Now that Scott Rothstein is caged in the Federal Detention Center in Miami, we all wonder what is next for the federal investigation. We know that his inner circle is going to get hit — I would be shocked if Debra Villegas, David Boden, and Irene Stay aren’t nabbed. Lower-level administrative-corridor…
If you get to one of South Florida’s poker rooms early in the day, you might witness something pretty odd. Around opening time (for the casinos that aren’t 24 hours yet) at the $5/$10 no-limit tables, you might find a group of regular players going all in on every hand…
China already owns the U.S. government. It’s just a matter of time till Chinese money also buys the American media. But look at the bright side. After that happens, we can expect wicked-cool videogame reenactments of the day’s biggest stories. Like the one below, which offers two animated versions of…
Let’s look at the news on this Wednesday morning:A terrifying number of references to “unidentified co-conspirators” in the information filed yesterday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office against Scott Rothstein. There’s little question that he and his friends in the political, banking, and legal communities have earned the full attention of…
This past weekend, while waiting for a dryer to finish drying near Fort Lauderdale Beach, I spotted an old copy of Las Olas Lifestyle magazine. From March 2009 to be exact, some six months before Rothstein’s billion-dollar house of cards came crashing to earth.The magazine is to Fort Lauderdale what…
Here are some highlights from the information used to charge Scott Rothstein with racketeering, money laundering, and fraud today. I think it provides a road map for what’s to come in this investigation. One thing seems clear: The feds are going after the political side of this hard. According to…
Don’t write Psystar’s obituary just yet. Photo by C. StilesRudy Pedraza stands in front of Psystar headquarters.Psystar, which we recently profiled in depth, has been locked in a heated legal battle with Apple since last year because the tiny Doral-based firm sells unauthorized “clones” of Mac computers, running Mac OSX…
Wearing a black T-shirt (it was designer, probably Ed Hardy; I don’t know clothes), designer jeans, a pair of silver-colored handcuffs in U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum’s courtroom today, Scott Rothstein rose from his chair and got ready for his trip to federal detention. I asked Rothstein, whose hair was grayer than I’ve ever seen…
Eleven days before she was arrested for allegedly attempting to have her husband killed, Dalia Dippolito was exchanging romantic text messages with another man who was waiting for her to come visit him at a local Marriott.The man, who has a California phone number, is identified only as “Mike” on…
The colossal Oasis of the Seas has been bathed in glowing publicity. The reviews from VIPs and journalists who toured its decks during its November debut were almost universally positive. And yesterday was an occasion for a feel-good story, as the ship invited celebrities like Michael Jordan aboard to fulfill…
Tuesday is shaping up to be a big news day in Broward County.Scott Rothstein is finally going to be charged for his roughly $1 billion Ponzi scheme. But no, we still don’t know the juiciest details. [Miami Herald]The trial for Teah Wimberly, the 16-year-old girl who killed a teenaged friend…
If you haven’t already seen this, Panther defenseman Keith Ballard was frustrated after the team let in what would prove to be the game-winning goal. He went to break his stick over the goal. Instead, he swiped his teammate, Tomas Vokoun’s, ear. Then blood, writhing, Vokoun carried off on a…
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. The report from “sources familiar with the case” is true. Rothstein is going to be charged after noon a couple of hours…
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…
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…
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. But the stuff I’m…
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…
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…
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…
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…
