Friends of Ours

More Indictments In Timeshare Case

The feds have indicted 15 more individuals for their alleged roles in a mobbed-up telemarketing scheme as reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel.

The defendants allegedly bilked timeshare owners across the nation out of $5 million by "claiming to have buyers for their unwanted vacation rentals" but "federal authorities have been unable to find a single instance in which [they] actually lined up the purchase of a timeshare."

Among those charged is Pasquale "Posh" Pappalardo who "would boast about having ties with organized crime and twice had meetings with a representative of the Gambino organized crime family to discuss timeshare resale operations" according to federal prosecutors.

The telemarketing company operated out of an "unmarked Fort Lauderdale storefront sandwiched between a men's bath house and a dry cleaner," and "bank records show that among the people who received payments from the company was Roberto Settineri, a Miami Beach wine merchant who the U.S. Attorney's Office said has acted as an intermediary between a Sicilian Mafia crime family and the Gambino crime family in New York" as previously reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel.

Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in an unrelated matter involving convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein.

Further reading that may be of interest:

A Call For U.S. Treasury Department To Designate Gambino Crime Family As A Transnational Criminal Organization Under Executive Order 13581

Kim Rothstein Charged Over Pretty Baubles

Apparently she's a bit like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, and she must have the precious.

Kim Rothstein, the wife of convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, has been charged by federal prosecutors in Fort Lauderdale, FL with "conspiring to hide more than $1 million in jewelry from federal authorities," and "among the items was a 12.08-carat fancy intense yellow diamond ring" as reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel. 

Scott Rothstein ran a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving his law firm as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors, and he alleged pervasive public corruption and organized crime in South Florida during deposition testimony last December "arising from the bankruptcy of Rothstein's shuttered law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, and various lawsuits filed by investors" as then reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel:

"We were involved in public corruption with politicians," said Rothstein in transcripts of his Dec. 14 testimony released early Friday evening. "We were involved in public corruption with law enforcement. We were involved in activities with mob-related individuals. We were involved in activities involving the physical threats of other individuals. We were involved in the public corruption side of purchasing of political positions. We were involved in the manipulation of the judiciary."

Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison but likely will get a reduction based on his cooperation with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The feds should declare South Florida a racketeering enterprise and put the region under receivership if Scott Rothstein is to be believed.

Poll:  Which area of the U.S. is most corrupt?

Scott Rothstein Exposes South Florida Cesspool

The feds should declare South Florida a racketeering enterprise and put the region under receivership if former Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein is to be believed.

Rothstein was convicted of running a 1.2 billion Ponzi scheme which involved using his law firm as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors, and he alleged pervasive public corruption and organized crime in South Florida during deposition testimony "arising from the bankruptcy of Rothstein's shuttered law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, and various lawsuits filed by investors" as reported by Jon Burstein for The Palm Beach Post:

"We were involved in public corruption with politicians," said Rothstein in transcripts of his Dec. 14 testimony released early Friday evening. "We were involved in public corruption with law enforcement. We were involved in activities with mob-related individuals. We were involved in activities involving the physical threats of other individuals. We were involved in the public corruption side of purchasing of political positions. We were involved in the manipulation of the judiciary."

Rothstein alleges he paid more than $1 million to dirty cops, judges and politicians, and that he was able to stave off investigations from local law enforcment by employing off-duty cops to his personal security detail.  Apparently some of the boys in blue from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and Broward Sheriff's Office were randy fellas who copped freebies from a stable of hookers maintained by Rothstein.

However, the feds won't let Rothstein publicly name names: "a federal prosecutor sitting through the deposition prevented the disbarred attorney from answering the questions," and "that could be an indication that federal authorities believed Rothstein's answers could jeopardize ongoing investigations."

Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison but likely will get a reduction based on his cooperation with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

It's funny but who ever would suspect that a lawyer could be so dirty?  Aren't lawyers officers of the court or something, and doesn't the bar monitor the profession?  Rothstein surely must be an aberration among lawyers.

Ponzi Schemer's Former Employees Charged

Two former employees have been charged for their alleged roles in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme run by Fort Lauderdale, FL attorney Scott Rothstein which involved using his firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors as reported by Susannah Nesmith for Bloomberg:  "William Boockvor, 66, was charged today with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and helping Rothstein's scheme by preparing false documents purportedly from TD Bank (TC), where Rothstein's firm held about 38 trust accounts," and "Marybeth Feiss, 42, one of Rothstein's administrative assistants, was charged with violating federal election campaign laws and conspiring to defraud the U.S. by helping to bundle more than $1 million in contributions to the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain."

Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison but likely will get a reduction based on his cooperation with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

It all makes you wonder how many other politically-connected lawyers may have ties to the mob down in South Florida.

Timeshare Resale Company Accused In FTC Fraud Suit Had Ties To Roberto Settineri

A timeshare resale company which operated out of a Fort Lauderdale, FL storefront has been accused by the Federal Trade Commission in a civil lawsuit of bilking $5 million from those who hoped to unload their vacation rentals, and it allegedly made some payments to wine merchant Roberto Settineri as reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel.

U.S. and Italian authorities suspect that Settineri is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, and last year he was sentenced to four years following his conviction in a scheme to destroy evidence and launder money for Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein.

In a press release announcing the action the FTC says the company and its operators promised consumers  "that they had buyers lined up and waiting" but "only after making a hefty up-front payment did the consumers learn that there were no buyers, and that it was nearly impossible to get their money back from the defendants, many of whom have long criminal histories" including alleged masterminds Pasquale "Posh" Pappalardo and Joseph "Joey" Crapella.

Download FTC Law Suit