Melissa Britt Lewis

Melissa Britt Lewis Murder Trial Postponed -- Again

​It's been nearly four years since Melissa Britt Lewis, a 39-year-old Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler attorney, was found murdered, her body dumped in a Plantation canal. The man charged with killing her avoided trial for years because he was initially deemed mentally incompetent. Tony Villegas, 48, wa ... More >>

Scott Rothstein Deposition Overview

zazzle.com​Eight days worth of transcripts from Scott Rothstein's Miami deposition have been released, and he's covered a wide range of topics while investment firms try to recover some of the money they lost in Rothstein's mega-Ponzi.He's been prohibited by the feds from going into too much detai ... More >>

Rothstein Says He Had an Affair With Slain Lawyer Melissa Lewis

​In a sworn deposition last month, convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein alleged he had an affair with his slain employee, Melissa Britt Lewis, years ago when Lewis was in law school. He also said law enforcement officials were feeding him information about the investigation into Lewis' murder a ... More >>

Rothstein on Melissa Lewis Murder: "Everyone Knows I Wasn't Involved"

​He's a Ponzi schemer, a fraudster, involved with corrupt politicians and the Mob, but Scott Rothstein insists he's not a murderer.Under intense questioning by attorney Mary Barzee Flores during a deposition last month, the  "Prince of Darkness" vehemently denied being involved in the 2008 mu ... More >>

Scott Rothstein Prevented From Answering Questions About Charlie Crist, Mel Martinez

​Before Scott Rothstein sounded like he was about to soil himself over questions about the murder of Melissa Britt Lewis during the ninth day of his bankruptcy deposition, objections from Assistant U.S. District Attorney Lawrence LaVecchio made things interesting again.Attorney Mary Barzee Flores ... More >>

Scott Rothstein Questioned About Melissa Britt Lewis Murder

​Nearly four years after attorney Melissa Britt Lewis' murder, questions still swirl about the crime. Tony Villegas, the man charged with strangling her and dumping her body in a canal, has not yet faced trial. He was ruled mentally incompetent last year but has since been deemed fit for court. To ... More >>

Scott Rothstein's Story Airs on True Crime With Aphrodite Jones Tonight

Investigation DiscoveryScott Rothstein with Debra Villegas, left, and Melissa Britt Lewis, right, during a 2005 Christmas party for the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm. Lewis was murdered in 2008, and Villegas' estranged husband, Tony, is charged with the crime.The Investigation Discovery channe ... More >>

Before Lewis Murder, Rothstein Considered Tony Villegas a "Coward"

Courtesy Lynn HaberlMelissa celebrated her promotion to partner in Rothstein's firm shortly before she died.​For months before attorney Melissa Britt Lewis was killed, she and Debra Villegas worried that Debra's estranged husband would make good on his threats to harm Debra. Scott Rothstein, their ... More >>

Debra Villegas Claims She and Melissa Lewis Were "Not Lesbians"

One more rumor put to rest? According to Debra Villegas, her friendship with slain Rothstein attorney Melissa Britt Lewis was an extraordinarily close bond and a support system, not a sexual thing.Courtesy Lynn HaberlDebra (left) and Melissa were friends, not lovers.​"She was my dearest friend in ... More >>

Villegas Video, Awarding Incompetence, and Judge Lazarus' Latest Stupid Email

UPDATED: My colleague Lisa Rab obtained this video of Debra Villegas speaking with Plantation police officers about the Melissa Britt Lewis murder. It was taken in December 2009, after the Rothstein Ponzi scheme and the RRA law firm imploded. Make sure and read Rab's post. Villegas d ... More >>

Video: Debra Villegas Tells of Rothstein's Affair With Melissa Lewis

On Sunday, we brought you the news of Scott Rothstein's alleged affair with his slain employee, Melissa Britt Lewis. Here's the sworn interview where Debra Villegas, Lewis' best friend and Rothstein's right-hand woman at his now-defunct law firm, tells a Plantation police officer about the affair.N ... More >>

The Rothstein Affair: What Does It Mean?

Slain attorney Melissa Britt Lewis had an affair with Scott Rothstein? Villegas, Christine Kitterman, and Lewis. ​That's what Debra Villegas told Plantation police detectives, according to a post on the Juice blog broken by Lisa Rab. And Vlillegas had no reason to lie -- in fact, ... More >>

Tony Villegas Ruled Incompetent Because He's Depressed and Refusing Meds

​At a Broward County court hearing on his mental health this afternoon, Tony Villegas sat quietly between his two attorneys, crying softly.The man accused of strangling Melissa Britt Lewis and dumping her body in a canal two years ago looked thin and stricken, his brown beard shaggy and his body o ... More >>

Doctors Disagree on Tony Villegas' Competency; Ruling Postponed

Villegas has been in jail for more than two years.​Tony Villegas' mental health is a moving target, according to his attorney, and the fluctuating opinions of psychologists have stalled his trial for the killing of Melissa Britt Lewis indefinitely.In March 2008, Villegas was arrested for allegedl ... More >>

Tony Villegas' Competency Hearing Postponed Until Day of Ex-Wife's Sentencing

Tony Villegas' trial is on hold.​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 d ... More >>

UPDATED: Top Five Highlights From Debra Villegas' Confession Hearing

Debra Villegas, left, implicated others in the scheme.​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 gui ... More >>

Debra Villegas Gets Two More Months of Freedom; Tony Villegas Back in Jail

Debra Villegas (left) is out on bond until October.​Debra Villegas, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme, will not be sentenced on Friday as planned.Rothstein's former right-hand woman has two more months of freedom, thanks ... More >>

UPDATED: Scott Rothstein Ends Ponzi Scheme Saga With 50-Year Sentence

​Scott Rothstein will spend 50 years in prison, a federal judge decided this morning. The sentence ends a seven-month saga since Rothstein's empire crumbled. Once one of South Florida's most politically connected lawyers, he swindled more than a billion dollars in perhaps the biggest fraud case in ... More >>

Tony Villegas' DNA Mystery

Tony Villegas was charged with first-degree murder.​For those who insist Tony Villegas was framed for the murder of attorney Melissa Britt Lewis in March 2008, one key piece of evidence begs for extra attention.After Melissa disappeared, the Plantation police discovered her abandoned Cadillac in a ... More >>

Tony Villegas' Diary: Is This Man Sane Enough to Stand Trial?

Is Tony Villegas mentally ill?​Now that a Broward judge has declared Tony Villegas incompetent to stand trial for the murder of attorney Melissa Britt Lewis, many people are wondering about his state of mind two years ago, when he was arrested for allegedly strangling Melissa and dumping her body ... More >>

Tony Villegas Deemed Incompetent; Murder Case Stalled

Tony Villegas has been transferred to a mental health facility.​Two years after he was arrested for allegedly strangling attorney Melissa Britt Lewis and dumping her body in a canal, Tony Villegas has been deemed incompetent to stand trial.Al Milian, one of two attorneys representing Tony, decline ... More >>

Did Friendship Cost a Young Scott Rothstein Lawyer Her Life?

Melissa Britt Lewis Memorial Slideshow

This week's New Times feature story is an-depth look at the murder of Melissa Britt Lewis, a young attorney at the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Alder firm who was killed more than a year before Rothstein's massive Ponzi scheme imploded. Melissa's best friend, Debra Villegas, is in a federal courtroom today ... More >>

Debra Villegas (Remarried!) Enters Not Guilty Plea

​This morning, Debra Villegas, the law firm employee who allegedly helped disgraced lawyer Scott Rothstein run his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, pled not guilty to a charge of money laundering in federal court in Fort Lauderdale -- a move that observers say was just a formality. Villegas's next court ... More >>

Debra Villegas' New Husband Also at Round Up the Night Melissa Lewis Died

Debra Villegas (left) and her daughter, Aimee.​The night attorney Melissa Britt Lewis was killed in March 2008, Debra Villegas was at the Round Up Country Western Club in Davie, she told the Plantation police in a sworn interview. She was hanging out with a group of friends that included the man w ... More >>

Debra Villegas' Dual Roles: "Cold-Hearted Bitch" and Terrified Wife

Debra Villegas (left) and her daughter, Aimee.​Many people have wondered how Debra Villegas could fill two seemingly conflicting roles. How could she be the confident, right-hand woman to Scott Rothstein as he ran a massive Ponzi scheme out of his law office, yet go home every night to an allegedl ... More >>

Tony Villegas' Comments to the Police

Tony Villegas said he'd never used pepper spray.​On March 10, 2008  Plantation police detectives confronted Tony Villegas at the Florida East Coast Railway depot in Fort Lauderdale with a search warrant. He told them he had been expecting them. By this time, detectives had been quietly questi ... More >>

Villegas Divorce Depo Was Scheduled the Day Lewis Died

Where was Tony Villegas the night of the murder? ​On March 5, 2008, the day Melissa Britt Lewis was killed, her best friend, Debra Villegas, had scheduled a deposition in her divorce from her allegedly abusive husband, Tony Villegas.Debra had kicked Tony out of the house more than a year earlier, ... More >>

Debra Villegas' Other BFF: Scott Rothstein

Rothstein was Debra Villegas' friend and supporter.​After her best friend, Melissa Britt Lewis, was murdered in March 2008, Debra Villegas gave several lengthy, sworn interviews to Plantation police. Mainly, the cops were questioning her about whether her husband, Tony Villegas -- who would later ... More >>

Debra and Tony Villegas' Relationship Began With a Paternity Suit

Before Debra married Tony, there was a lawsuit.​In April 1993, Debra Taylor, the tall, boisterous woman who would become Scott Rothstein's treasured secretary, gave birth to a son. Already caring for two daughters from a previous relationship, Debra, then 25, wasn't in a position to handle this ba ... More >>

Melissa Lewis: Caretaker of the Villegas Family

Debra Villegas and Melissa Britt Lewis.​The murder of Melissa Britt Lewis in March 2008 was devastating to many people. A bright, talented, 39-year-old attorney, she was the social coordinator for her friends and a generous aunt who had planned to take her niece to a Jonas Brothers concert just be ... More >>

Morning Juice: Rothstein Plea Deal Soon, as Story's Murder Plot Line Fades

​This is like one of those winters that the Ingalls family survived, isn't it? Let's try to press on, beginning with this morning's local headlines:In what Commissioner Bill Ganz described as a "painful" decision, he brought a motion to fire City Manager Mike Mahaney. Tempers flared. Accusations w ... More >>

Will Rothstein Case Affect Melissa Britt Lewis Murder Trial?

​Ever since lawyer Scott Rothstein went missing last week, only to return to the country amid allegations of running a $400 million Ponzi scheme, some observers have wondered how this news might affect one of the story's subplots: the March 2008 murder of Melissa Britt Lewis, a young attorney who ... More >>

Villegas: "I Have No Comment to the Media Whatsoever"

Just got hold of Debra Villegas, the chief operating officer of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, who Scott Rothstein claimed handled his financial affairs. Earlier today I wondered aloud whether Villegas knew that there was something fishy about Rothstein's investments. I asked her that question. She sai ... More >>

Rise of Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein has town talking

What's Going On

Sam Zell Isn't Pretending Anymore

This Seals It For Me

The Mind-Boggling Lewis Murder Case

Why Was Melissa Britt Lewis Killed?