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http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/1368160.html Lots of related info.

12/05/09 - Scott Israel, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Broward County sheriff last year, won't ever forget his first encounter with lawyer Scott Rothstein, the big-time GOP fundraiser.

``We were at lunch an hour and a half, but he was only at the table 10 minutes,'' said Israel, recalling how Rothstein hopped from table to table at a Galleria Mall restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. ``He always mentioned the governor every third sentence. He said, `Give me a call Monday. I'm going to support you and give you money.'

``When he called me he would say, `Scotty, my boy!' He wanted to sound like I was a friend of his.''

Israel, though not a victim of the lawyer's now-notorious investment scheme, got the full Rothstein treatment -- the carefully cultivated aura of clout, wealth and generosity displayed at a frenetic pace.

Those characteristics enabled Rothstein to win over wealthy investors who gave him $1.2 billion for his purported legal-settlement deals. Their trust and money helped Rothstein, who was raised in a working-class Bronx family, attain a heightened status that fed both his craving for the limelight and his Ponzi scheme, say federal authorities and other observers.

IN GOOD COMPANY

Rothstein, 47, who pleaded not guilty last week to federal racketeering charges, has been compared to other masters of the Ponzi scheme -- the con man's art of paying off early investors with the contributions of later investors. The massive scale of Rothstein's scam puts him in the same infamous company as Bernard Madoff, Allen Stanford and Marc Dreier, all of whom have faced prosecution in the past year.

``All four were flashy, extravagant, ostentatious SOBs, and they all lived the good life,'' said Charles Intriago, a Miami-based money laundering expert and former federal prosecutor. ``They all preyed on rich folks who liked making the quick, big buck.''

Intriago said Rothstein displayed all the characteristics of a Ponzi schemer: claiming to have a legitimate business, offering a rare investment opportunity and dangling the prospect of riches.

He also said Rothstein displayed an oversized ego that he could not suppress -- even after his arrest and first hearing in federal court on Tuesday.

``The fact that he would go to court at his lowest moment wearing blue jeans and a pullover T-shirt is a reflection of the arrogance of this guy,'' said Intriago, President of the International Association for Asset Recovery.

Two former Internal Revenue Service agents who have done consulting work for Rothstein's law firm said Rothstein always strove to convey an image of respectability and success -- even after he returned from Morocco in early November following the collapse of his investment scheme and implosion of his law firm.

CRAVING ATTENTION

``After all this broke, he's sipping a martini and smoking a cigar [at The Capital Grille] and he's saying, `I'll pay you all back,' '' Ronald Wise said. ``That's just him. He's still in the spotlight and he likes it. He's gotten more publicity since this happened than he did as a regular attorney.''

Wise's partner at MRW Consulting Group, Jose Marrero, said he recalled attending a charity event where Rothstein was honored for his philanthropy.

``He liked being front and center; he liked being the number one guy. He was trying to corner the market and be the law firm in Fort Lauderdale,'' said Marrero, former special agent in charge of the IRS' South Florida office.

``Look at [billionaire] Wayne Huizenga -- he's not that ostentatious or boastful,'' he said. ``Rothstein was the opposite. How many Bugattis did he have? How many Ferraris did he have? How many houses? That screams of someone begging for attention.''

According to the U.S. government's seizure list of Rothstein's property, he owned more than a dozen homes, 21 flashy cars and an 87-foot yacht.

Rothstein also hired police to guard him and his waterfront mansion.

All remarkable, considering he had less than $200,000 to his name six years ago, according to court records. Rothstein, who started his law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler in 2002, built it into a 70-attorney operation.

Rothstein's office in downtown Fort Lauderdale was a secured inner sanctum, complete with video cameras, a second entrance and hidden private elevator. Anyone attempting to visit had to contact Rothstein's top assistants through an intercom system.

From his bunker, Rothstein wrote e-mails that revealed paranoid, dominating and threatening sides to his personality.

In August, he wrote to the law firm's staff: ``Unless it is a true emergency, NO ONE is to attempt to enter the admin corridor to see Debra, Amy or Ingrid. PLEASE. LOVE YA SCOTT.''

Two months later, he warned that he would ``NEVER tolerate insubordination'' and ``will NEVER tolerate attacks. NEVER!!!!!!!!! . . . IF YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS THEORY PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR AND RESIGN IMMEDIATELY. MAKE IT EASY FOR ME.''

Then Rothstein reminds the firm's lawyers that he's the chief executive officer, and that Debra Villegas is the chief operating officer and ``second in command.''

``MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. SHE IS . . . AND SHE ONLY ANSWERS TO ME. NO ONE ELSE. END OF STORY . . . I AM SO ANGRY THAT I AM HAVING TO WRITE THIS EMAIL.''

Also in October, as his scheme was on the brink of disaster, Rothstein turned on the charm to lure investor A.J. Discala of Clockwork Capital in Los Angeles into buying his fabricated settlements.

``Hey AJ . . . if you want to do something nice for one of your big funders (and for you and frank and dean and doug), I have a single deal on a sex harassment case I just settled,'' he wrote. ``It involved a horrific sexual assault against a girl that just turned 18.''

Rothstein wrote that the girl would accept only $18 million of a purported $30 million settlement if she could get paid immediately.

The investors' supposed return: $12 million, after six months.

``Let me know. Ciao ciao, Money never sleeps, motherf----- :-)''