While the Sun Sentinel awaits the full transcripts of the city's investigation into police Chief Frank Adderley, I offer you a couple of new photographs that have emerged.

These are part of the city's investigatory file, and show Adderley in a pink shirt at the crash scene of cigar store owner Moe Sohail, alongside Scott Rothstein (yellow shirt), who had called him there on his cell phone.

It was a photograph of the two that prompted media attention and the city's investigation.

Now the FDLE also is investigating whether Adderley influenced the handling of the collision.

I asked the city two additional questions: How long was Adderley at the scene?

And what was the reason the driver of Sohail's Bentley, Sarah Merricks, was not cited for speeding, given that a witness said she sped and blew through a red light just before the crash, and also given that the personnel on scene said speed was a factor.

The city's responses are on the jump.

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Kim Rothstein unloads items from the Princess Kimberly yacht
before it is seized. (Photo by Joe Cavaretta).

Kim Rothstein, wife of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, will seek half of whatever assets they owned before the illegal investment scam began, her lawyer Scott Saidel said.

"She does have a claim to anything pre-Ponzi,'' he said last week.

She came into the relationship in debt. She won't be in debt when the dust settles on this case, Saidel predicted. In fact, she'll likely have an amount that "to the common person'' would not be "an insignificant amount,'' he said.

Read more on the jump.

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will take over where the city of Fort Lauderdale left off, investigating Police Chief Frank Adderley to see if his friendship with Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein led him astray.

The city cleared Adderley of wrongdoing for his involvement at the crash scene of Moe Sohail, a friend of his and Rothstein's. Now FDLE is investigating it, at the request of Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom and Vice Mayor Bruce Roberts, the former police chief.

Here's the six page summary of the city's probe into the August crash of Sohail.

Mike Morisson, an FDLE spokesman, said the agency opened its investigation Jan. 20 and will take witness statements. If any evidence of a crime is uncovered, the case would be forwarded to the State Attorney's Office, he said. If there is no such evidence, the findings will be reported to the City Commission, he said.

Adderley already admitted he flew on a private jet to a New York Jets game with Rothstein, and failed to report the travel as a gift, like state law requires. He filed a late gift disclosure saying the flight was paid for by Ted Morse, another mutual friend of his and Rothstein's. The city still has open a review of that matter and a look at whether it was the only unreported gift Adderley accepted.

I'm still waiting for all the documents from the city, including all the statements given to the Office of Professional Standards. In the meantime, here are a few things to chew on, on the jump page:

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The city of Fort Lauderdale's Office of Professional Standards cleared police Chief Frank Adderley today of misconduct in the crash investigation involving a Scott Rothstein associate.

The city determined "there is no evidence to refute Adderley's testimony'' that he didn't get involved in the police and fire departments' handling of a crash involving cigar store owner Muhammad "Moe" Sohail.

He told city OPS Director Robert Bates that Rothstein, his friend, called him on his cell phone that afternoon, Aug. 21, advising him that their mutual friend, Sohail, had been in a serious crash and was injured. He said he was concerned and went to the downtown Fort Lauderdale crash scene to check on Sohail, whose store he frequented. The crash was a head-on collision not far from City Hall, at Northeast Third Avenue and First Street, by the federal courthouse.

An interesting item in the investigatory pile: one fire lieutenant said he saw piles of cash in large denominations in Sohail's Bentley. He said there were at least six stacks of cash, which he saw Sohail stuffing into a white paper bag. Sohail said he had just been to the bank.

"I looked in the car,'' fire Lt. Tom Connor told the city investigators, "and saw multiple stacks of bills. Wrapped bills, in stacks. ... They were all on the floor and the guy was picking them up and putting them in a bag. ... I was like 'Wow, that's a lot of cash. ... I remember seeing one stack of hundreds.''

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Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley gave an interview to former city employee Elgin Jones, now a journalist with the South Florida Times, about his relationship with Scott Rothstein, the Ponzi convict.

From left, radio personality "Footy,'' Chief Frank Adderley, Kim
and Scott Rothstein.

Chief Adderley said it's not fair for people to say the police missed "red flags'' about Rothstein's ill-gotten gains.

Here's a link to Jones's interview, which can be viewed on video.

Adderley is under investigation by the city, because of his relationship with Rothstein. For one thing, he flew on a jet to a football game in New York but didn't report it as a gift as the law requires. Rothstein was on the plane but it was owned by Ted Morse, a friend of Rothstein and Adderley's. Adderley filed the disclosure late, after the media brought the flight to light.

"I think we need to look at Scott Rothstein for who he was, and now the guy that he is,'' Adderley told Jones.

"Who he was? He was a successful businessman. He had 70-plus attorneys that worked in his firm. He interacted with charities throughout our city, throughout our county. He dealt with directors of those charities. He dealt with politicians, who he made a number of, had a number of fundraisers and donations to them.
"And I kind of think it's unfair here that the police department is the only person, based on the people that he was in contact with, that should have figured out that he was part of a Ponzi scheme. I find it that the police is definitely an easy target for any type of subject, and I just think that it's unfair that we're being portrayed as the person who quote 'missed the red flag' when no one gave us the red flag.
"No one ever called the police department and said that this guy was conducting an illegal activity. No one contacted Crime Stoppers indicating this illegal activity was taking place in our city. So for someone to say that we missed the red flag and no one showed us the red flag, I think it's unfair.''

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By Peter Franceschina
Sun Sentinel

As part of his Wednesday plea agreement, jailed Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein agreed to give up all the trappings of the luxury life he once lived.

Tens of millions of dollars in cash, multimillion dollar homes, exotic sports cars, hundreds of pieces of jewelry, his interests in dozens of businesses – assets with an estimated value of between $50 million and $100 million.

And some of those closest to Rothstein also lost some fine possessions, including homes, cars and jewelry.

Rothstein also agreed to forfeit a Brooklyn condominium he apparently bought for his former law partner Russell Adler, purchased in August for $475,000, land records show. Adler is listed in New York land records as the owner.

Here is a rundown on the forfeited Rothstein assets, which will likely be making their way to auction in the coming months to repay victims of the Ponzi scheme:

Cash, $17.9 million, held in various bank accounts, including $15 million Rothstein wired to Morocco before he fled there in late October. More than $250,000 was found in Rothstein’s home.

Eighteen properties in South Florida, including Rothstein’s $6.45 million Isla Bahia Drive home, a Weston home he bought for his chief operating officer, Debra Villegas, for $475,000 and signed over to her in July for $100 and “love and affection” and a $9 million Boca Raton home he bought from car dealer Ed Morse last fall.

Two New York apartments, including one Rothstein bought for $6 million in June 2008 and another he bought for $560,000 in June.

Two side-by-side homes on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, bought for $5.6 million.

His 10 percent ownership in the Versace mansion on South Beach.

An 87-foot Warren yacht worth about $5 million and a 33-foot Aqua Riva, which he kept at the dock behind his home, and a 55-foot Sea Ray.

A very impressive car collection:

1990 Red Ferrari F40 coupe; 2009 white Bentley convertible; 2008 yellow McLaren Mercedes Benz SLR; 2007 black limousine Ford Expedition; 2008 Red Ferrari 430 Spider; 2007 silver Rolls Royce convertible; 2006 silver Hummer; 2008 Cadillac Escalade; 1967 red convertible Corvette; 2008 Black Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4; 2008 blue Rolls Royce drophead convertible; 2006 red Ferrari F430 Spider; 2008 Chevrolet Corvette (registered to Rothstein’s uncle, William Boockvor; 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (registered to former law partner Les Stracher); 2009 blue Maserati GranTurismo coupe (registered to Villegas); 2009 White Mercedes Benz; 2008 Mercedes Benz S65 VR Turbo (registered to former law partner Stuart Rosenfeldt); 2009 red BMW convertible ( registered to Rothstein’s nephew); 2009 Mercedes Benz SLK 350 convertible (registered to Rothstein’s sister); and last but certainly not least, a 2010 white Lamborghini Lp-670sv.

$1.2 million Fidelity stock investments account in Rothstein’s name.

304 pieces of jewelry, including watches, earrings and necklaces.

$80,000 in American Express gift cards.

16 Dupont lighters.

Five watches, to be turned over by former law partner Les Stracher.

Rothstein’s guitar collection, worth an estimated $10,000 to $20,000.

Rothstein also agreed to forfeit his interests in dozens of businesses and corporate entities. He has been held in federal detention since his Dec. 1 arrest. He faces a lengthy prison term at his May 6 sentencing.

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