The Scott Rothstein Ponzi scheme scandal has created lots of waves, and now they're spreading out into other cases, including a murder case and a traffic accident.
One of Rothstein's former law firm partners was murdered last year, an accused killer caught, but now conspiracy theorists are coming out of the woodwork, and a defense lawyer is taking them seriously.
It all centers around the March 2008 murder of Melissa Lewis, a former partner at Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. Prosecutors claim Tony Villegas is the killer. Villegas, 46, has been charged with first degree murder for allegedly strangling Lewis, his ex-wife's best friend. The ex-wife, Debra Villegas, worked for Rothstein.
Plantation Police said the case against Villegas is a slam dunk, the evidence against him rock solid. Villegas' lawyer, Al Milian, said not so fast.
"It's not the first time police agencies have said that, but over the last decade over 200 people have been exonerated who have actually been sentenced to death," Milian told NBCMiami.com today.
Milian now has a gift-wrapped controversy to help him muddy the waters and cast doubt on the case against his client.
"All of the people here knew each other," Milian said of the law firm. "I think Mr. Rothstein knows a lot about a lot of things that we need answers to."
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The conspiracy theories being expounded on blogs and at Sun-Sentinel.com run the gamut: some wonder if Lewis found out what Rothstein was up to, other ask whether police have been bribed, others ask if Mrs. Villegas put her estranged up to it.
And the comments from Debra Villegas and Rothstein after the murder have some wondering too.
"I have an overwhelming amount of guilt for it," Mrs. Villegas said after the murder. "I know that I didn't do this to her but because of me it happened to her."
"The fact that it's someone who knew her, who had the capability to hurt this caring individual, just shows that it's pure unadulterated evil," Rothstein said at the time.
Tony Villegas' lawyer was in court today, asking for more time to prepare for trial, partly, he said, because he needs to investigate the Rothstein angle.
"Anything is possible in a case involving these types of situations, billions of dollars..." Milian said. "Behind every great crime there's a great story and I don't think we've got the entire story.
"This is an iceberg, we're waiting to see the rest of the iceberg."
Debra Villegas' lawyer only said today that there's no truth to the allegations that her client had her best friend killed to protect the alleged Rothstein scheme.
In her position as chief operating officer, there's a good chance that Mrs. Villegas could be charged as an accomplice in the massive fraud, estimated to be over $1.2 billion.
Prosecutors and police said they can't comment on pending legal issues, but one detective close to the case told NBCMiami.com that the conspiracy ideas are ridiculous, and that everyone will see so when Tony Villegas goes to trial.
Meanwhile, a new photo showing Rothstein and Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley together at the scene of an accident is raising eyebrows about their relationship.
The August crash, in downtown Fort Lauderdale, involved a friend of Rothstein and his girlfriend. In the accident, a Bentley, driven by Sarah Merricks and owned by Rothstein pal Moe Sohail, slammed into a BMW being driven by Danielle Filler.
Filler was cited for failure to yield to a left turn. Merricks was given a driver's license violation, operating without restrictions.
Now Filler's lawyer is wondering why Fort Lauderdale's top cop was there -- with Rothstein -- and he's questioning whether the crash investigation was handled properly.
"What we have is perhaps the biggest thief in the history of South Florida perhaps influencing the outcome of a criminal investigation," said Lawrence Meltzer with the Ticket Clinic. "There was not a reckless driving citation, there was no further investigation as to why she was driving in such a manner."
Fort Lauderdale Police said there was nothing unusual about the accident investigation, and the Chief's presence at the scene was routine.
"This accident was handled like any other accident would be handled, regardless if it was someone who was well known or someone who wasn't well known," Sgt. Frank Souza said. "It is not unusual for the chief to show up on most scenes, he does often stop at scenes."
Nevertheless, the city is now investigating the incident.
"It seems that Scott Rothstein's reach and the use of these ill-gotten funds obviously out of his Ponzi scheme were used to finance personal security through the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at a rate of $1,000 per day," Meltzer said.
