Scott Rothstein's Watches at Auction: Even Better Than Bernie Madoff's Socks?

Sun-Sentinel

A man and his timepieces.

​Ever since Scott Rothstein's billion-dollar Ponzi empire crumbled in late 2009, there's been a load of loot from his extravagant lifestyle sitting around. In a 2008 story, New Times visited his law offices and described his material wealth, including a bevy of luxury cars in an air-conditioned garage.

Also, a lot of jewelry, including a watch collection that was seized when he came back from Morocco after contemplating suicide in Casablanca. Now some of his incredibly tacky watches can be yours.

Tomorrow the U.S. Treasury Department will auction off the luxe timepieces at the Broward County Convention Center. The auction follows a selloff of his luxury cars and boats last year that netted $5.6 million, according to the Miami Herald. An appraiser quoted in that story doubts that the watches are worth as much as Rothstein bragged. Still, they were an essential part of his daily wardrobe:

"He wore a watch every day," said one associate who is not facing charges, Joe "Meatballs" Alu, beefy, tattooed former bodyguard for Rothstein's wife, Kim. "That's all I can tell you."

Most of the watches will likely be snapped up by Miami-area jewelry dealers, who previewed them yesterday. The proceeds will benefit the victims of Rothstein's scheme.

The Sun-Sentinel has a photo gallery of the goods up for auction.

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