was that, if there was any such scam or connection, the mob might have murdered her to get back at her husband.

Last week, the doctor called that theory absurd. "I never get involved in any activities that would interest the mob," he told The News. "I told police everything about my past life and my past activities. I have nothing to hide."

'Heartbroken and frustrated'

He talked about how hard it was waiting for word about his wife.

"After one month, the hope is not getting any stronger," he said. "I'm unbearably heartbroken and frustrated and bewildered by what's happening. I'm looking for the answers and not being able to find them."

Last month, he refused to take an NYPD lie-detector test.

His lawyer, Ed Hayes, said the doctor has since passed a private lie detector test. Hayes also said his client will soon schedule a lie-detector test with NYPD detectives. "He was asked if he knew anything about his wife's disappearance, and he said 'no,' and he passed," Hayes said. "She's disappeared off the face of the Earth. No ransom. No demands. No motive. No enemies. She's just gone."

Alexander Aronov has returned to his oncology practice. The doctor — who has two daughters, Polina, 22, and Veronica, 9, — also is being comforted by friends who've raised a $25,000 reward. There's even a Web site (www.svetlanaaronov.com) with pictures of her in happier times.

Dr. Victoria Zubkina, who grew up with the missing woman in Russia, said Veronica still believes her mother is coming home.

"My mommy is being held by bad people, and they will change their mind and return her," Veronica tells anyone who will listen. "We will have a huge worldwide party when mommy comes back."

With Ralph R. Ortega

Originally published on April 5, 2003