David M. Rivera

Investigation Into Frosh GOP Rep Rivera Expands

Ryan J. Reilly | January 20, 2011, 3:20PM

David Rivera

Florida Republican Rep. David M. Rivera is facing an expanding investigation into alleged financial improprieties just a few weeks into his first term in office.

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Scott Rothstein

An Unbelievable Spree: How Scott Rothstein Spent His Money

Justin Elliott | December 3, 2009, 11:20AM

Scott Rothstein

In the years spent living off the profits of his alleged $1 billion Ponzi scheme, Florida attorney Scott Rothstein went on a Mike Tysonesque buying spree that's likely to make even the denizens of money-drenched Fort Lauderdale blush.

We already knew about the $52,000 birthday cake for Gov. Charlie Crist, and the special performance of Life in the Fast Lane for Rothstein's wife at an Eagles concert, but court papers filed earlier this week show the disgraced attorney also indulged his taste for gaudy jewelry, luxury automobiles, and real estate, even buying a 10% stake in the Versace Mansion in Miami Beach.

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Scott Rothstein

Rothstein Charges Released: 'It Was All Smoke And Mirrors'

Justin Elliott | December 1, 2009, 4:01PM

Scott Rothstein

Charges released this afternoon against Scott Rothstein, who was arrested earlier today, provide new details on how his alleged Ponzi scheme worked. He plead not guilty this morning.

The five-count criminal information seeks forfeiture of $1.2 billion, including bank accounts and no less than 24 luxury cars. The full 34-page document, released by the U.S. Attorney for southern Florida, can be read below (see page 23 for the car list).

"Scott Rothstein appeared to be a charismatic, reputable attorney one could trust to invest one's money and make a sizeable profit," said Miami FBI agent John Gillies, in a statement today. "We now know it was all smoke and mirrors."

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Scott Rothstein

Rothstein Arrested By FBI On Racketeering Charge

Justin Elliott | December 1, 2009, 9:39AM

Scott Rothstein

A month after he returned to Florida from a brief trip to Morocco, prominent attorney Scott Rothstein was arrested by federal authorities this morning, accused of running a $1 billion investment fraud, the Miami Herald reports.

Rothstein, who has reportedly cooperated with authorities in recent weeks, is expected to plead guilty to a RICO conspiracy charge, according to the Herald.

Investors have accused Rothstein of promising them big returns on phony legal settlements he sold out of a side business at his Fort Lauderdale firm, Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, and Adler. Over the past seven years, he has had a meteoric rise through the South Florida business and political elite, doling out millions in campaign and philanthropic donations along the way.

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Blue Cross Blue Shield

NC Health Insurer Being Probed For Campaign Against Public Option

Nick Pinto | November 24, 2009, 6:21PM

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC)

BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina is being investigated by the state's attorney general for a recent mailer and spate of robo-calls in opposition to the public option, according to a company spokesman.

In October, TPMmuckraker reported that the insurance company had sent a mailer to millions of its customers asking them to urge the state's Democratic senator, Kay Hagan, (D-NC) to oppose a public option. The insurance company also deployed a related robocall.

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Mohammed Zazi

FBI Arrests Three In Ongoing Terror Investigation

Ben Frumin | September 20, 2009, 8:45AM

Najibullah Zazi

The Justice Department announced Saturday that it had arrested three men -- two in Colorado and one in New York -- as part of an ongoing terror investigation.

In Colorado, the FBI arrested Najibullah Zazi, 24, of Aurora, CO -- who is a legal permanent resident from Afghanistan -- and his father Mohammed Wali Zazi, 53, also of Aurora and a naturalized U.S. citizen from Afghanistan.

In New York, FBI agents arrested Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, of Flushing. He's also a legal permanent resident from Afghanistan.

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