Broward Palm Beach News Blog

That's Benjamin On The Far Right (Nick Navarro is third from right)

​ ​Broward Sheriff's Lt. David Benjamin, who serves as Sheriff Al Lamberti's "executive officer," escorted Scott Rothstein through Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport to his chartered jet when the fallen lawyer fled the country for Morocco last week.

Sheriff's spokesman Jim Leljedal confirmed that Rothstein phoned his friend Benjamin, who was off-duty and armed at the time, on the night of October 27 and asked him to escort him to his plane. Leljedal says Rothstein told Benjamin he was going on a business trip and that Lamberti's right-hand man had no idea Rothstein's fraudulent business scheme had imploded and he was fleeing the country.  

"[Benjamin] got a phone call from Rothstein, and he said he was going on a

Some end-of-Friday news:

Miami Herald

​

-- Add another Scott Rothstein investor to the mix: Ovi Levy, who helped found the Renato Watches, a company in which Rothstein once told me he owned 40 percent. 

Sources say Levy invested several million dollars with Rothstein, who had a collection of several hundred watches. When reached on the phone, Levy refused to comment on the matter, saying he hired an attorney. When I asked the name of his lawyer, Levy hung up the phone.

Levy was a known Rothstein friend and was a sponsor of the American Heart Association's 2009 Broward County Heart Ball along with other Rothstein partners, including Tony Bova and Vie Harvey, CEO of V Georgio Vodka. Rothstein served as co-chair of the Ball along with his wife.

-- Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld today ordered TD Bank to turn over

A key question regarding Scott Rothstein's fraudulent scheme that until now has gone largely unanswered: How did he lure so many rich and powerful locals to pour tens of millions into the estimated billion-dollar Ponzi that imploded last weekend?

Epstein was bait.

​One way he did it was by tricking investors into believing that his firm was representing numerous underaged girls who had sex with Palm Beach billionaire and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sources have confirmed. On top of that, Rothstein claimed that he had flight logs showing that Epstein flew extremely prominent people, including former President Bill Clinton, on his private jet with some of the plaintiffs.

He told investors that Epstein, Clinton, and other celebrities involved basically had no choice but to settle these cases and that it was a veritable treasure-trove. They then ponied up millions to invest in the settlements, pay out a portion of those settlements to the victims, and pocket the rest.

Problem: Rothstein, who is currently in talks with federal officials after returning from his run to Morocco, was fabricating the story. He took a shred of the truth -- there were some civil suits filed against Epstein, including at least one handled by the Rothstein Rosenfeldt and Adler firm -- and built it into a grandiose lie that promised hundreds of millions of dollars in returns for his investors. There apparently is no indication that the former president, who was at one time a real friend of Epstein's, and other celebrity names bandied about by Rothstein were

We're going to start with a photo tour of Rothstein's office. I got the video and am going to post, but I like the idea of starting with a few still shots.

These shots were taken this afternoon, several hours after FBI and IRS agents left the offices after taking what they needed -- documents, email, etc. I was told the office email system was disabled unintentionally by the feds; not sure if it came back up.

One thing not in the photos is Rothstein's eye in the sky, a little video recording bubble in one of the main sections of the law firm. There was also a recording device in the ceiling. Kendall Coffey, who was leading the tour, said he found the surveillance devices very unusual and indicative of his secretive and controlling personality. He was Big Brother; the other lawyers were just trying to do their jobs. For the most part, of course, this is true.

By the way, a reputable source just called me and said Scott Rothstein and his wife, Kim, were spotted eating at the Village Tavern restaurant in Pembroke Pines together about 7:30 p.m. I called the restaurant, and a manager there told me it was news to him. So take it for what it's worth; rumors abound. What is known is that Rothstein has spent a huge deal of time with federal prosecutors since he returned Tuesday.

On to the tour. We'll start with a great, if grainy, shot of Carol Rome, Gov. Charlie Crist, and Scott blowing out the candles on Crist's birthday cake at a fundraiser/party.

Keep in mind that Rothstein paid $52,000 for that damned cake, but boy, is Charlie all over the man's office. There is a slew of photos of Crist, including one of him arm in arm with Rothstein at the Versace mansion during Rothstein's wedding party.

Several more of his photos -- the Guvenator, Sheriff Al Lambert, the Pacino portrait, the Jewish Avenger suit, and more -- come after the jump.

Todd Rome With The Future Mrs. Crist

​Interesting fun fact of the day: The G5 that Scott Rothstein flew to Morocco and back was apparently arranged for Rothstein by Blue Star Jets. Blue Star Jets is owned by Todd Rome. Todd Rome is the ex-husband of Carol Rome. Carol Rome is the current wife of Florida governor and U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Crist. Charlie Crist is a guy who counted Rothstein as a friend and huge political donor.

Again, just a fun fact. Certainly doesn't indicate anything sinister, just another tidy connection. The Romes divorced on amicable terms and have two children together.

There's just too much going on today (notwithstanding the horrible mass shooting at Fort Hood, which just bumped me off WFTL-850radio for good reason -- that terrible event should help keep all of this in perspective). Here are some other reports, ending with an interesting video of Joe Alu, the bodyguard for Scott Rothstein's wife, Kim. 

Barnett

​-- Fort Lauderdale socialite and art dealer Bonnie Barnett was a "small investor" in Scott Rothstein's investment scheme but did not promote it or bring any other people into the fold for the disgraced lawyer, said her attorney, Jeffrey Sonn.

The wealthy socialite's son, Andrew Barnett, was also hired by Rothstein four months ago. Sources say Andrew worked as a "director of corporate affairs" for Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler but was really there to help bring in investors for Rothstein.

One source close to those involved says that Rothstein was supposed to pay Andrew Barnett a $400,000 commission on Friday. Instead, Rothstein was in Morocco, and Barnett was stiffed on his commission.

This just in from the State Attorney's Office: It filed an unlawful compensation felony charge against former Broward County Commissioner Joe Eggelletion in the Parkland Golf & Country Club case wherein he allegedly took a golf club membership from developer Prestige Homes in exchange for his support for a controversial development.

​Eggelletion already faces felony federal charges -- and I can't help but wonder if the State Attorney's Office is crossing wires with the feds (you know, the guys who have been trying to clean up the mess that was created by 33 years of Satz and his corruption-allowing ways). I just hope that Satz's sudden vigilance doesn't interfere with the ongoing federal investigation, which involves the same developer, Prestige Homes, and School Board Member Stephanie Kraft.

Satz says it's part of an "ongoing corruption investigation." Until I know better, though, I'll just report the news and say it's been a long time coming. The press release after the jump.

Rothstein role model?

​In a move aimed at further distancing Rothstein Rosenfeldt and Adler lawyers from the firm's former swindling chairman, a media tour was offered of the law firm and Scott Rothstein's "inner sanctum" -- the elaborate office where he hatched his schemes.

​The Pulp went along for the tour, which was led by former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, who is representing the law firm in the wake of the discovery of a Ponzi scheme worth at least $400 million.

While the press was walking through his office, Rothstein was believed to still be in federal custody, spilling his guts after his dramatic return from Morocco on Tuesday.

You're going to get to see what I saw, only it will be in dizzying video that I shot during the tour. There's a reason that I'm not a documentary film maker apparently. I'll likely be putting up video into the evening, but here's a quick rundown of some of the highlights:

-- Rothstein's inner sanctum was separated by a security-coded door that was accessible only by

We've got some creative people out there inspired to translate the Scott Rothstein saga into art and song.

​The fake Las Olas Lifestyle cover was submitted by a reader who didn't want credit for it. After the jump, see an illustrated Rothstein spoof on the Passover Seder song "Chad Gadya" (which translates to "One Kid" or "One Little Goat") that was forwarded to the Pulp by a reader. I'm not sure if the order is quite right, but it's pretty good.   

Also confirmed that former state senator and current Broward County Commission candidate Steve Geller got his creative juices flowing over Rothstein -- only not in satire but sheer admiration and respect. When the "Jewish Avenger" story came out a couple of months ago, Geller went to work and delivered to Rothstein a custom-made Jewish Avenger cape and shirt, complete with the initials JA and a Star of David. 

Remember, Geller's 527 electioneering committee received $50,000 from Rothstein. (Also remember that Geller was very good buds with another Ponzi schemer). Rothstein loved the costume so much that he kept it in his office for people to see.

Click below to see the spoof.   

​[Update: The feds left the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm a bit after 5 a.m. after arriving about 6 p.m. They took voluminous records and left an inventory, though that is being kept confidential. The FBI and IRS did their work at night so as not to totally disrupt the law firm's work.]

We all know the society magazines are leeches for the rich and politically connected, but some of the local fluff coverage of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein was just miserable.

The Palm Beach Post's Michael Bender found a particularly heinous piece about Rothstein that was published in Las Olas Lifestyle magazine in 2007, titled, and you can't make this up: "Scott Rothstein: A Compassionate Heart." Las Olas Lifestyle's motto, mind you, is "We Not Only Go to Million Dollar Homes, Our Readers Spend Millions!"

Here's a passage:

Politics is another in Rothstein's never ending streams of passions. And, he focuses much of his attention on assisting those who help children in need. Rothstein believes every child should have the opportunity to live a better quality of life, regardless of their environment and elected officials need to create this opportunity.

[UPDATE: The FBI is holding a consensual search at the offices of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler tonight -- it's not huge news but worth knowing. There's a great number of agents -- I'm hearing about 35 -- crawling around the firm. Word is that Rothstein is still chilling out with federal prosecutors.]

When Broward County Mayor Stacy Ritter needed to raise some dough to sponsor her Mayor's Ball, she called, you guessed it, Scott Rothstein. 

Ritter

​Sources say Rothstein ponied up $50,000 to become the title sponsor of the event, held Saturday, October 24, at the Seminole Hard Rock. It was allegedly the most expensive Mayor's Ball (or "Charity Gala," as they call it now to make it sound less like the political whorefest that it is) in Broward history.  

But Rothstein didn't even show up for the event, saying he was sick. Instead, his top lobbyist, Grant Smith, had to get up and say a few words to the crowd of 850. Ken Keechl emceed the event along with Ritter.

While up on stage with the microphone, the mayor told the crowd the story of calling Rothstein and asking him for the money, according to a source who was there.

"Scott said, 'Anything for you, hon, that's what I'm going to do,' " Ritter told the crowd. "I was so happy, I didn't even get mad that he called me 'hon.' " 

Entertaining the politicians and influence peddlers that populate these rather vile events was a Billy Joel cover band and a comedian.

A week later, Rothstein fled the country to Morocco when his Ponzi scheme imploded. He has since returned to face federal investigators (several sources say he had a duffle bag full of cash; one tells me there was $3 million in it).

We don't know if the Mayor's Ball check cleared, though.

After the jump, a few more miscellaneous tidbits, including the "real" story on the "breakup" between Rothstein and Roger Stone and suspicions that Rothstein had attention deficit disorder.