Sunday, March 17, 2013

"The Ultimate Ponzi"

Every region of the country has its Ponzi villain, but it's hard to imagine another who could match Fort Lauderdale's pugnacious despot Scott Rothstein for the audacity of his $1.4 billion crime against friends, neighbors, co-workers and good taste.

A web of tragedies that might give both Shakespeare and Elmore Leonard pause, Rothstein's reign played out right in front of our disbelieving eyes, as he flaunted his Bugattis and $10,000 suits on Las Olas Boulevard, leaving millionaires plundered, lives ruined and questions lingering about the mysterious deaths of two women close to him.

Fort Lauderdale public relations executive and author Chuck Malkus, who attended some of Rothstein's over-the-top social gatherings, has chronicled the now-imprisoned lawyer's rise and fall in a book, "The Ultimate Ponzi: The Scott Rothstein Story" (Pelican Publishing).

Two years in the making, the profile of this tacky, made-for-TV horror story is a spritely mix of Malkus' own memories of the "vulgar arriviste" layered with interviews with former co-workers, the duped, the adversaries and the girlfriends, as well as deposition testimony, input from forensic accountants, psychologists and local attorneys, and reporting from South Florida media, including the Sun Sentinel.

Full Article and Source:
The Ultimate Ponzi:  Scott Rothstein Books Excerpts Reveal Juicy Details

4 comments:

Karen said...

I figured several books would be written about Scott Rothstein. I bet there will be movies too.

Anonymous said...

You can bet Scott Rothstein's story will be a movie eventually.

StandUp said...

I think you're both right about the movie but I worry that Rothstein might profit. That would be very tragic.

Anonymous said...

At least the crook ends up in jail sometimes.