http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58xczr30MsU
McCain - Do You Recognize Rothstein Now? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVaKDYiT2E
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Siegelman
Excerpts:
1) Don Eugene Siegelman (born February 24, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician who held numerous offices in Alabama. He was the 51st Governor of Alabama for one term from 1999 to 2003. Siegelman is the only person in the history of Alabama to be elected to serve in all four of the top statewide elected offices: Secretary of State, Attorney General, 26th Lieutenant Governor and Governor. He served in Alabama politics for 26 years.
2) The 2006 conviction
On October 26, 2005, Siegelman was indicted on new charges of bribery and mail fraud in connection with Richard M. Scrushy, founder and former CEO of HealthSouth. Two former Siegelman aides were charged in the indictment as well. Siegelman was accused of trading government favors for campaign donations when he was governor from 1999 to 2003 and lieutenant governor from 1995 to 1999. Scrushy was accused of arranging $500,000 in donations to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery fund for universal education in exchange for a seat on a state hospital regulatory board, a non-paying position. Scrushy, who had served on the state hospital regulatory board over the past three Republican administrations, had recently been investigated for his part in the HealthSouth Corporation fraud scandal which cost shareholders billions.[12]
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/04/now_free_healthsouth_whistlebl.html
Excerpt:
Bill Owens, the admitted architect of the massive accounting fraud at HealthSouth Corp., became a free man Friday, leaving imprisonment 90 pounds lighter but weighted with the burden of the destruction he caused others and the company he loved.
Owens said he is in better health at 51 than he was at 30, thanks in part to a prison fitness program. But he is also in a better place mentally and spiritually than when he helped hatch a plan to fake earnings at HealthSouth to meet Wall Street's expectations.
It was a single decision that snowballed into $2.7 billion in faked profits and ultimately led him to one night put a pistol to his head and contemplate pulling the trigger.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1627427,00.html
Excerpt:
Rove Named in Alabama Controversy
By Adam Zagorin/Washington Friday, June 01, 2007
White House advisor Karl Rove.
In the rough and tumble of Alabama politics, the scramble for power is often a blood sport. At the moment, the state's former Democratic governor, Don Siegelman, stands convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges and faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Siegelman has long claimed that his prosecution was driven by politically motivated, Republican-appointed U.S. attorneys.
Now Karl Rove, the President's top political strategist, has been implicated in the controversy. A longtime Republican lawyer in Alabama swears she heard a top G.O.P. operative in the state say that Rove "had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Siegelman, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys.
The allegation was made by Dana Jill Simpson, a lifelong Republican and lawyer who practices in Alabama. She made the charges in a May 21 affidavit, obtained by TIME, in which she describes a conference call on November 18, 2002, which involved a group of senior aides to Bob Riley, who had just narrowly defeated Siegelman in a bitterly contested election for governor. Though Republican Riley, a former Congressman, initially found himself behind by several thousand votes, he had pulled ahead at the last minute when disputed ballots were tallied in his favor. After the abrupt vote turnaround, Siegelman sought a recount. The Simpson affidavit says the conference call focused on how the Riley campaign could get Siegelman to withdraw his challenge.
http://blog.al.com/live/2009/10/founding_healthsouth_cfo_aaron.html
Excerpt:
Founding HealthSouth CFO Aaron Beam's book chronicles move from boardroom to mowing lawns
Published: Sunday, October 11, 2009, 8:34 AM Updated: Sunday, October 11, 2009, 2:31 PM
Follow
(Press-Register/Kate Mercer)Aaron Beam has gone from HealthSouth executive to running his own one-man lawn business in Loxley, Ala. His new book "Waggon to Disaster: The Untold Story of HealthSouth" details his part in the $2.8 billion HealthSouth fraud.
MOBILE, Ala. -- "I worked for Richard Scrushy for less than thirty minutes when I heard him tell a brazen lie."
So opens a new book by Aaron Beam -- founding chief financial officer of HealthSouth Corp. and current owner of Green Beam Lawn Service.
How a man who once boasted $30,000 worth of Hermes neckties wound up cutting grass in Loxley is a narrative of corporate fraud on the level of $2.8 billion dollars.
It is a cautionary tale of lessons learned from excess and crime and punishment, told by a man who has found some measure of redemption in the life that followed.
"I have been privileged to know Aaron as his lawyer, and have become his friend," Mobile attorney Donald Briskman said last week. "In the process of that I have encouraged Aaron to tell his story to the people most likely to benefit by it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-kreig/siegelman-judge-asked-to_b_534628.html
Excerpt:
Siegelman Judge Asked To Recuse As Kagan, Rove Oppose Reviews
Imprisoned businessman Richard Scrushy, a defendant in the most controversial federal prosecution of the decade, last week repeated his call for the presiding judge to remove himself -- even as the disputes widened to include reported Supreme Court contender Elena Kagan, up to $50 billion in scandal-ridden Air Force contracts, and Karl Rove's best-selling new memoir. Scrushy, now serving a seven-year sentence for arranging $500,000 in donations to a non-profit at the request of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, requested last week that Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller of Montgomery rule on recusal requests filed last summer, or else withdraw. Scrushy and Siegelman have argued that the judge must be disqualified after being enriched from $300 million in Bush-era contracts for his closely held company Doss Aviation to perform such work as refueling Air Force planes and training Air Force pilots. "Quite simply, there is no valid reason for this Court's failure to dispose of this motion in a timely fashion," wrote Scrushy's attorneys last week. The former HealthSouth CEO's conviction is based on his donations to the Alabama Education Foundation in 1999 and 2000 at the request of then-governor Siegelman. In June 2007, Fuller ordered seven-year terms for defendants. The judge sent them immediately to prison in shackles with no appeal bond, and with solitary confinement initially for Siegelman that prevented any contact with his family and the news media.
http://www.bmartin.cc/dissent/documents/health/access_healthsouth.html
Excerpt:
Breadth of HealthSouth Web Pages I have tried to write these web pages to accommodate a variety of potential readers. There are those who want only an overview of what happened. For them I have provided the material on this page. For those who want more information I have written a series of linked pages. In these I have summarised the content of literally hundreds of reports and commented on them. For those particularly interested and for the researcher I have included large numbers of sometimes lengthy extracts from the press. Those less interested can simply ignore or skim read them. These give more detail and also the actual words of those involved. They give the flavour of what happened. They also draw together a distilled reference resource. Additionally of course HealthSouth may be a litigious company with its back to the wall and might initiate SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) even when there are no grounds for them. It is more difficult to do this when the material contains the words of others who actually made the allegations and criticisms. The material reproduced on these pages is all copyright of the newspapers listed and is reproduced here in the public interest to stimulate discussion and debate about the future of health care. I consider this fair use. In reading these web pages you should understand that HealthSouth's founder and chairman, Richard Scrushy was acquitted by the jury of the charge that he was the force behind the fraud. He claimed that he did not know it was happening. He was set up by the many HealthSouth staff who pleaded guilty and then blamed him in order to secure lenient sentences. This was a criminal trial and the jury clearly felt that the prosecution did not prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. Much of the material on these web pages was written prior to the acquittal. It is based on the assumption that there is some credibility to at least some of the information available, even if it is disputed. That the fraud occurred is not disputed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_W._Rothstein
Excerpt:
Scott W. Rothstein (born June 10, 1962) is a disbarred lawyer and the former managing shareholder, chairman, and chief executive officer of the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm. He was accused of funding his philanthropy, political contributions, law firm salaries, and an extravagant lifestyle with a massive 1.2 billion dollar Ponzi scheme. On December 1, 2009, Rothstein turned himself in to authorities and was subsequently arrested on charges related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2009/12/bso_lt_david_benjamin_transferred.php
Excerpt:
Rothstein's Lieutenant Moved Out of BSO Central Command
Broward sheriff's Lt. Chief David Benjamin, who escorted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein to his jet when he fled last month to Morocco, has officially been removed from Sheriff Al Lamberti's inner circle.
The sheriff sent out an email late this afternoon announcing that he had appointed a new chief executive officer, Dep. Donald Pritchard, according to BSO sources. At the same time, Benjamin was transferred from that vaunted position -- where he served basically as Lamberti's right-hand man -- to youth services in countywide operations.
It's a steep drop for Benjamin, who was a key figure in Lamberti's campaign, working closely with Col. Thomas Wheeler in the race against Scott Israel. In addition to the revelation that Benjamin escorted his good friend Rothstein to his jet at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, we also know that Benjamin began a company, DWB Consulting, with the assistance of Rothstein's law firm in May. Rothstein also funded the company with $30,000, according to a source close to the situation.
The sheriff sent out an email late this afternoon announcing that he had appointed a new chief executive officer, Dep. Donald Pritchard, according to BSO sources. At the same time, Benjamin was transferred from that vaunted position -- where he served basically as Lamberti's right-hand man -- to youth services in countywide operations.
It's a steep drop for Benjamin, who was a key figure in Lamberti's campaign, working closely with Col. Thomas Wheeler in the race against Scott Israel. In addition to the revelation that Benjamin escorted his good friend Rothstein to his jet at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, we also know that Benjamin began a company, DWB Consulting, with the assistance of Rothstein's law firm in May. Rothstein also funded the company with $30,000, according to a source close to the situation.
http://www.local10.com/bobnorman/29559115/detail.html
Excerpt:
BSO Lt. David Benjamin Settles With Rothstein Bankruptcy
POSTED: Saturday, October 22, 2011
UPDATED: 9:33 am EDT October 22, 2011
 Broward sheriff's Lt. David Benjamin, Sheriff's Al Lamberti's former executive officer, was a good friend of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein -- now he's having to pay for it. More |
Sheriff Al Lamberti's former executive officer, Lt. David Benjamin, was good buddies with Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein -- so close that he escorted the fraudster through the airport when the scheme collapsed and Rothstein fled the country to Morocco.
Rothstein gave Benjamin cash and gifts. Now the lieutenant, pictured here, is going to have to pay some of it back.
In a settlement agreement inked with the Rothstein bankruptcy trustee, Benjamin must surrender $30,000 and return a Chopard watch the Ponzi schemer gave to him.
The repayment is for a $30,000 fee that Rothstein paid to Benjamin's private corporation, DWB Consulting Group. Benjamin created the company to do business with Rothstein at the same he was serving as Lamberti's right-hand man. What he did for the money isn't clear, though sources close to the Rothstein investigations have said he had a plan to provide security at Casa Casuarina, or the Versace mansion, in which Rothstein had purchased a 10 percent stake and was set to manage.
Rothstein gave Benjamin cash and gifts. Now the lieutenant, pictured here, is going to have to pay some of it back.
In a settlement agreement inked with the Rothstein bankruptcy trustee, Benjamin must surrender $30,000 and return a Chopard watch the Ponzi schemer gave to him.
The repayment is for a $30,000 fee that Rothstein paid to Benjamin's private corporation, DWB Consulting Group. Benjamin created the company to do business with Rothstein at the same he was serving as Lamberti's right-hand man. What he did for the money isn't clear, though sources close to the Rothstein investigations have said he had a plan to provide security at Casa Casuarina, or the Versace mansion, in which Rothstein had purchased a 10 percent stake and was set to manage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Norman
Excerpt:
Robert Creed Norman (born April 12, 1969) is a South Florida journalist who recently joined WPLG-Channel 10 as an on-air investigative reporter. Previously he worked for several years as a weekly newspaper and online columnist who first broke the corruption story[1] of $1 billion Ponzi scheme operator Scott Rothstein's October 27, 2009 flight to Morocco under suspicious circumstances. Rothstein, who returned to face inquiries, is a former Fort Lauderdale attorney investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and arrested on 1 December 2009. In 2008 Bob Norman reported an unusual circumstance following the murder of Melissa Britt Lewis, employee of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler (RRA) law firm, wherein the prosecuting attorney in the Lewis murder case came to work with RRA two months[2] after the murder. Rothstein has not been connected to the murder, however murder victim Ms. Lewis had been close to Debra Villegas, RRA Chief Operating Officer, whose husband Tony Villegas was identified as the murderer by the City of Plantation Police represented by Scott Rothstein.[3]
http://www.aish.com/jw/s/81454877.html
Excerpt:
People told me that I should just forget about the whole thing, that Scott knows too many people and I could be putting myself in danger.
I was afraid to call the police because Scott seemed to have everyone in his back pocket. City, county and state officials were all lined up behind him. The former sheriff (who had just gotten out of jail on corruption charges) was working for him. I was afraid that the whole thing could backfire and, whether real or imagined, I had to consider the possibility that someone would take revenge and either frame me for some crime or pay me a visit in the middle of the night.
But I felt that I had no choice. It was just a question of how to do it in the safest way.
http://www.local10.com/news/15574523/detail.html
Excerpt:
Police: Attorney's Killing Not Random Act
Woman's Body Found In Canal Day After Reported Missing
POSTED: Wednesday, March 12, 2008
PLANTATION, Fla. -- Plantation police no longer believe that an attorney who was found dead one day after she was reported missing was killed in a random act of violence, the city's police chief said Wednesday.
"There's absolutely nothing to suggest that the victim was followed to Publix, that she was identified by somebody or targeted by somebody while at Publix or that she was followed home from Publix," Chief Larry Massey said. "The evidence seems to suggest that the suspect keyed specifically on her home."
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/09/tony_villegas_competency_heari.php
Excerpt:
"There's absolutely nothing to suggest that the victim was followed to Publix, that she was identified by somebody or targeted by somebody while at Publix or that she was followed home from Publix," Chief Larry Massey said. "The evidence seems to suggest that the suspect keyed specifically on her home."
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/09/tony_villegas_competency_heari.php
Excerpt:
Tony Villegas' Competency Hearing Postponed Until Day of Ex-Wife's Sentencing
Tony Villegas arrived in Broward County Court this morning looking weary after more than two years in jail, his thin face hidden by a scruffy brown beard. He sat quietly, cuffed hands in his lap, wearing a black-and-white striped shirt that set him apart from the drab blue uniforms of the other prisoners.
When his lawyer, Al Milian arrived, Villegas brightened and greeted him. The man accused of murdering Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler attorney Melissa Britt Lewis appeared alert and paid close attention to the conversations unfolding around him.
Yet Judge William Haury, Jr. did not rule on whether Villegas, 46, is mentally competent to stand trial. The judge postponed a decision today
because Milian said he was still awaiting the results of a court-appointed psychologist's evaluation.
Prosecutors allege that Villegas strangled Lewis in March 2008 and dumped her body in a canal. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. But this April, he was deemed incompetent and sent to a mental health facility, so the trial was put on hold. He's since been transferred back to the Broward County Jail -- generally a sign of improved health.
Interestingly, his new hearing is scheduled for October 8, the same morning that his ex-wife, Debra, is slated to be sentenced in federal court for her role in assisting Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme. While law enforcement officials have never connected the two criminal cases, some conspiracy theorists believe Lewis was murdered because she discovered the Ponzi scheme.
No doubt, hordes of TV cameras will be racing back and forth between the two courthouses that Friday, trying to not to miss a minute of drama. The hearing also happens to be the day after Tony Villegas' 47th birthday.
for her role in assisting Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme
Excerpt:
UPDATED: Top Five Highlights From Debra Villegas' Confession Hearing
When his lawyer, Al Milian arrived, Villegas brightened and greeted him. The man accused of murdering Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler attorney Melissa Britt Lewis appeared alert and paid close attention to the conversations unfolding around him.
Yet Judge William Haury, Jr. did not rule on whether Villegas, 46, is mentally competent to stand trial. The judge postponed a decision today
because Milian said he was still awaiting the results of a court-appointed psychologist's evaluation.
Prosecutors allege that Villegas strangled Lewis in March 2008 and dumped her body in a canal. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. But this April, he was deemed incompetent and sent to a mental health facility, so the trial was put on hold. He's since been transferred back to the Broward County Jail -- generally a sign of improved health.
Interestingly, his new hearing is scheduled for October 8, the same morning that his ex-wife, Debra, is slated to be sentenced in federal court for her role in assisting Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme. While law enforcement officials have never connected the two criminal cases, some conspiracy theorists believe Lewis was murdered because she discovered the Ponzi scheme.
No doubt, hordes of TV cameras will be racing back and forth between the two courthouses that Friday, trying to not to miss a minute of drama. The hearing also happens to be the day after Tony Villegas' 47th birthday.
for her role in assisting Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme
Excerpt:
UPDATED: Top Five Highlights From Debra Villegas' Confession Hearing
We'll be posting the entire 50-page transcript from Debra Villegas' confession hearing soon. But until then, here are the most intriguing moments from the June 11 hearing in front of U.S. District Judge William Zloch.
Villegas, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money-laundering for her role in aiding Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme. When she's sentenced next month, she could face more than 10 years in prison.
UPDATE: View the full transcript here.
(Note: In this transcript, Zloch is identified as "The Court," the federal prosecutor is Lawrence LaVecchio, and Villegas' defense attorney is Robert Stickney.)
1. Zloch appeared surprised -- and perhaps disappointed -- that there weren't more charges against Villegas
Villegas, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money-laundering for her role in aiding Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme. When she's sentenced next month, she could face more than 10 years in prison.
UPDATE: View the full transcript here.
(Note: In this transcript, Zloch is identified as "The Court," the federal prosecutor is Lawrence LaVecchio, and Villegas' defense attorney is Robert Stickney.)
1. Zloch appeared surprised -- and perhaps disappointed -- that there weren't more charges against Villegas
 |
| Tony Villegas' trial is on hold. |
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2009/12/charlie_crist_vice_presidential_bid.php
Excerpt:
Rothstein Funded Charlie Crist's VP Effort
By Bob Norman Wed., Dec. 16 2009 at 7:55 AM
Remember how Charlie Crist emerged on the "short list" to become John McCain's running mate last year?
Maloman Photographers
Crist with the Rothsteins at Versace mansion wedding.
Well, the behind-the-scenes money that helped make that happen came from, yes, of course, Scott Rothstein. Those were the Ponzi schemer's favorite candidates, after all.
Rothstein, you understand, put huge amounts of his stolen money into the campaign coffers of both Crist and McCain. He put millions of dollars into McCain's campaign, most of it bundled illegally through lawyers in the RRA firm and business associates. So much that Rothstein was made a member of the Arizona senator's unofficial "kitchen cabinet" of top supporters. Rothstein was, in fact, McCain's fourth-ranked fundraiser on the national level, and the Republican nominee kept Rothstein's number in his cell phone and vice versa, says a campaign insider.
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