Daily News Summary
An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today's edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.
Nov. 4, 2009
ROTHSTEIN RETURNS-- Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, Nov. 4, 2009. [Also: ROTHSTEIN STRIPPED OF POWER OVER LAW FIRM FROM WHICH HE IS ALLEGED TO HAVE STOLEN UP TO $500 MILLION-- The Palm Beach Post, http://www.palmbeachpost.com, Nov. 4, 2009; BACK FROM MOROCCO, ROTHSTEIN FACES FEDS-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Nov. 4, 2009; RECEIVER TAKES OVER FIRM, INVESTORS REVEAL PITCHES-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Nov. 3, 2009; EMBATTLED ATTORNEY SPENT $18 MILLION ON REAL ESTATE-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Nov. 4, 2009].
From the Sun-Sentinel: Attorney Scott Rothstein returned to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday [Nov. 3] after contemplating suicide amid mounting allegations that he misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars from an investment business he covertly ran out of his law office. Stuart Rosenfeldt, the president of the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler law firm, said he was told that Rothstein met with federal prosecutors after his chartered plane landed at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Rothstein's arrival came four days after he sent a desperate text message to his law firm's five partners indicating they wouldn't see him again. Within 30 minutes of his plane touching down, Fort Lauderdale police officers, some wearing bulletproof vests, surrounded every entrance of the downtown tower housing the law firm. Rothstein did not appear. Nor did he show up at a late-afternoon court hearing in which a retired Miami-Dade judge was appointed as the financial overseer of the 150-employee law firm that its attorneys say only has $500,000 in its operating accounts. The Florida Bar opened a file against Rothstein following a complaint filed Tuesday afternoon. The Bar cannot disclose who filed the complaint.
--Lawyer Ethics/Legal Discipline--
TIPLER HEARING DELAYED-- Northwest Florida Daily News, http://www.nwfdailynews.com, Nov. 4, 2009.
Disbarred attorney James Harvey Tipler, who was arrested Sept. 22 for racketeering, appeared in court Tuesday [Nov. 3] to enter a plea. It turned out he didn’t have to be there. Okaloosa County Judge Jim Ward told Tipler and several others that prosecutors have not decided what charges, if any, to proceed with against him. The group was asked to return Nov. 17 to find out where their cases stand. Charges definitely are coming, assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar said Tuesday. Tipler, 58, of Mary Esther, was arrested for what prosecutors called a "pattern" of stealing money from his clients. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.
--Civil Justice Issues--
MORTGAGE FRAUD PROBE NETS 105 ACROSS STATE-- The Bradenton Herald, http://www.bradenton.com, Nov. 4, 2009. [Also: FRY THE 'SIGNIFICANT FISH' OF MORTGAGE FRAUD-- The News-Press, column, http://www.news-press.com, Nov. 4, 2009].
From The Bradenton Herald: At least one local man is among 105 people arrested across the state following a nine-month investigation into organized mortgage fraud. Nestor Bryan Rivera Valentin, a loan processor, received two loans totaling $900,000 through fraudulent loan applications he submitted to Lehman Brothers Bank. There were few personal details about Valentin, who apparently lived in Sarasota County. A federal prosecutor announced at a Tuesday news conference in Tampa that the investigation has resulted in arrests throughout the middle district, which includes Tampa, Orlando, Ocala, Jacksonville and Fort Myers. Valentin was among 98 cases U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton made public Tuesday [Nov. 3].
--Criminal Justice Issues--
SHERIFF REOPENS 1981 MURDER CASE THAT SENT INNOCENT MAN TO PRISON-- Florida Today, http://www.floridatoday.com, Nov. 4, 2009.
A day after a former jailhouse informant testified that he was told to lie by a homicide detective in order to pin a murder charge on William Dillon, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office reopened the homicide investigation. Dillon spent 27 years in prison for the murder of James Dvorak. DNA evidence excluded Dillon from a key piece of evidence used against him in the case and the state dropped all charges against him last year. During a legislative hearing Monday in Tallahassee, where Dillon is attempting to get compensation for wrongful incarceration, jailhouse snitch Roger Dale Chapman apologized to Dillon. "In light of the sworn testimony provided at yesterday's legislative hearing, we have decided to reopen the homicide investigation involving the murder of James Dvorak which took place 28 years ago," Brevard Sheriff Jack Parker said.
JUDGE MISINTERPRETED 'STAND YOUR GROUND' LAW IN HILLSBOROUGH FATAL SHOOTING, ATTORNEY SAYS-- St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Nov. 4, 2009.
Donald Montanez of Tampa wants immunity from prosecution on a second-degree murder charge under Florida's "stand your ground" law, which allows people to meet force with force when they feel threatened. Jay Hebert, Montanez's attorney, argued before the 2nd District Court of Appeal on Tuesday [Nov. 4] that Circuit Judge Robert Foster misinterpreted the law when he ruled that the threat of imminent danger had already passed when Montanez fired his .40-caliber pistol at Glen Rich, 30. Foster said the law applies to altercations that take place inside a house or a vehicle. He also said Montanez knew or should have known that he and his employee were no longer in a "zone of uncertainty" as the car came toward them. Hebert disagreed with those two assertions, saying that the law extends beyond a vehicle or a home. He then cited a case where Foster granted immunity to a man who shot and killed someone during an altercation that took place on a street.
[Revised: 11-05-2009]
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