Tony Villegas

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

The Best Texts of 2010: Rothstein, Villegas, Obama, You?

PBSODalia Dippolito texted her complaints about her hubby.​Another year, another round of thumb-induced regret. In the age of smart phones, texting has become an essential part of the news cycle.Here are our favorite screeds that were either written or released to the public in the past year. Feel ... 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 >>

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 >>

Melissa Lewis Had an Affair With Scott Rothstein, Villegas Says

Courtesy of Lynn HaberlDebra Villegas and Melissa Lewis were best friends.​Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein and his slain employee, Melissa Britt Lewis, had an affair when Lewis was a law student, according to Debra Villegas.The alleged affair, which Villegas revealed in a videotaped statement to Pla ... 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 >>

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 >>

Debra Villegas on Rothstein: "I'd Like to Believe That He Loved Me"

Debra Villegas and Melissa Lewis.​Three months after Debra Villegas pleaded guilty to aiding in Scott Rothstein's massive Ponzi scheme, there's still plenty of mystery surrounding her relationship with the disgraced lawyer. How much did she know, and when did she know it? Did her best friend's dea ... 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 >>

Debra Villegas' Criminal Timeline and Melissa Lewis' Death

Debra Villegas (left) and Melissa Lewis.​When Debra Villegas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering last week, one detail in her testimony stood out. Villegas, the former chief operating officer at Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, told Judge William Zloch that she originally thought th ... 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 >>

Morning Juice: Oil Will Ride Current to South Florida Coast; Circle K Killings an Isolated Event

​Here's what's in the local news this morning:If crews don't fix the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico soon, then scientists say it's "inevitable" that an ocean current will bring that contaminated water up Florida's east coast, through Broward and Palm Beach. [Palm Beach Post]Two forensic psycholog ... 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 >>

Melissa Lewis Complained of Stress, Heart Problems Before She Died

Melissa Lewis (right) had complained of heart pain.​Melissa Britt Lewis was a cautious woman. The 39-year-old, newly divorced attorney at Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler carried Mace in her purse, had two dogs and an alarm system at her Plantation home, and always kept her garage door locked to prevent ... More >>

Witness: Melissa Lewis Bought Mace Because of Tony Villegas

Debra Villegas and Melissa Lewis armed themselves against Tony.​Some blog commenters have questioned whether Tony Villegas, the man charged with killing attorney Melissa Britt Lewis in 2008, was really as angry and abusive as his estranged wife, Debra, claimed. But police documents and New Times i ... 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 >>

Tony Villegas' Diary: "You Don't Like Flies on Your Meat"

Tony Villegas has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Melissa Lewis.​During their investigation of the murder of Melissa Britt Lewis in March 2008, Plantation police officers seized a day planner that Tony Villegas used as a makeshift diary in late 2007 and early 2008. At the tim ... 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 >>

Debra Villegas' Daughter Explains Life With Tony

Debra Villegas and her daughter Aimee.​Among the hundreds of pages of Broward County court documents recently made public regarding the 2008 murder of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler attorney Melissa Lewis, one of the most illuminating is a police interview with Aimee Villegas. Aimee is the daught ... More >>

Therapist Suspected Tony Villegas in Lewis Murder

Debra Villegas (left), Christina Kitterman, and Melissa Lewis.​While Debra Villegas told police officers she was nearly certain that her husband, Tony Villegas, didn't kill her best friend, Melissa Lewis, others who were close to the women were not so sure.Ilene Vinikoor was a family therapist who ... 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 >>

Rise of Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein has town talking

A Piece of Courthouse Gossip

What's Going On

Sam Zell Isn't Pretending Anymore

This Seals It For Me

The Mind-Boggling Lewis Murder Case