It's being reported by a certain news outlet (the Miami Herald, or should I say, Jay Weaver) that Scott Rothstein is to be arrested tomorrow and charged with federal crimes.

Rothstein earlier this year

​The report from "sources familiar with the case" is true. Rothstein is going to be charged after noon a couple of hours tomorrow.

This news has always been a given, and it indicates that Rothstein has finally bled out everything he could bleed to the feds. He's done his time in the federal government's womb; now he's being cast out into the hands of justice. I don't know who else will be charged, but I expect a few of the more obvious suspects at the law firm will be arrested tomorrow as well.

The arrest will mark the end of the first phase of the investigation. I think the next phase will focus on influence and power rather than Ponzi. I'm pretty sure you will get information here that no one else will read as the days plow ahead.

Flickr: oz.gauntlet

Holy Cross needs bling, but it's running out of sugar daddies.

​Of all the local nonprofit organizations that have been stung by recent investment scandals, Holy Cross Medical Center wins the Triple Crown. Or is it the Grand Slam? Check out the list of medical facilities on the main campus.

There's the Michael and Diane Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center, honoring donations that came from the fortune that couple enjoyed through a business relationship with Bernard Madoff.

Then there's the Zachariah Family Wellness Pavilion, named after Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah, currently awaiting civil trial based on allegations that he and his brother profited from a fraudulent stock trading scheme in 2005.

Finally, the Jim Moran Heart and Vascular Center, for the late car-dealing giant who was convicted of cheating his taxes, then later was embroiled in a federal corruption investigation of former Broward Sheriff Nick Navarro, based on Moran's being both the biggest donor to the sheriff's campaign and his having received a no-bid contract to supply the department with vehicles, minus the warranties.More >>

Flickr: robstormer

A couple of Florida drivers get acquainted in a busy intersection.

​To anyone who's recently been near a South Florida roadway, it seems preposterous to hope that drivers in this region can change their dangerous ways and adapt to walkers, runners, and bikers. Deadly driving is practically a tradition here and in other parts of the state, as evidenced by a study we mentioned earlier this month, which found Florida's four major cities to be the nation's four most dangerous to pedestrians.

As recently as Wednesday, a 15-year-old sophomore at Coral Glades High School was struck and killed while crossing Sample Road.

But this Time magazine article, which also laments Florida's ugly record of traffic fatalities, contains a faint ray of hope.
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I guess it should come as no news flash that Scott Rothstein was a rampant extorter and blackmailer. He basically boasted to potential investors in his Ponzi scheme that he made his money hitting up bosses who were cheating with employees on their wives for out-of-court settlements.

Peter

​But the stuff I'm hearing now is mind-blowing. Unlike some of the excellent commenters here (Torts, I'm looking at you), I can't just ring off information as it comes in. I know this is frustrating, but let me assure you, this is the greatest story in the history of South Florida, and it will all come out in due time. Let me just say that I'm hearing incredible stories about Rothstein's use of his associates to impersonate judges, officials, and reporters on the phone to help him in his extortion schemes and scams.

Now I want to look briefly at another Rothstein business associate, Albert Peter, former CEO of Silversea Cruises. Rothstein somehow became an attorney for the cruise line, which is owned by Italian aristocrat Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, who operates mainly in Italy and Monaco.

A source close to Rothstein told me that Rothstein became embroiled in a blackmail attempt on Lefebvre d'Ovidio that  

 

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​If you haven't gotten an iPhone, registered your preferred web address, or otherwise secured your location on the internet, you might want to do so now.  According to the European Commission in a recent survey of organizations, most have not upgraded to the new IPv6 internet protocols and are therefore hogging more than their fair share of internet addresses.

This means that if you want to own "SouthFloridaRocksTheMostbecausetheyhavecraiglivingthere.net," you could be shit out of luck next year. You see, if these groups don't upgrade to the newer standard, the number of total web addresses (IP addresses) will remain limited to 4 billion. We're almost there already.

Yep, there are nearly 4 billion connections to the internet (computers, network devices, your phone, etc.). That's pretty amazing on its own, really.
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That's Ken Green, a golfer in West Palm Beach, who lost his lower right leg, his brother, his girlfriend, and his dog in a car accident in Mississippi last June. His quest to return to the PGA Tour was the subject of a feature story in Sunday's New York Times.

Green battled depression and financial problems even before his accident, which he says has given him a new perspective on his life and the game he loves. Golfers held a benefit for Green in Connecticut last month, then another last week at the Breakers West, where Green's distinctive gait is a familiar sight and from where he hopes to stage that comeback. From the article:More >>

Someone has been wanting me to post Scott Rothstein's campaign contributions to Broward State Attorney Michael Satz. A reader sent me a list last night that included $4,900 worth of Rothstein-related campaign checks during his 2008 election. I checked it against the state campaign database, and it was good, though I found a few more.

And it added up to a pretty big haul that our top prosecutor received from maybe the biggest Ponzi schemer in Florida history. And it illustrates a problem that has helped cause Broward County to become the corruption capital of America.

Giving $100 was former Rothstein attorney Kenneth Padowitz, Harold Bofshever, Melissa Britt Lewis, Kari Rosenfeldt, and Howard Kusnick. Giving $250 was Denis Kleinfeld. Giving $500 was Bill Brock, Ingrid Sahdala, Mary Conboy, Russell Adler, Stuart Rosenfeldt, Scott Rothstein, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, AAMM Holdings Inc., Marybeth Feiss, Grant Smith, Debra Villegas, Irene Shannon (Stay), and Howard Gruverman.

Total: $7,250.

That's a minimum. About $1,500 worth of the contributions were in-kind for food and drink at an event, indicating that Rothstein threw Satz a fundraiser. Basic tip for aspiring political sleuths, when you see that, you check the dates that the main players gave contributions and see who else gave at that time. In this case, the brunt of the contributions were dated November 5 and November 8. Here are the names that come up on those dates (while reading them, remember that they may or may not have anything to do with the Rothstein fundraiser):

John P. Bria Sr. $500, Jonathan D. Commella $100, Complete Title Solutions $500, Jeanne Dishowitz $100, Carl Karmin $250, Robert Boudreau $500, Richard Bury $200, DP Marketing Services $300, Gary Farbish $250, Investors Mortgage Services $500, Leonard Bierman and Associates $250, Morse Operations $500, Martha Quintana $500, Micheal Seligson $250, Tracy Weintraub $500, Kristin Weisberg $150.

Some of these names are familiar (Bria and Morse, shoutout at you), but some of them may not be related. The point is that Rothstein pulled out the stops for Satz and raised something like $10,000 for the top prosecutor. Minus Satz's contributions to himself, he raised a total of $140,000, so Rothstein could boast he was responsible for

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Together, Sam Borkson of Plantation and Arturo "Tury" Sandoval III are the creative minds behind Friends With You, a Miami-based artist collaborative producing a peculiar brand of modern art. As of late, FWY has been getting plenty of attention from the international art community and international corporations alike. Whether you're talking about a hand-stitched toy or a giant parade of blimps floating down South Beach or a custom-built, interactive bounce house installation or a framed print hanging on a wall, the art of FWY is something like a psilocybin-induced vivid dream set in a secret level of Super Mario Bros. 3.

"It's shiny happy graphic candy with sugar on top," Sam says.

"A colorful doorway to a bigger idea," says a pensive Tury.More >>

​If you don't bother to pick up a paper over the long, luxurious holiday, here's what you missed in the local news:

• Let's try to sum up the weekend's offerings on Daily Pulp, which remains ground for all things Rothstein. The Ponzi schemer is said to have treated his law firm as his personal harem. The wire transfers Rothstein made from Morocco suggest the possibility he was worried about settling debts with Israeli organized crime. It's getting uglier for Sheriff Al Lamberti, his sidekick and Rothstein's two law partners, all of whom are connected by some fishy political contributions. Finally, an ultra-premium vodka brand is going to have to fork over its ultra-premium Rothstein investment to the feds. Phew! Is it safe to say the Norman family's Thanksgiving celebration has been rescheduled for February?
  
• The Fins imploded yesterday in Buffalo, turning a fourth quarter touchdown lead into a blowout loss. Henne tossed three interceptions and Ricky Williams contributed one of his own. Is this the Wildcat's 15th minute? [NFL.com]
• Police are still looking for Paul Michael Merhige, the 35-year-old man who shot six people after Thanksgiving dinner at a home in Jupiter, killing four. They're following investigative leads in Michigan. [WPTV-5]
  

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Flickr: gabrieletele

A cormorant in Palm Beach County

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