Charlie Crist to Scott Rothstein: "We Love You"

Former Gov. Charlie Crist was apparently a little closer to Scott Rothstein than we knew. Or maybe not. They blew out the candles on Crist's birthday cake a couple of years ago after giving the governor $52,000 (a grand for each candle). Before the disbarred Rothstein's Ponzi scheme imploded, Rothstein and the governor were...

By Bob Norman

January 21, 2011

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Former Gov. Charlie Crist was apparently a little closer to Scott Rothstein than we knew.

Or maybe not. They blew out the candles on Crist's birthday cake a couple of years ago after giving the governor $52,000 (a grand for each candle).

Before the disbarred Rothstein's Ponzi scheme imploded, Rothstein and the governor were in regular contact. One thing about Rothstein, he always liked to be on the cutting edge of technology, and he had a gadget called Simulscribe that automatically transcribed all his voice-mails left at the office.

There are hundreds of transcribed voice-mails; I've obtained a sampling of the actual documents. Inside see a voice-mail left by Crist -- who calls himself Rothstein's "favorite Greek Governor" -- just days before the Ponzi imploded and Rothstein was exposed as a fraud.

Here's a transcribed voice mail that Crist left for Rothstein on the evening of October 27, 2009, just a few days before the Ponzi story broke here and after Rothstein had already fled in the Gulfstream V to Morocco.

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Journalist Bob Norman has been raking the muck of South Florida for the past 25 years. His work has led to criminal cases against corrupt politicians, the ouster of bad judges from the bench, and has garnered dozens of state, regional, and national awards.

Contact: Bob Norman