A local businessman has been accused by his partners of embezzling $2.4 million from two North Seattle businesses and fleeing the area, according to court documents filed by the partners last month.

Dale Watanabe and Ron Hosogi accused Steve Heitman, 39, of the theft in papers filed May 4 and May 10 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the two businesses they co-own: Nordic Sports Haus and Sports Cars International. Watanabe and Hosogi are both managers with Microsoft.

Heitman's whereabouts are currently unknown. Watanabi and Hosogi said the theft occurred in mid-March, which coincided with Heitman's disappearance.

The partners permanently closed the original Nordic Sports Haus store located at 8018 15th Ave. NE, just off Lake City Way, in April. Last month they temporarily closed the remaining two Nordic Sports Haus stores -in the Green Lake neighborhood, at 7900 E. Greenlake Drive N, and in Woodinville. The Eastside Journal reported in its May 19th edition that the partners hope to reopen their Woodinville store this month, but the status of the Green Lake store remains uncertain. Nordic Sports Haus is a specialty ski and skate shop.

The Jet City Maven interviewed Heitman in a story about Nordic in its March 1999 edition, shortly after the opening of the Lake City Way store. In that interview, Heitman described himself as a Ballard native, who graduated from Ballard High School in 1977 and went on to attend the University of Washington. He said he later joined the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Germany, and, upon ending his military service, began working for ski companies in Europe before returning to the U.S. a few years ago. He met Watanabe when he placed a classified in a newspaper advertising skis for sale. Watanabe became a regular customer of Heitman's when Heitman began working for a ski shop in Bellevue.

Heitman asked Watanabe for a letter of reference in 1998 so he could get a bank loan to open his own store. Watanabe responded to Heitman's request by writing a check on the spot for $80,000 to become a partner in the business, which they decided to name Nordic Sports Haus. They opened their first store, the one off Lake City Way, in November 1998. Watanabe continued to invest more money to fund the chain's expansion by cashing out some of his Microsoft shares. Hosogi eventually joined as a third partner in the business. Heitman, who was entrusted by his partners with running the business, told the Maven: "This is my passion. We sell fun."

The partners bought Sports Cars International, a used car dealership that specializes in Mercedes, BMWs, Corvettes and other used luxury cars, in October. Sports Cars International, located at 8830 Lake City Way NE and 8910 Lake City Way NE, is currently in the process of liquidating its inventory, according to the Eastside Journal in its May 24th edition.

The Eastside Journal reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case.