Source: Rothstein Hired Mafia-Related Security Firm
If you read the headlines about the major Mafia case that broke in Miami yesterday, you might have wondered if fallen Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein had any connections to the mobsters charged.
 |
| Maloman Photographers |
| Rothstein with Gov. Crist and Kim at the Versace mansion at a white party held for his 2008 wedding there. |
He does.
When Rothstein took over management of Casa Casuarina last year, he brought in a company called Five Star Executive Protection & Investigations to run security at the prime Miami Beach property, better-known as the Versace mansion, according to a source who worked in management there at the time.
Yesterday, Five Star owners Enrique Ros of Pembroke Pines and Daniel Dromerhauser of Miami were charged in the Mafia case that stretches to Sicily and New York and netted 26 arrests in a recent undercover sting operation. Dromerhauser was arrested yesterday by an FBI SWAT team on money-laundering and conspiracy charges; Ros remains at large. Both were tied to purported Sicilian mobster Roberto Settinari, who was also arrested in the case, which made international headlines.
Rothstein personally recommended Ros, Dromerhauser, and Five Star last year at Casa Casuarina, said a former high-ranking employee at the Rothstein-owned Bova Group, which took over management of the mansion after Rothstein purchased a
stake in the property last year. Five Star provided 24-hour security at Casa Casuarina until Rothstein's scheme imploded in late October, said the source.
The firm claims on its website to have provided protection for "corporate executives, royal families, celebrities, national news personalities, television & radio talk shows hosts, political figures, presidential candidates and civil rights leaders."
"It was told to us that [Five Star] had done a lot of work for Scott [Rothstein] and these people had worked with Scott for years," said the source, who asked for anonymity.
It's not known what other work Five Star may have provided for Rothstein. Five Star's main office is located at 519-B S. Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. A telephone number listed for the Fort Lauderdale office was out of order, and a Miami number for the firm came to a recording apparently made by the 33-year-old Ros.
"You have reached Enrique with Five Star. Please be advised that I will be out of the country on a security detail until further notice. For immediate assistance, please call my partner, Dan Dromerhauser... thank you."
The fugitive Ros also owned a company at the same Andrews address called 5 Star CCTV & Spy Shop and a Pembroke Pines company called Five Star Window Tinting, the latter of which recently went out of business.
Rothstein, meanwhile, is listed as still being in custody in the Port St. Lucie Jail after he was moved from the Federal Detention Center in Miami due to safety concerns.
Comments (108) 
Write Comment
Email to Friend
Print Article
