Scott W. Rothstein Swindle pitch What happened with Swindle Pitch? $10 million net worth Where did this money go, was it legal? He tells the investor he turned on a video of the guy having sex with his mistress, and told his client Who did Rothstein work with? the defendant Was the defendat found guilty? TD Bank,
What other cases did Rothstein manage or was a part of?
Besides Swindle pitch, what other cases did Rothstein manage or was a part of?
General counsel David Boden was present for at least one of the swindles, and negotiated the final papers with the investors' lawyers. Rothstein greets and informs the investor his firm was the preeminent sexual harassment law firm in the country. He says he'd figured out a basic formula which was that someone with $10 million net worth was usually willing to pay $2 million in cash to pay off their mistress. The key was confidentiality. Rothstein tells the investor that he would meet potential defendants in his office and would question them about affairs they had with an employee. The defendants would deny it. He pointed to artwork, and said there was a television screen behind it. He tells the investor he turned on a video of the guy having sex with his mistress, and told his client "We can either settle this now, or I can depose your wife, your mistress, you and your son about it." Since defendants" often couldn't or wouldn't pay the entire settlement up-front, Rothstein tells the investor that his first harassment case many years ago, involved a $3.5 million settlement and a million-dollar legal fee, so Rothstein assigned the settlement to a good friend and the plaintiff settles for $3 million without a trial. The "good friend" stood to be paid $3.5 million once the defendant paid up, a half-million dollar profit.  "In 20 years, I have never seen a defendant sue on breach of settlement," Rothstein told them. "The whole idea is that it's secret. Why would they sue?"  Although it did not appear completely legitimate, and it might have appeared that the plaintiffs were short-changed, it makes sense to the potential investor. The idea seems solid. The investor thinks that with enough of these cases at Rothstein's law firm, he could make huge sums of money.  Rothstein then discusses other larger cases: Eli Lilly and Company, involving $1.4 billion with plaintiff representation by Gary Farmer, a firm attorney who negotiated the settlement and who brought the case with him when he arrived at the firm. Several inside whistleblowers went to the fed with unlawful practices regarding the marketing and sales of an anti-psychotic medication called Zyprexa. It was one of the largest qui tam cases in history.  He tells the investor about a potential (allegedly fabricated) case where investors would buy whistle-blower million dollar settlements with a sixty percent short term investor profit. The arrangement would be completely secret; the investor would never know the name of the company or the whistle-blower. The settlement money would be deposited into a trust account at TD Bank, accessible only to the investor at the appropriate time. David Boden follows up with all questions and negotiates the contract. CANNOTANSWER
David Boden
Scott W. Rothstein (born June 10, 1962) is a disbarred lawyer, convicted felon, and the former managing shareholder, chairman, and chief executive officer of the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm. He funded an extravagant lifestyle with a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, one of the largest such in history. 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).
Although his arraignment plea was not guilty, Rothstein reversed his plea to guilty of five federal crimes on January 27, 2010.
Rothstein was denied bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum, who ruled that due to his ability to forge documents, he was considered a flight risk. He was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.

Overview 

On June 9, 2010, Rothstein received a 50-year prison sentence after a hearing in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, although federal prosecutors initially filed a motion notifying the court they would be seeking a sentence reduction for Rothstein.

His firm had 70 lawyers and 150 employees, with offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tallahassee, Florida, New York City and Caracas, Venezuela. The firm focused on labor and employment matters, civil rights, intellectual property, internet law, corporate espionage, personal injury, wrongful death, commercial litigation, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and governmental relations.
His client list included Citicorp, J. C. Penney, Ed Morse Automotive Group, National Beverage, Silversea Cruise Lines, Supra Telecom, and Wells Fargo.
Until he was permanently disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court on November 25, 2009, Rothstein was a member of the Florida Bar and admitted by the United States Supreme Court. He had been given an AV Preeminent peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell. The AV rating is a significant accomplishment and a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

Rothstein may have stolen millions of dollars from an investment side-business.  A list of 259 persons or corporate entities entitled to $279 million in restitution has been sealed by the court.

On November 3, 2009, Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Department of the Treasury agents served a warrant to search the firm's Fort Lauderdale offices. Rothstein sent an email in recent weeks to firm lawyers asking them to investigate which countries refused to extradite criminal suspects to either the U.S. or Israel, and firm lawyers responded that Morocco is one such country. Rothstein had wired $16 million to an individual in Casablanca
and left for Casablanca on October 26, 2009. On October 31, 2009, he sent a suicide text message note to all of his law partners:

Sorry for letting you all down. I am a fool. I thought I could fix it, but got trapped by my ego and refusal to fail, and now all I have accomplished is hurting the people I love. Please take care of yourselves and please protect Kimmie [Rothstein's wife]. She knew nothing. Neither did she, nor any of you deserve what I did. I hope God allows me to see you on the other side. Love, Scott.

On November 3, 2009, after many texts by Stuart Rosenfeldt, the president of the firm, urging him to "choose life", Rothstein returned to Fort Lauderdale on a chartered jet, (chartered by the ex-husband of Governor Crist's wife, Todd Rome)
from Casablanca. On November 2, his law firm with only $117,000 in its operating account filed suit against him, asked a judge to dissolve the firm, accusing him of misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars from investor trust accounts in a Ponzi scheme from an investment business he covertly ran out of his law office.

In 2009 Rothstein resided at the Federal Detention Center, Miami in Downtown Miami, but was later moved to an undisclosed location and his inmate number removed from the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator webpage.

Background and career 
Rothstein was born in the Bronx and moved with his parents to Lauderhill, Florida as a teenager. A 1988 Juris Doctor graduate of Fort Lauderdale's Nova Southeastern University's Law School, the Shepard Broad College of Law, and a 1984 Bachelor of Arts graduate of University of Florida, Rothstein's law career began in 1988 and, for nearly fifteen years, he was relatively unknown. His local mentors were wealthy attorneys, Donald McClosky and Bill Scherer.

In the early 1990s, Rothstein first partnered with attorney Howard Kusnick. First located in Plantation, Florida, Kusnick & Rothstein, P.A. subsequently moved to downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Longtime partner Michael Pancier first joined him there.

In 2000, Rothstein joined with Rosenfeldt as a name partner at the Hollywood firm, Phillips Eisinger Koss & Rosenfeldt, P.A., which became known as Phillips Eisinger Koss Rothstein & Rosenfeldt, P.A

In February 2002, Rothstein and Rosenfeldt started their own firm, first known as Rothstein & Rosenfeldt, P.A. Within a month, Pancier was added as a name partner. In July, 2002, adding Susan Dolin, a well-regarded employment lawyer, now practicing on her own in West Broward, the firm became known as Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, Dolin & Pancier, P.A..

In late 2004, the firm became known simply as Rothstein Rosenfeldt, with Adler being added in March 2005. Melissa Britt Lewis, who was murdered in March, 2008, was with Rothstein from the firm's beginning.
In seven years, he and his partners expanded the firm to 70 lawyers, including former Boca Raton Mayor and sitting Palm Beach County Commissioner Steve Abrams; former judges Julio Gonzalez, Barry Stone, and former Palm Beach circuit judge, William Berger; TV and radio legal commentator and former prosecutor, Ken Padowitz; Carlos Reyes, former South Broward Hospital District commissioner and lobbyist; Arthur Neiwirth, a bankruptcy expert; and Les Stracher, former legal counsel for Morse Auto Group, who represents major auto dealers.

Others include: Shawn Birken, son of Circuit Court Judge Arthur Birken; Ben Dishowitz, son of County Court Judge Dishowitz;
and Grant Smith, son of disgraced former Congressman Larry Smith. Andrew Barnett is Corporate Development Officer, and David Boden, a New York attorney not licensed in Florida, was the firm's general counsel.

Recent 
On September 8, 2011, U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn granted the government's motion to prohibit videotaping Rothstein during a scheduled deposition of him, citing "serious harm" and "security reasons that are unusual in nature."  The exact reasons for the judge's decision were sealed.  This fueled speculation that his appearance was altered or he was a mafia target due to his cooperation with the prosecution against the mafia.

On June 8, 2011, federal prosecutors filed a motion with the sentencing judge informing him that they would be asking for a sentence reduction for Rothstein. However, on September 26, 2017, prosecutors withdrew their motion for a reduced sentence, saying that he had provided "false material information" in violation of his plea agreement.

Rothstein's name does not appear in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate database. This indicates he is being held under an alias, which would not be unusual given that he cooperated with the government.

As of November 18, 2009, many of the associates have relocated: Five lawyers moved to Fort Lauderdale-based Rice Pugatch Robinson & Schiller. Steven Lippman and Richard Storfer will be new partners. Riley Cirulnick, George Zinkler and Jodi Cohen are new associates.

In August, 2008, Governor Crist appointed Rothstein as a member of the 4th District Court of Appeal Judicial nominating commission, a body which is responsible for selecting new judges for appointment to the Court.

Bill Brock accompanied Rothstein to Morocco. His job at the law firm was to issue checks for Rothstein's various ventures and contributions, and had the sole security pass for the area where records of Rothstein's non-law firm businesses were kept.

An observant Jew, Rothstein grew up in a small Bronx apartment, sharing a bedroom with his sister. His father was a salesman "back in the days when you carried a bag up and down the streets of New York." The family moved to Lauderhill, Florida in 1977, when Rothstein was 16. His grandmother used her life savings to help put him through school. "I grew up poor. I'm a lunatic about money."

Rothstein was a large contributor to a synagogue off Las Olas with his name affixed to the front facade: The Rothstein Family Downtown Jewish Center Chabad. Rabbi Schneur Kaplan is one of the two people who talked Rothstein out of committing suicide.

He invested in residential property. In 2003, he paid $1.2 million for an intracoastal waterfront house on Castilla Isle in Fort Lauderdale. In March 2005, he bought a neighboring home belonging to Miami Dolphins' Ricky Williams for $2.73 million. While living in Williams' old house, he's purchased two other homes on the street and three other homes in Broward for a total residential investment of nearly $20 million. "They call me the king of Castilla."

In 2008, he purchased a $6.45 million waterfront gated Fort Lauderdale home, a $6 million condo in New York in the same building as Marc Dreier,
and a $2.8 million oceanfront estate in Narragansett, Rhode Island
formerly owned by troubled client, Michael Kent, a Fort Lauderdale nightclub owner.

He is part-owner with Anthony Bova of the South Beach Versace Casa Casuarina mansion, where he was married on January 26, 2008, in a three-day wedding celebration with Governor Crist, and his then-fiancée and present wife, Carol Rome, in attendance. A later financial analysis of the 10% property interest Rothstein owned showed that it was worthless.
His second wife, Kimberly Wendell Rothstein, a 35-year-old real-estate agent, helped manage his properties, which also include part-ownership of an office building in Pompano Beach. He and Bova also owned Bova Ristorante, formerly long-time generational Italian family-owned Mario's of Boca, which shut down October 18, 2009. Bova Prime, formerly Riley McDermott's on Las Olas Boulevard is still operating. On September 11, 2008, the day before Rothstein took ownership, a dispute involving firearms broke out at Riley McDermott's involving Rothstein's security personnel.

He owns parts of an internet technology called company Qtask and V Georgio Spirits Co., LLC with CEO Vie Harvey and the Renato watch company, with partner, Ovi Levy.
Levy is the son of hotelier Shimon Levy, who spent a year in prison in Israel after hiding a criminal kingpin, suspected of two murders.

Rothstein at one time was a minority shareholder of Edify LLC, a health-care benefits consulting company. State Representative Evan Jenne-D-Dania Beach is a $30,000 company consultant, who previously worked a local bank. Rothstein hired Jenne's father, former sheriff and convicted felon, Ken Jenne, as a consultant at his law firm days after Jenne was released from prison on corruption charges. An attorney for Rothstein's law firm serves as the registered agent for Evan Jenne's company, Blue Banyan. Grant Smith, a lifelong friend of Evan Jenne's, is an Edify lobbyist. Edify has worked closely with the state Department of Health to develop wellness programs and also influences certain health-care legislation.

"The Great Gatsby" 
In the 2008 interview at his law firm, Rothstein described himself and told how he controlled all aspects of the firm's management:

This is where the evil happens. Look, I sleep in the bed I make. I tend toward the flashy side, but it's a persona. It's just a fucking persona. ... People ask me, 'When do you sleep?' I say I'll sleep when I'm dead. I'm a true Gemini. I joke around that there are 43 people living in my head and you never know what you're going to get. There are some philanthropists in there, some good lawyers, and I like to think some good businessmen. There are also some guys from the streets of the Bronx that stay hidden away until I need them. Does that sound crazy? I am crazy, but crazy in a good way.

His personal office was opulent, with security and a compartmentalized layout. Anyone entering Rothstein's suite of offices had to use an intercom. He could exit, unseen through a second door. In the hallway, an ordinary looking brown door is actually the elevator door. Dozens of surveillance cameras and microphones hang from office ceilings. On his desk: four computer screens and the Five Books of Moses.

Outside his personal office hung a painting of Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather. The walls of Rothstein's office and other hallways are lined with photos of himself and politicians including Gov. Charlie Crist, former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, Senator John McCain, Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Lieberman, and Bill McCollum.

He was ostensibly an affluent and successful attorney with all the material trappings of a flamboyant lifestyle, including armed body guards and police protection. Twenty-eight city police officials, including captains, majors, undercover officers and the department spokesman, helped guard his home and businesses, the only person in the department's history to have permanent round-the-clock off-duty police protection at his home. The department suspended all work for Rothstein on November 2, 2009.

He had a Boeing 727 jet and in 2002, flew Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, and Chris Tucker to Africa on an anti-AIDS mission.
He owns an  $5 million Warren yacht. His fleet of exotic cars included: 1974, 2006, 2007, and 2008 Ferraris, 2009 Bentley, 2007 Silver Rolls-Royce, and one 2008 and two 2010 Lamborghini Murcielagos — worth about $400,000 each, a pair of $1.6 million Bugattis, and a pair of Harleys which he maintains in an air-conditioned warehouse.
All were allegedly purchased and traded from Euromotorsports, the owner of which has an extensive criminal record.
All were seized shortly after his return from Morocco. He has a watch collection of over 100, valued at $1 million.
In 2008, he was working on opening a cigar and martini bar on Las Olas Boulevard and two high-rise residential buildings in Brooklyn with New York partner Dominic Tonnachio. He was to take ownership of a "series of office buildings" on Oakland Park Boulevard.

Roger Stone, a political trickster for Richard Nixon, was a partner with Rothstein in RRA Consulting, an LLC which was set up to provide public affairs assistance to the RRA law firm's legal clients. According to Stone, that business never generated any clients. It was dissolved in late 2008. On August 27, 2009, Stone, the recipient of Rothstein's sponsorship of his blog until July 29, 2009, "StoneZone", wrote a column recommending Rothstein for the seat vacated by Senator Mel Martinez- a man with "a distinguished legal record, has been a key supporter of Governor Crist and John McCain, has an unmatched record of philanthropic activities and would bring an unconventional style of getting things done to Washington. Add Rothstein to the short list."
On November 4, 2009, Stone wrote, "Rothstein had no prior business success, no business acumen nor track record that would engender confidence in an investor. He could not read a balance sheet. He could not write or read a business plan. Rothstein was a lawyer, not an entrepreneur." Stone claims that Rothstein has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) "so severe he never finished a martini, a cigar, a thought, or a sentence, never mind a transaction." According to Stone, neither law firm name partner Russell Adler nor Stuart Rosenfeldt were signatories on the RRA Trust Account.

He "appeared to be something out of a Great Gatsby movie."

Philanthropy and political contributions 

In 2008, his Rothstein Family Foundation gave $1 million to Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, where a lobby will be named after him and his wife. On October 31, 2009 his firm sponsored at a charity golf tournament featuring former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Between 2007 and 2008, he donated $2 million to the American Heart Association, Women in Distress, Alonzo Mourning Charities, Here's Help, and the Dan Marino Foundation.

Politicians of both parties have pledged to donate to charity or return his political contributions. On November 3, 2009, the Florida Republican Party, announced it would give Rothstein's donations ($600,000) to a charity. Gov. Charlie Crist's Senate Campaign ($100,550), state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink ($2,050), Senate President Jeff Atwater, Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, and the Florida Democratic Party ($200,000) will return some or all of his contributions.

In June 2009, Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader received a contribution of $4,800. A list of FEC filings indexed by NewsMeat include a total of $166,800 to the Republican Party and candidates, including $109,800 to John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, and $17,600 to Democratic candidates.

Law partner murder 
Debra Villegas, who handles his money, is the law firm's chief operating officer. She is co-owner with Rothstein in a home at 2307 Castilla Isle, as of May 2009. According to records, Rothstein originally purchased the property in September 2007, for $1.75 million, and sold it for $10 to a shell corporation in September 2009.

In 2005, the year the Ponzi scheme allegedly began, Villegas earned $80,000 a year. In 2007, her salary had increased to $145,000. Villegas received two Swiss watches — a Rolex and a Breitling — from her "employer". Rothstein paid off her couch and a bedroom set and held title to her two Honda water scooters. Villegas was living in a $475,000 Weston home that Rothstein signed over to her in July 2009 for $100 and "love and affection," according to the deed. Villegas registered a 2009 $100,000 Maserati GranTurismo at the home in January, 2009. In November 2009, Federal prosecutors seized the home, alleging that it was among Rothstein's ill-gotten assets.

Villegas' estranged husband, Tony Villegas, was charged on circumstantial evidence in the March 2008 murder in Plantation, Florida of Melissa Britt Lewis, a partner in Rothstein's firm. Although early news reports wondered at whether the evidence was substantial, according to New Times, "Nine days later, forensic testing revealed that Tony's DNA had been found on Melissa's suit jacket – the same jacket she wore on the day she died."

Police sealed the arrest affidavit.
As a result of the homicide and the nature of the legal business, Rothstein has a team of "executive protection specialists" to guard the firm and his family, his teen-aged daughter. The prosecutor who had first worked on the Villegas case, Howard Scheinberg, went to work for Rosenfeldt Rothstein Adler. Villegas, a train conductor, remains in jail awaiting trial. The motive was supposedly revenge for Lewis's closeness with Debra.
Debra and Melissa share a therapist: Ilene Vinikoor, whose husband, David represents general counsel, David Boden in the Ponzi scheme investigation.

You get anger from people ... that prick from the Bronx. ... They say I'm building the law firm too fast, that it must be a house of cards.

"Disbarment on consent" 
On November 17, 2009, the Florida Bar Executive Committee voted to accept a request by Rothstein to be disbarred. The Florida Supreme Court entered an order permanently disbarring Rothstein on November 25, 2009. Rothstein was removed from the Broward County Grievance Committee, and his name has also been removed from the database of "The Best Lawyers in America".

Trust account 
Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, and Adler's trust account was part of the Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program that was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a month to the Florida Bar Foundation.

$1.2 billion Ponzi scheme 
Rothstein's investment scheme involved purchasing what were initially mislabeled as fabricated "structured settlements," described as where people sell large settlements in legal cases for lump sums of cash. Alan Sakowitz, an attorney and real estate developer in Bay Harbor Islands, said that he contacted the FBI in September with concerns about Rothstein.
On Sunday, November 8, 2009, Sakowitz appeared with Kendall Coffey, attorney for Rothstein's law partners, on the Michael Putney Show on WPLG-TV, MIAMI, correcting Coffey for claiming that Rothstein's "investments" involved structured settlements, which they did not. (Note: "structured settlements" as defined by Rothstein in press reports do not meet the definition in IRC 5891(C)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code). Rothstein's resemble investments in pre-settlement funding
or pre-settlement financing. In his December 12, 2011 deposition page 24 lines 15-23, Scott Rothstein himself said "It was intentionally made in a way and presented to that firm and the other firms that were looking at the structure issue that it was merely a purchase of dollars already in-house; that it was not a structured settlement because the true definition of a structured settlement is when someone is actually receiving payments over time that has some other value. We didn't have a true definition of a structured settlement, not by any of the statutes. From that perspective we had reason to make sure that this was not structured. Because when you're dealing with structured settlements you need other levels of Court approval. It would have required the manufacturer of literally hundreds of phony orders, which would have led the entire scheme to detection.'

The FBI estimates the loss to be up to a billion dollars from lucrative whistle-blower and employment discrimination cases.
The investors would make up-front cash payments to individuals owed money from the court cases to buy the right to collect the full amount of the settlements later. The investor was guaranteed a minimum of 20 percent investment returns in as little as three months.

Swindle pitch 
General counsel David Boden was present for at least one of the swindles, and negotiated the final papers with the investors' lawyers. Rothstein greets and informs the investor his firm was the preeminent sexual harassment law firm in the country. He says he'd figured out a basic formula which was that someone with $10 million net worth was usually willing to pay $2 million in cash to pay off their mistress. The key was confidentiality. Rothstein tells the investor that he would meet potential defendants in his office and would question them about affairs they had with an employee. The defendants would deny it. He pointed to artwork, and said there was a television screen behind it. He tells the investor he turned on a video of the guy having sex with his mistress, and told his client "We can either settle this now, or I can depose your wife, your mistress, you and your son about it." Since defendants" often couldn't or wouldn't pay the entire settlement up-front, Rothstein tells the investor that his first harassment case many years ago, involved a $3.5 million settlement and a million-dollar legal fee, so Rothstein assigned the settlement to a good friend and the plaintiff settles for $3 million without a trial. The "good friend" stood to be paid $3.5 million once the defendant paid up, a half-million dollar profit.

"In 20 years, I have never seen a defendant sue on breach of settlement," Rothstein told them. "The whole idea is that it's secret. Why would they sue?"

Although it did not appear completely legitimate, and it might have appeared that the plaintiffs were short-changed, it makes sense to the potential investor. The idea seems solid. The investor thinks that with enough of these cases at Rothstein's law firm, he could make huge sums of money.

Rothstein then discusses other larger cases: Eli Lilly and Company, involving $1.4 billion with plaintiff representation by Gary Farmer, a firm attorney who negotiated the settlement and who brought the case with him when he arrived at the firm. Several inside whistleblowers went to the fed with unlawful practices regarding the marketing and sales of an anti-psychotic medication called Zyprexa. It was one of the largest qui tam cases in history.

He tells the investor about a potential (allegedly fabricated) case where investors would buy whistle-blower million dollar settlements with a sixty percent short term investor profit. The arrangement would be completely secret; the investor would never know the name of the company or the whistle-blower. The settlement money would be deposited into a trust account at TD Bank, accessible only to the investor at the appropriate time. David Boden follows up with all questions and negotiates the contract.

Court-appointed receiver 
On November 2, 2009, Broward Chief Judge Vic Tobin sent an e-mail at 6:45 a.m. to judges about the Rothstein case:

I learned of some very distressing news yesterday. Whoever draws the case try to set the motion today because of the amount of clients and money involved. Also, if you have a case with the firm, please be patient. I don't know if the lawyers will come or not and if they do come, there is no money at this point to go forward with the case or pay firm employees.

On November 3, 2009, retired Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Herbert Stettin was appointed the firm's receiver, responsible for approving the firm's day-to-day financial decisions. Firm president and 50% owner of the firm, Stuart Rosenfeldt, "deposited two-thirds of my life savings in my firm's operating account" to prop up finances in the short-term.

Marc Nurik is representing Rothstein, and has stepped down as a lawyer from the firm. The prosecutors are Lawrence D. LaVecchio, Paul F. Schwartz and Jeffrey N. Kaplan. They have decades of experience investigating public corruption, white-collar fraud and organized crime. They are preparing a massive fraud case against Rothstein, zeroing in on his settlement investments, and also allegations of theft from his law firm and client trust accounts.

Victims 

On November 25, 2009, Attorney William Scherer filed a 289-page Amended Complaint seeking $100,000,000 in civil damages on behalf of his clients, and naming: Toronto Dominion Bank and its associates, Frank Spinosa, Jennifer Kerstetter, and Rosanne Karetsky, Irene Stay, Banyon Income Fund, L.P., Banyon USVI, LLC, George G. Levin, Michael Szafranski, Onyx Options Consultants Corporation, Berenfeld Spritzer Shechter Sheer, LLP., as well as Rothstein and his associates, David Boden, Debra Villegas, Andrew Barnett, and Frank J. Preve, as defendants/co-conspirators.

The Amended Complaint lists people and businesses to whom Rothstein allegedly wired money while he was en route to or inside of Morocco: Rothstein wired $16 million to his tour guide from Boca Raton, Florida, "Ahnick Kahlid". Kahlid transferred the money to Rothstein's new Moroccan bank account opened upon his arrival with a passport as identification at Banque Populaire in Casablanca;
The recipients allegedly are members of the "Israeli Mob"; New York Investors; Florida Investors; Real Estate Investors; and Levin Feeders.

Scherer has said that his clients and all other investors who weren't complicit in the crime will have their money returned. Due to the extreme negligence, TD Bank is liable. "My goal is to get all the money back for the investors from the bank," Scherer said.

On January 27, 2010 Scherer filed an affidavit alleging that Michael Szafranski was complicit in Rothstein's fraud, receiving almost $6.5 million in "ill-gotten" gains directly from Rothstein.

Shimon Levy and Ovi Levy
Shimon Levy allegedly has had deep ties to Dean Heiser and Israeli organized crime and spent a year in an Israeli prison for hiding a mob figure suspected of two "grisly murders". In 1997, his partner at the Sea Club Resort on Fort Lauderdale beach, Zvika Yuz, was a victim of a murder which remains unsolved. His son, Ovi contacted the Plantation Police Department and began receiving protection during the time Rothstein fled to Morocco.

Banyan Capital 
Banyan Income Fund, a Fort Lauderdale-based hedge fund, invested hundreds of millions. It was run by Rothstein and involves Fort Lauderdale businessman George G. Levin, who reported Rothstein to the U.S. Attorney's Office for "suspicious activity." According to the lawsuit, Frank J. Preve is Chief Operating Officer and kept an office inside Rothstein et al. He is a convicted bank fraud and embezzlement felon. He pleaded guilty to bank embezzlement charges in 1985 and received ten years probation and a $10,000 fine for falsifying loan documents in another fraudulent scheme. Banyon and other Rothstein investors' accounts were held at a Toronto-Dominion Bank branch in Fort Lauderdale.

Abraxas Discala 
Abraxas Discala, a businessman and former husband of The Sopranos' Jamie-Lynn Sigler, reportedly raised $30 million through his hedge fund which he invested into Rothstein's scheme.

George G. Levin 
Since 1983, George G. Levin and his wife, Gayla Sue, have lived in Fort Lauderdale's Bay Colony on the Intracoastal Waterway in a 2-story  home with 8 bathrooms and a large pool, valued at $2 million.
Levin has a pattern of filing complaints when his unsavory/fraudulent business ventures are exposed. According to federal court documents, from 1985–1996 Levin's former business GGL Industries, dba Classic Motor Carriages defrauded hundreds of customers, selling kit cars. The federal government filed criminal charges against the company and GGL pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 1999 and agreed to pay $2.5 million in restitution.

Stuart Rado had been a consumer activist who organized GGL's victims and helped spur the government action. Levin subsequently sued Rado for violating the Florida Trade Secrets Act. Rado was diagnosed with cancer during the lawsuit. It was a classic frivolous SLAPP suit ("Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation"). On September 19, 1997, the finding against Mr. Rado was that he pay plaintiff's attorneys' fees.

The federal motion states:

GGL's fraudulent scheme necessarily included as an intricate part the silencing of its critics, among whom was Rado. It did this by using the courts to intimidate Rado into being silent and causing Rado to spend money he could not afford. It was GGL's intention (as one of GGL's attorneys said to Rado [in a 1994 deposition]) to make Rado's net worth go south. GGL and its attorneys forced Rado to incur the expenses of defending two lawsuits for over 4 years. Rado had to incur these expenses and live day-to-day with a barrage of pleadings, depositions and other legal maneuvers by GGL. He had to endure this even though he did nothing legally wrong, and even though GGL was in fact at the same time continuing to perpetrate its nationwide fraud. Rado was being put through this because Rado dared to contact some of GGL's victims and tell them that if they were injured by GGL they should contact the Florida Attorney General for help. What is even more despicable is that GGL knew that Rado was dying of cancer but continued to pursue him with motions and notices of trial and other pleadings, one such notice of hearing being served within days of brain surgery.

Although a convicted felon, GGL hounded Rado's estate for the payment of $80,000 in attorney's fees.

The state of Florida filed suit against the company alleging deceptive business practices and civil theft. A special assistant attorney general, Herbert Stettin, led the investigation. Stettin is now the trustee overseeing the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler bankruptcy case.

Levin continues to sell kit cars under a different company name, StreetBeasts.

According to a Florida District Court of Appeals case published in 2002, Levin acquired property free and clear for less than the cost of the first mortgage, through a fraudulent transfer.

Partners' income strategy and Rothstein's returns 
The allegations are: George Levin was the general partner ("GP") who solicited each limited partner ("LP") to contribute at least $1 million. Initially, each LP contributed $250,000, subject to periodic capital calls up to the amount of their commitments. They were promised 12% annually (15% for first $100 million), to be paid quarterly. The general partner had to maintain a balance of not less than 10% of all contributions after any quarterly distributions. The general partner also gave a "clawback" guaranty to all LP's equal to their original contributions. LP's could not request redemptions during an initial one-year "lock-up" period and were required to give 90 days' notice for any withdrawals. Redemptions would be paid from the GP's own capital account "to the extent available" with a 10% hold-back, but otherwise, only from the purchased lawsuits settlement stream.

Banyon had paid Rothstein's firm at least $656 million, but the law firm anticipated $1.1 billion over a maximum 24-month period. It allegedly received and reinvested about $500 million. Levin expected to make 40% over 24 months but to only pay out 24%. Rothstein's law firm's IOLTA trust accounts established "for the plaintiff" in the purported litigation settlements were used to fund the phony settlement accounts, after the law firm had paid its overhead, keeping its insolvent operation afloat, which included "gifts" to partners and money given to politicians, charities, and pay for a massive advertising budget, as well as Rothstein's personal lifestyle, over three years, amounting to approximately a $500 million loss.

The interest on the funded IOLTA accounts went to the Florida Bar monthly, which was many millions, based on the Banyon contributions. In its prospectus, Banyon claimed to have a legal opinion that Banyon's interest in the IOLTA trust accounts "perfected automatically on execution of the transfer documents" – that the lawsuit proceeds assignments created by general counsel, David Boden. The LP's were warned that they could be taxed on the Partnership's income and realized gains even if no distributions were made. As long as reinvestments were ongoing, the ponzi scheme was facilitated.

Losses 
1. Venture capitalist Doug Von Allmen's companies' total loss, approximately $105.5 million, through the Banyon Income Fund include:
 The Von Allmen Dynastry Trust, overseen by wife Linda Von Allmen: $7 million.
 D&L Partners, Von Allmen's Missouri company: $45 million.
 Kretschmar: $8 million
 Razorback Funding LLC, a Delaware company: $32 million
 D3 Capital Club LLC, Delaware company: $13.5 million

2. BFMC Investment LLC, owned by Barry Florescue: $2.4 million

3. Socialite art dealer Bonnie Barnett, mother of defendant, Andrew Barnett

4. The family of car dealers, Ed and Ted Morse.

5. Ballamor Capital Management, Radnor, PA: $30 million.

Others 
 Investors from Morocco lost $85 million.

On November 19, 2009, Rothstein never appeared for a deposition, noticed in the bankruptcy case by investors' attorney John Genovese at Genovese's law office.

Banyon and other Rothstein investors' accounts were held at a Toronto-Dominion Bank branch in Fort Lauderdale.

References

External links 
 Video tour of Rothstein's law offices
 USA v. Scott Rothstein: Report Commencing Criminal Action, December 1, 2009
 Federal Charging Information, December 1, 2009 Case No. 09-60331
 Rothstein Plea Agreement, Case 0:09-cr-60331-JIC, filed January 27, 2010
 Disbarment on Consent, filed November 20, 2009
 Amended Civil Complaint filed November 25, 2009, Case No. 09-062943
 Attorney Scherer's Opposition to Motion to Disqualify Counsel for Plaintiffs, filed January 28, 2010
 Amended Complaint for Dissolution and For Emergency Transfer of Corporate Powers to Stuart A. Rosenfeldt, Case No. 09-059301
 Judge's Order Granting Compelling of Bank Records, Case No. 09-059301
 Database of Scott W. Rothstein's Political Contributions
 Database of Scott W. Rothstein's Corporate Interests
 Database of Scott W. Rothstein's registered vehicles
 Database of Scott W. Rothstein's Real Estate Transactions

1962 births
2009 in economics
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American people convicted of fraud
American prisoners and detainees
20th-century American Jews
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Criminal investigation
Disbarred American lawyers
Florida lawyers
Great Recession
Living people
People convicted of racketeering
Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government
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Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v Whatcott is a Canadian constitutional law case concerning the constitutionality of the hate speech provision in Saskatchewan's human rights legislation.

Background 
Four complainants brought an application to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission after receiving flyers entitled "Keep Homosexuality out of Saskatoon's Public Schools!" and "Sodomites in our Public Schools" from Christian anti-homosexual activist Bill Whatcott. The complainants alleged a violation of section 14 of The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code (SHRC), which prohibits "publication or display of any representation that exposes or tends to expose to hatred, ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of any person or class of persons on the basis of a prohibited ground". Sexual orientation was one such prohibited ground. A Saskatchewan human rights tribunal heard the case, holding that the contents of each flyer objectively contravened section 14 of the SHRC, and that the provision did not unreasonably restrict Whatcott's section 2(b) Charter rights. The Tribunal prohibited Whatcott from further distributing the flyers and awarded compensation to the complainants.

Upon appeal to the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench in 2007, the appeals judge upheld the Tribunal's findings with respect to the violation of section 14 of the SHRC and its constitutionality. In 2010, the case was appealed to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. The court held that the tribunal and the trial judge had erred by considering only certain phrases from the flyers and that the flyers were not a prohibited hate publication.

Reasons of the SCC 

Twenty-six third parties acted as interveners during oral hearings in 2011. Rothstein J wrote the reasons for a unanimous Supreme Court.

Defining "hatred" 

Rothstein J began by considering the definition of "hatred" as contemplated in R v Taylor, where the Supreme Court had found that "hatred" as used in the Canadian Human Rights Act "refers to unusually strong and deep-felt emotions of detestation, calumny and vilification". Rothstein J identified two primary difficulties arising alongside the Taylor hatred doctrine; namely, that hatred is inherently subjective, which could conflict with the court's attempt at objectivity, and that it could lead to a "mistaken propensity to focus on the ideas being expressed, rather than on the effect of the expression". In response to these criticisms, Rothstein J adapted the Taylor standard by holding that it should be conducted objectively, that "hatred" should be interpreted as "extreme manifestations of the emotion described by the words 'detestation' and 'vilification'", a threshold which would not include merely repugnant or offensive expression, and that tribunals should consider the effect of the expression, not its inherent offensiveness.

Freedom of expression analysis 

Rothstein J next analyzed the constitutionality of section 14(1)(b) of the SHRC, applying the correctness standard of review. Rothstein J held that the expression was protected by section 2(b) of the Charter, and proceeded to conduct a section 1 Oakes test. Rothstein J described the purpose of the legislation as "reducing the harmful effects and social costs of discrimination by tackling certain causes of discriminatory activity", noting its emotional and societal effects on vulnerable groups and its ability to impede democratic discussion. Thus Rothstein J found that the provision was prescribed by law and that its objective was pressing and substantial.

Rational connection 

Next, Rothstein J considered whether the section 14(1)(b) limitation on free expression was rationally connected to the legislation's purpose. Rothstein J wrote that such expression "must seek to marginalize the group by affecting its social status and acceptance in the eyes of the majority" in order for a rational connection to exist. Since section 14(1)(b) only captured hate speech communicated in public, and since it applied only to expression based on existing prohibited grounds of discrimination, Rothstein J found that the provision was rationally connected to the legislative objective. However, Rothstein J found that the wording "ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of" contained in section 14(1)(b) of the SHRC was constitutionally invalid, since the threshold set by that language was too low and thus did not align with the legislation's purpose. The offending words were removed from the section.

Minimal impairment 

Rothstein J then considered whether the provision minimally impaired the impugned right to freedom of expression. Rothstein J answered affirmatively, holding that alternative measures, including a "marketplace of ideas" and an expanded role for the criminal law in hate speech cases, would not achieve the legislative objective, or would only achieve it ineffectively. Rothstein J held also that the provision was not overbroad once the language "ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of" was removed.

Rothstein J rejected Whatcott's argument that the expression at issue was protected because it was political in nature:

Rothstein J also rejected Whatcott's submission that his expression was protected because it differentiated between homosexual orientation and activity. Instead, Rothstein J held that "attacks on conduct [that is a crucial aspect of the identity of the vulnerable group] stand as a proxy for attacks on the group itself". Rothstein J also rejected arguments that the SHRC was overbroad because it did not require proof of intent or harm and because it did not offer any defences. Rothstein J instead wrote that the analysis must focus on the effects of the impugned expression, not the communicator's intent, that the legislature is "entitled to a reasonable apprehension of societal harm as a result of hate speech", and that the absence of defences in the SHRC was not determinative; truthful statements or sincerely held beliefs do not affect the analysis, which must be undertaken from an objective standpoint.

Benefits and deleterious effects 

Rothstein J found that the benefits of the section 14(1)(b) prohibition on hate speech outweighed the "detrimental effect of restricting expression which, by its nature, does little to promote the values underlying freedom of expression".

Freedom of religion analysis 

Next, Rothstein J considered whether section 14(1)(b) of the SHRC infringed the freedom of religion enshrined in section 2(a) of the Charter. Rothstein J concluded that section 2(a) had been infringed because Whatcott had a sincere religious belief and since section 14(1)(b) would significantly interfere with his ability to communicate his sincerely held beliefs. However, Rothstein J found that the infringement was justified under section 1 of the Charter, but again held that the wording "ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of" was unconstitutional.

Application 

Rothstein J held that the standard of review of the Tribunal's decision was reasonableness, based on the Court's reasoning in Dunsmuir v New Brunswick. Rothstein found that the Tribunal's decision to read certain parts of the flyer in isolation was reasonable, since "even one phrase or sentence... found to bring the publication, as a whole, in contravention of the Code... precludes publication of the flyer in its current form". Rothstein J also held that the Tribunal's application of section 14(1)(b) to two of Whatcott's flyers (Flyers D and E) was reasonable, since those flyers portrayed the targeted group "as a menace that could threaten the safety and well-being of others", objectively depicted them as "inferior [and] untrustworthy", "[vilified] those of same-sex orientation by portraying them as child abusers or predators", and called for discrimination against the portrayed group.

However, Rothstein J found that the Tribunal's decision with respect to two other flyers (Flyers F and G) was unreasonable, since a reasonable person would not have found them to subject homosexuals to "detestation" and vilification". In particular, Rothstein J noted that a Bible passage that Whatcott had quoted in Flyers F and G was not hateful expression, writing that "it would only be unusual circumstances and context that could transform a simple reading or publication of a religion’s holy text into what could objectively be viewed as hate speech".

Remedy 

Rothstein J reinstated the compensation for those complainants who had received flyers which were in contravention of the SHRC.

Impact 

Reaction to the Supreme Court's decision was mixed. Andrew Coyne called Whatcott a "calamitous decision", criticizing the Supreme Court's loose definition of "harm" and Rothstein J's finding that "truth may be used for widely disparate ends". Charlie Gillis, writing for Maclean's, described the decision as a "missed opportunity to erect robust legal protections around a bedrock Canadian value".

Pearl Eliadis, writing for the Montreal Gazette, called the decision "reasonable and balanced" and found that it would "provide comfort to those concerned about being found liable for "offending" others".

References 

Supreme Court of Canada cases
2013 in Canadian case law
Section Two Charter case law
Human rights case law Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 6, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athletics, including conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series. He was also a mentor of future crime bosses Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, and numerous others.

According to crime writer Leo Katcher, Rothstein "transformed organized crime from a thuggish activity by hoodlums into a big business, run like a corporation, with himself at the top". According to author Rich Cohen, Rothstein was the person who first realized that Prohibition was a business opportunity, a means to enormous wealth, who "understood the truths of early century capitalism (giving people what they want) and came to dominate them". His notoriety inspired several fictional characters based on his life, portrayed in contemporary and later short stories, novels, musicals, and films, including the character Meyer Wolfsheim in The Great Gatsby.

Rothstein refused to pay a large debt resulting from a fixed poker game and was murdered in 1928. His illegal empire was broken up and distributed among a number of other underworld organizations and led in part to the downfall of Tammany Hall and the rise of reformer Fiorello La Guardia. Ten years after his death, his brother declared Rothstein's estate was insolvent.

Early life and education
Arnold Rothstein was born into a comfortable life in Manhattan, the son of an affluent Ashkenazi Jewish businessman, Abraham Rothstein, and his wife, Esther. His father was a man of upright character, who had acquired the nickname "Abe the Just". Arnold was highly skilled at mathematics, but was otherwise uninterested in school. His older brother, on the other hand, studied to become a rabbi.

Rothstein was known to be a difficult child, and he harboured a deep envy of his older brother, Harry. Rothstein's father believed that his son always craved to be the center of attention and would often get frustrated when he was not.

While still a child, Rothstein began to indulge in gambling, but no matter how often his father scolded him for shooting dice, Rothstein would not stop. In 1921, Rothstein was asked how he became a gambler, "I always gambled. I can't remember when I didn't. Maybe I gambled just to show my father he couldn't tell me what to do, but I don't think so.  I think I gambled because I loved the excitement. When I gambled, nothing else mattered."

Illegitimate career

By 1910, Rothstein, at age 28, had moved to the Tenderloin section of Manhattan, where he established an important casino. He also invested in a horse racing track at Havre de Grace, Maryland, where he was reputed to have fixed many of the races that he won.

Rothstein had a wide network of informants; very deep pockets from some among his father's banking community associates; and the willingness to pay a premium for good information, regardless of the source. His successes made him a millionaire by age 30.

1919 World Series
There is a great deal of evidence both for and against Rothstein being involved in the 1919 World Series fix. In 1919, Rothstein's agents allegedly paid members of the Chicago White Sox to "throw", i.e. deliberately lose, the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. He bet against them and made a significant profit in what was called the "Black Sox Scandal".

He was summoned to Chicago to testify before a grand jury investigation of the incident; Rothstein said that he was an innocent businessman, intent on clearing his name and his reputation. Prosecutors could find no evidence linking Rothstein to the affair, and he was never indicted. Rothstein testified:

In another version of the story, Rothstein was first approached by Joseph "Sport" Sullivan, a gambler, who suggested Rothstein help fix the World Series. Rothstein supposedly turned down Sullivan's proposal but when he received Attell's offer, Rothstein reconsidered Sullivan's first offer. He figured that the competition to fix the game made it worth the risk to get involved and still be able to cover his involvement. David Pietrusza's biography of Rothstein suggested that the gangster worked both ends of the fix with Sullivan and Attell. Michael Alexander concluded that Attell fixed the Series "probably without Arnold Rothstein's approval", which "did not prevent Rothstein from betting on the Series with inside knowledge".

Leo Katcher said that "all the records and minutes of the Grand Jury disappeared. So, too, did the signed confessions of Cicotte, Williams and Jackson.... The state, virtually all of its evidence gone, sought to get the players to repeat their confession on the stand. This they refused to do, citing the Fifth Amendment." Eventually, the judge had no choice but to dismiss the case. Katcher went on, "Thus, on the official record and on the basis of [State Attorney Maclay] Hoyne's statement, Rothstein was never involved in the fixing of the Series. Also, on the official record, it was never proved that the Series had been fixed." All eight White Sox players were forever banned from the game of baseball. Despite all his denials, though, Katcher noted that "while Rothstein won the Series, he won a small sum. He always maintained it was less than $100,000. It actually was about $350,000. It could have been much – very much – more. It wasn't because Rothstein chickened out. A World Series fix was too good to be true – even if it was true."

1921 Travers Stakes
Under the pseudonym "Redstone Stable", Rothstein owned a racehorse named Sporting Blood, which won the 1921 Travers Stakes under suspicious circumstances. Rothstein allegedly conspired with a leading trainer, Sam Hildreth, to drive up the odds on Sporting Blood. Hildreth entered an outstanding three-year-old, Grey Lag, on the morning of the race, causing the odds on Sporting Blood, to rise to 3–1. Rothstein bet $150,000 through bookmakers, allegedly having been informed that the second favorite, Prudery, was off her feed. Just before post time and without explanation, Hildreth scratched Grey Lag from the starting list. Rothstein collected over $500,000 in bets plus the purse, but a conspiracy was never proven.

Prohibition and organized crime
With the advent of Prohibition, Rothstein saw the opportunities for business; he diversified into bootlegging and narcotics. Liquor was brought in by smuggling along the Hudson River, as well as from Canada across the Great Lakes and into upstate New York. Rothstein also purchased holdings in a number of speakeasies. Later he became the first to illegally import Scotch whisky in his own fleet of trans-Atlantic freighters. He knew that high-end booze would be the "chic thing to have."

With his banking support and high-level political connections, Rothstein soon managed to end-run Tammany Hall to the street gangs. Subsequently, his criminal organization included such underworld notables as Meyer Lansky, Jack "Legs" Diamond, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, and Dutch Schultz, whose combined gangs and double-dealing with their own respective bosses subverted the entire late 19th-century form of political gangsterism. Rothstein's various nicknames were Mr. Big, The Fixer, The Man Uptown, The Big Bankroll, and The Brain.

Rothstein frequently mediated disputes among the New York gangs and reportedly charged a hefty fee for his services. His favorite "office" was Lindy's, at Broadway and 49th Street in Manhattan. He often stood on the corner surrounded by his bodyguards and did business on the street. Rothstein made bets and collected debts from those who had lost the previous day. Meanwhile, he exploited his role as mediator with the city's legitimate business world and soon forced Tammany Hall to recognize him as a necessary ally in its running of the city. Many historians credit him as the first successful modern drug dealer.

By 1925, Rothstein was one of the most powerful criminals in the country and had forged a large criminal empire. For a time he was the largest bootlegger in the nation, until the rise of George Remus. With a reported wealth of over $10 million (equivalent to $150 million in 2019) Rothstein was one of the wealthiest gangsters in US history, and is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of organized crime in the United States.

Death
On November 4, 1928, Rothstein was shot and mortally wounded during a business meeting at Manhattan's Park Central Hotel at Seventh Avenue near 55th Street. He died two days later at the Stuyvesant Polyclinic Hospital in Manhattan.

The shooting was reportedly linked to debts owed from a three-day long, high-stakes poker game in October, for which Rothstein owed $320,000 (equivalent to $ million in ). He claimed the game was fixed and refused to pay. The murder was intended to punish Rothstein for failing to pay his debt. Gambler George "Hump" McManus was arrested for homicide, but later acquitted for lack of evidence.

According to Kevin Cook, author of Titanic Thompson, the poker game was fixed by gambler Titanic Thompson (born  Alvin Clarence Thomas) and his associate, Nate Raymond. Due to some complicated side bets, by the end Rothstein owed $319,000 to Raymond (much of which Raymond, by secret agreement, was to pass on to Thompson); $30,000 to Thompson; and about $200,000 to the other gamblers present. McManus owed Rothstein $51,000. Rothstein stalled for time, saying that he would not be able to pay until after the elections of November 1928, when he expected to win $550,000 for successfully backing Herbert Hoover for President and Franklin D. Roosevelt for Governor. Thompson testified at McManus' trial, describing him as "a swell loser" who would never have shot Rothstein. According to Cook, Thompson later told some of his acquaintances that the killer had not been McManus, but rather his "bag man", Hyman Biller, who fled to Cuba shortly afterwards.

In his book Kill the Dutchman!, a biography of Dutch Schultz published in 1971, the crime reporter Paul Sann suggested that Schultz murdered Rothstein. He says this was in retaliation for the murder of Schultz's friend and associate Joey Noe by Rothstein's protégé Jack "Legs" Diamond.

On his deathbed, Rothstein refused to identify his killer, answering police inquiries with "You stick to your trade. I'll stick to mine", and "Me mudder (my mother) did it." Rothstein was buried at Ridgewood's Union Field Cemetery.

Break-up of empire
At the time of Rothstein's death, Prohibition was in full swing, various street gangs were battling for control of the liquor distribution and the carefully constructed political boss structure of the late 19th century was in total collapse. Frank Erickson, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and other former associates split up Rothstein's various "enterprises" after his death. With Rothstein's death, the corrupt and already-weakened Tammany Hall was critically wounded because it had relied on Rothstein to control the street gangs. With Tammany Hall's fall, reformer Fiorello La Guardia rose in prominence and was elected Mayor of New York City in 1933.

Ten years after his death, Harry Rothstein, Arnold's brother, declared Rothstein's estate insolvent and Arnold's wealth disappeared.

In popular culture

Literature
 Rothstein is referred to as "The Brain" in several of Damon Runyon's short stories, including a fictional version of his death in "The Brain Goes Home". As a newspaper reporter, Runyon came to know Rothstein personally and later covered the trial of his alleged killer. According to historian David Pietrusza, Rothstein was also the inspiration for the character Nathan Detroit, who appears in the short story "Blood Pressure" as well as the musical Guys and Dolls.
 In the novel The Great Gatsby, Meyer Wolfsheim is a Jewish friend and mentor of Jay Gatsby, described as a gambler who fixed the World Series. The character is commonly assumed to be an allusion to Rothstein.

Film and television
 He was portrayed in the 1960 film The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond by actor Robert Lowery.
 In the 1961 film The Big Bankroll (a.k.a. King of the Roaring Twenties: The Story of Arnold Rothstein) by David Janssen.
 In a deleted scene from the 1974 Academy Award for Best Picture winner The Godfather Part II, supporting character Hyman Roth is introduced to Vito Corleone, who suggests that he change his name, which was originally Hyman Suchowsky. When Vito asks him whom he admires, Suchowsky says Arnold Rothstein, for having fixed the 1919 World Series; accordingly, he changes his last name to Roth. 
 In the 1981 film Gangster Wars and series The Gangster Chronicles by George DiCenzo.
 In the 1988 sports drama film Eight Men Out by Michael Lerner. 
 In the 1991 film Mobsters by F. Murray Abraham.
 In the 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino the protagonist, Sam "Ace" Rothstein, was named for Arnold Rothstein but modeled on real-life sports bettor and fixer Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal.
 In the 1999 biopic Lansky by Stanley DeSantis.
 In the HBO series Boardwalk Empire by Michael Stuhlbarg.

Associates 
 Waxey Gordon – worked as a rum-runner for Rothstein during the first years of Prohibition.
 Harry "Nig" Rosen – involved in narcotics with Rothstein during the mid-1920s.
Charles "Lucky" Luciano – viewed to have been mentored by Rothstein, who supported him early on in his career as a racketeer and taught him how to be a full-fledged kingpin. They are both among New York's most notorious gangster kingpins, and both are directly responsible for the modernization and subsequent public obsession with American organized crime.
Meyer Lansky – along with partner Luciano, he was somewhat mentored by Rothstein during Prohibition. Both Jewish Mafia members, they were instrumental in the rise and glorification of modern American organized crime.
Alfred Lowenstein, Belgian financier, with whom Rothstein allegedly had a deal to supply America with European made heroin.
Enoch "Nucky" Johnson – business partners during the bootlegging boom of the Roaring Twenties.

See also
Fuller case
List of unsolved murders
Seabury Commission

References

Further reading 
 Alexander, Michael (2003). Jazz Age Jews, Princeton University Press, 
 Cohen, Rich (1999). Tough Jews: Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams, London: Vintage 
 Henderson Clarke, Donald (1929). In the Reign of Rothstein, New York: The Vanguard Press. 
 Katcher, Leo (1959/1994). The Big Bankroll. The Life and Times of Arnold Rothstein, New York: Da Capo Press 
 Pietrusza, David (2003). Rothstein: The Life, Times and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series, New York: Carroll & Graf. 
 Rothstein, Carolyn (with Donald Henderson Clarke) (1934), Now I'll Tell, New York: Vantage Press.
 Tosches, Nick (2005). King of the Jews. The Arnold Rothstein Story, London: Hamish Hamilton

External links 

 Victoria Vanderveer, "Arnold Rothstein and the 1919 World Series Fix". https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111828/http://www.forward.com/articles/arnold-the-brain/
 "Arnold Rothstein", Biography Jewish Virtual Library
 Daniel A. Nathan, "The Big Fix: Arnold Rothstein rigged the 1919 World Series. Or did he?", Legal Affairs, March – April 2004
 An Arnold Rothstein Chronology
 Arnold Rothstein Death
  Review of David Pietrusza, Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series, Jewish Daily Forward, October 31, 2003
 
 Edward Dean Sullivan, "The Real Truth about Rothstein!" True Detective Mysteries, (October 1930) pp. 20–26, 76–80.

1882 births
1928 deaths
1928 murders in the United States
American crime bosses
Prohibition-era gangsters
Male murder victims
Murdered Jewish American gangsters
Criminals from New York City
Match fixers
People murdered in New York City
Deaths by firearm in Manhattan
Burials in Queens, New York, by place
Unsolved murders in the United States