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September 2, 2010 |
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| November 04, 2009 |
By: Terry Sheridan |
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ort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein, accused by investors of stealing more than $200 million, has a penchant for dabbling in high-end real estate and upscale eateries. As his power and influence grew in recent years, so did his real estate portfolio.
Rothstein, a founding partner of Rothstein Rosenfeldt & Adler, is under investigation for the alleged theft of more than $200 million involving structured settlements.
Along with his wife, Kimberly, or through limited liability companies, Rothstein has paid $18.3 million for land or luxury homes in the city’s tony enclaves of Nurmi Isles and Harbor Beach.
Rothstein also co-owns Bova Prime, an upscale Italian steakhouse at 401 E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale and two similarly named restaurants in Boca Raton.
Rothstein also is part of a partnership that bought control of Casa Casuarina, the former Gianni Versace mansion in Miami Beach’s South Beach district.
State corporate records also link him to about 50 companies.
Most of Rothstein’s real estate deals were signed between 2005 and last summer, according to county property records.
In Harbor Beach, a community of single-family estates near the city’s beachfront and the 17th Street Causeway marine district, Rothstein spent a total of $10.4 million in 2008 to acquire two properties across the street from each other.
As 29 Bahia LLC, Rothstein paid $4 million for a house on about a third of an acre at 29 Isla Bahia Drive.
The seller was Tom Hormel of Hormel Foods fame, who bought the house from retired pro basketball star Scottie Pippin in January 2004 for $2.7 million.
The 4,300-square-foot house, built in 1978, was demolished in late 2008. The site is still vacant.
Two months after he bought that house, Rothstein paid $6.4 million for a 7,500-square-foot home at 30 Isla Bahia Drive.
Rothstein and his wife live at the 30 Isla Bahia house and hired off-duty Fort Lauderdale police to guard the property. That security service was suspended Monday, according to news reports.
FOUR PURCHASES
In another series of transactions, Rothstein acquired four properties on Castilla Isle in Fort Lauderdale’s “seven isles” area near the beach and north of Las Olas Boulevard. He transferred them to various limited liability companies last July and August.
The property addresses and their prices and purchase dates are: 2307 Castilla Isle ($1.75 million, September 2007); 2308 Castilla ($2.73 million, March 2005); 2316 Castilla ($1.93 million, March 2007); and 2627 Castilla ($1.2 million, 2003).
Three of the four waterfront houses were built in the late 1960s and range from 2,600 square feet to about 3,000 square feet in size. A fourth is 5,600 square feet and was built in 2002.
The limited liability companies that own the properties are not listed in state corporate records. State law does not require registration, although an agent for the companies should be designated, said Lyn Shoffstall, commercial information services bureau chief for Florida’s Division of Corporations.
The state “does not have a strong arm of government” that would enforce that, she added. Shoffstall said title insurance agents who handled the purchase closings should have required proof that the companies are legitimate and registered.
Farther inland and on the more modest end of Broward County’s real estate price range, Rothstein and his wife paid $260,000 in August 2008 for a 1,400-square-foot townhouse at 10630 NW 14th St. in the Optima Village condominium complex in Plantation.
The sellers were Linda Fallacaro and Peter Scanlan, according to property records. State records indicate that both hold real estate licenses. Peter Scanlan, who is married to Fallacaro, is a sales associate for Pinnacle Realty in Plantation.
Pinnacle managing broker Amado Diaz said he is unaware of any business connection between Pinnacle and Rothstein, other than the purchase transaction.
Neither Fallacaro nor Scanlan returned phone calls seeking comment.
Fallacaro paid $113,000 for the townhouse in March 1999.
VERSACE MANSION
In July, Rothstein bought into a deal giving him control of operations at the former Versace mansion on South Beach. The mansion, which most recently has operated as the Casa Casuarina nightclub that Rothstein once rented for a three-day wedding extravaganza, was to incorporate a high-end Italian restaurant similar to the Bova operation in Fort Lauderdale.
According to a voice recording, Bova Ristorante at 1450 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, has closed. The recording said another restaurant is to open there soon. Callers are directed to Bova Cantina, also in Boca Raton, or Boca Prime in Fort Lauderdale.
State records indicate dozens of businesses linked to Rothstein. Some are entities tied to his law practice and law firm. Others list him as a registered agent but not a corporate officer. Many are no longer listed as active.
Terry Sheridan can be reached at (954) 468-2614. |
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