[UPDATED: All things considered, I'm now thinking this was shot in NYC's Little Italy. Thanks, Daphne.]
Of all the leading characters in the Rothstein affair, Adler has been the quietest. As soon as this thing broke, he virtually went underground, though there have been sightings. He was almost like a frontman at the firm for Rothstein, a social agent with a smile on his face who helped foster the good times. Adler was definitely one of the chief Bova boys, fully enjoying the amoral high-rolling life that Rothstein offered his underlings.
In this shot, his profile is vaguely reminiscent of Marlon Brando, chiefly the forehead and the nose, with a touch of Rodin's "The Thinker" thrown in. Good shot.
Let's see what else. Oh yeah, reader Yvonne sent in another interesting find, a string of comments from Rothstein on an old Sun-Sentinel story about him. In the thread,, he opines on several things, including attorney Scherer (you knew his mention at the top was a foreshadowing, didn't you?). He also opines on disgraced former Sheriff Ken Jenne and judges William Berger and Barry Stone, all of whom he had hired:
Bill Scherer is a brilliant attorney and has always conducted himself with the utmost integrity. I am proud to represent him and proud to say that he was one of my political mentors. Ken Jenne made a terrible mistake and paid for it dearly. Do you not believe in second chances??? Is it your life policy to forever ban from your life anyone who has done something wrong??? Must be a very lonely existence. Ken is brilliant, caring and compassionate and I am proud to have him as part of my team.
As for the Judges that are my partners, you need not wonder who
they are. All you had to do was conduct a search on the internet before writing a comment geared to harm those who have never done anything to you. Judge Berger was one of the most respected jurists to serve palm beach county and was named "jurist of the year" in 2006. Judge Stone served his community well as one of the most respected members of the 4th District Court of Appeal, serving for over 20 years, authoring some of the most important decisions of our time.
Scott W. Rothstein.
Fantastic stuff. Rothstein also responded to "Matt," who commented that it would be "only a matter of time to see where this new found wealth comes from to afford, rolls royces, farraris, spykerss and a 6 million home in Harbor Breach plus 4 or 5 houses on las Olas. Certainly not the lawfirm that has a bunch of old geasers on staff. Only time will tell."
Wrote Rothstein: "First things first Matt....learn to spell...it will make your comments appear to have come from someone other than a moron. Second....try not to speak about things you know nothing about. You would be amazed as to what you can accomplish by working hard and caring about what you do. Serve your clients well, care for your family and friends, and give back to your community with all your heart and the rest will fall into place. Take care,
Scott W. Rothstein."
Well, if that isn't priceless. Notice how he always used the "W" as the middle initial? I wonder (wag alert) if that had something to do with the W in the White House at the time. When someone wrote that Rothstein was just "another idiot born with a silver spoon in his mouth," Rothstein responded:
I'll get back to Rothstein's posts, but let's introduce Gay D. Rothstein, his mother, now. She went on a comment-writing frenzy herself to defend her son. Here's the first:Dear Mr. Spoon,
Please do not speak about that which you know nothing about. I was born in the Bronx. My family was lower middle class. Both my parents worked their fingers to the bone to get us out of the neighborhood I grew up in to try to give my sister and me a better life. I would never have been able to attend college or law school if it were not for my Grandmother who used her life savings to help put me through school.
And please....if you are going to call me an idiot at least have the guts to use your name. Hiding behind an anonymous post makes you seem so weak. I prefer my insults to come from someone that has enough confidence to insult me in person.....or who at least has enough confidence to use their name.
Take care,
Scott W. Rothstein
Obviously, I know Scott Rothstein well. He believes strongly in helping family (i.e.: a 97 year old grandmother on down to nieces and nephews and everyone inbetween); also friends and, at every opportunity, he gives back to the community. He is kind, loving, caring, generous and often funny, but is nobody's fool. He "feeds" a lot of people, but anyone who "bites the hand that feeds them" is going to get bitten back and will learn a hard lesson. As he has said, "Don't mistake kindness for weakness". Scott Rothstein has worked hard and earned everything he has; ergo, he has earned the right to enjoy it.
Kind of gives you an idea where the, uh, let's say "tough" side of Rothstein comes from genetically. She wrote numerous comments, rightly calling one Rothstein critic an "anti-Semitic schmuck" and wrongly saying the story's author, Mike Mayo, should hire RRA to sue a commenter for defamation. "There are honest lawyers," she wrote.
Gay further writes that her son "worked his butt off" for his wealth, that the "overnight success took years to accomplish," that he's a Republican because he thinks they'll do the "best job," that he's "brilliant in the courtroom," etc. It actually made me feel sorry for her, because you get the sense that she actually believed all of it.
Rothstein also piped up on the Jewish Republican thing.
yes virginia....there are Jews who are proud Republicans. And I am one of them (if you used your name when posting your comment we could actually meet and shake hands and then you can tell everybody that you actually touched a republican jew. In fact, we are actually now plentiful and off the endangered species list. and i also believe in santa claus and the easter bunny....helps me deal with all the craziness out there.
Shalom,
Scott W. Rothstein
The end there about Santa strikes me as another instance where Rothstein tells the truth despite himself. He is implying that the idea that he's a real Republican is a made-up fiction. It reminds me of when I first walked into his office last year and he told me, "This is where the evil happens." He meant it.
Rothstein also defends, drum roll please, Sheriff Al Lamberti, his old pal:
I worked with Sheriff Lamberti on his campaign. He is the farthest thing from a politician. In fact, and I mean no offense Sheriff, he had no real political skills. He won because he conducted himself with honor both before and during the campaign. And I have no doubt that he will continue his service to the public in the same fashion. He is a cop's cop and the people's Sheriff.
Take care,
Scott W. Rothstein
Speaking of Lamberti, he seems to be circling the wagons big-time on his undersheriff, Tom Wheeler. Sheriff's spokesman Jim Leljedal told me yesterday that Lamberti has "100 percent confidence" in Wheeler. That's not the way Lamberti's close friend John Contini described it the other day, but maybe Contini put in some of his own thoughts on the matter. They seem now to be more responsible and accountable than the sheriff's own ideas.
At the same time Lamberti is bending over backward to excuse Wheeler's unreported flights with Rothstein that seem to clearly violate BSO policy, he's dangling Benjamin out there as a pinata.
It's clear to me: Benjamin is the scapegoat (deservedly so), and Wheeler is to be saved, likely because of the political ties to Charlie Crist. Remember, Wheeler was on Crist's short list when he appointed the position, but the governor instead went with Lamberti who quickly installed Wheeler as his number two. Don't kid yourself: There are all kinds of politics at play here, and looming over it all is Charlie Crist (yesterday ol' Harry Sargeant made his debut, after all) and his run for U.S. Senate.
But me, I'm starting to think that maybe this isn't so much about Wheeler and Benjamin as it is Lamberti. Talk about losing confidence.
