FORT LAUDERDALE Swipe a security card over a scanner, walk under a hidden microphone and a surveillance camera and go to an intercom to be buzzed through a second door.
Enter a soundproof room after passing by an off-duty police officer in uniform. Photos of smiling politicians and celebrities line the walls, all standing next to a spiky-haired, sharp-dressed man — the same man sitting behind the desk.
Welcome to a meeting with Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein. By the way, underneath his tailored pants there may be a pistol strapped to his ankle.
The secretive world Scott Rothstein hid behind his very public persona was exposed this week after accusations emerged that he ran an investment business that misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars from clients.
Rothstein, 47, now is in hiding after jetting back Tuesday from Morocco and then meeting with federal authorities investigating what investors believe may have been a Ponzi scheme. A Broward judge has frozen him out of the law firm he founded — Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler (RRA).
Angry investors are not wondering if he will be arrested, but when. Kendall Coffey, the former U.S. attorney representing the firm, said federal authorities have offered no hint of when they will take action. They need time to prepare the arresting documents, he said.
Rothstein's attorney, Marc Nurik, declined to comment Thursday night.
Attorneys at the firm say they have no idea what happened in Rothstein's sealed-off office. To demonstrate that point, RRA — now nearly broke — gave the media tours Thursday to show how Rothstein could have been operating the side business without those even 30 feet away from his office knowing what was happening.
"This is the structure of a secretive man," Coffey said.
Coffey said that inside the law firm are dozens of hidden microphones stashed in the ceiling along with security cameras. Rothstein had his own personal entrance to his office with an elevator discretely just yards away.
He also surrounded himself with photos of himself with the powerful and famous, as well as framed letters from nonprofits thanking him for his money. Within the last two years, Rothstein had become a major political donor and gained a reputation as one of Broward County's top philanthropists.
Inside his office and just outside, there are no less than 15 photos of Rothstein with Gov. Charlie Crist, including one of him helping Crist blow out the candles on a birthday cake for the governor. Rothstein had multiple photos of himself with former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, Miami Dolphins legend Dan Marino and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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