Rothstein Goes More Democratic; Hires Larry Smith
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The Las Olas Boulevard GOP law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler sees which way the wind is blowing: Democratic.
Scott Rothstein has already thrown a six-figure fund raiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink.
Now the firm, one of the biggest backers of Republicans in Florida, is opening a lobbying office in Washington with Mister Broward Democrat — former Democratic U. S. Rep. Larry Smith.
RRA has already rented an office on K Street.
The plan is to have two-to-six staffers initially. Smith will fly when needed in to help out with the Democratic Congress.
Scott Rothstein and Smith were in Washington earlier this month for the swearing-in of U. S. Sen. George Lemuix.
“I was truly impressed by the access he was given and the decorum that was afforded him, Rothstein said about Smith.
Smith made an extraordinary political comeback after he resigned Congress. He pleaded guilty in 1993 to tax fraud and lying to federal election officials and served three months in jail.
He is a welcome addition to most major Democratic fund raisers and rallies. He helped lead the Broward portion of several Democratic statewide campaigns, including former Vice President Al Gore’s 2000 race.
In addition to being a former congressman, he served in the Florida House. He has been a lobbyist since he put his jail time behind him.
Larry Smith will join his lawyer son, Grant Smith, at RRA. Grant Smith is a chip off the old block, lobbying for RRA.
In addition to his son being at RRA, Larry Smith has another connection to the firm. The long-time lobbyist for the defunct Cheetah Hallandale Beach strip club, Larry Smith handed some of the legal work over to RRA several years ago.
After the club was closed in a raid in March, the law firm hired several former Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco agents who worked on the ABT’s Cheetah case.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating whether the agents now working for RRA are sabotaging the case against the Cheetah, according to a report by Jon Burstein in the Sun-Sentinel.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Isn’t Larry Smith about 109 years old? I can’t imagine their is very many in Congress who still remember him. Its been 17 years since he left.
September 16th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Former Major Pat Roberts of ABT was the Head of the Cheetah Investigation ;and as you and your readers know( just search on your site Pat Roberts) he was Mr Ethics of Plantation while he was on a political witchhunt to eliminate the Plantation Athletic League and Rico Petrocelli.
I am not suprised that someone who you supported so strongly ( now that the shoe is on the other foot)gets a pass.
Pat Roberts ( Classic example of someday this guy will get whats coming to him)
FROM BUDDY: The allegations against Pat Roberts’ role at RRA and with the state law enforcement agency has nothing to do with PAL and Rico Petrocelli.
Roberts was right about PAL and Petrocelli. If he was wrong in his handling of the Cheetah, it will be brought to light.
PAL had a history of misspending and operating out of the sunshine. I watched them rig an election for the board.
Roberts and others brought it to light. As a result, I trust the athletic programs in Plantation will be better run in the future.
Petrocelli played fast and loose with PAL money. It may not have been a crime, but it didn’t pass the smell test. Do you really want a council member who begs for money from those doing business with the city?
Petrocelli also had a job record on three police departments that he hides. Why?
Four, yes four, members of his family came to me to complain about him and his past conduct, none of which I wrote about. And someone from his past came to me to discuss his questionable actions at the car dealership where they worked.
None of these people lived in Plantation and cared at all about the outcome of the city election, except they thought Petrocelli was unqualified by his personality to hold any public office.
It goes on and on.
September 16th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Smith? Tax fraud? Why isn’t he a member of the Obama administration?
September 16th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
so Buddy why does Pat Roberts get a pass , this is good stuff , strip clubs , selling your soul after 30 years of law enforcement ? Pat was a Big time boy scout leader !!! Hey who is on those tapes everyone wants back??
Your articles on Rico were negative , guilty as charged by you , Guilty until proven innocent .
Now Pat comes along and it will “come to light” if he did anything wrong .No smell test here ?
Your knowledge of PAL and how it worked came from 1 guy . Pat Roberts !
Maybe he can go to work for you next !
FROM BUDDY: You are wrong. My knowledge and information about PAL came from several sources. Several, as in more than two.
September 17th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Buddy , his gang of 5 had a clear agenda , damage PAL , erode part of Rico’s power base , get Pete Tingom elected to make the Mayor have one more yes man vote , hopefully clear the way for Diane Bendekovic to be the next mayor. You played your part with like 17 negative articles about PAL and Rico which they stuffed illegally in mailboxs and e-mailed to everyone in the world . The fact that Pat Roberts was a 8 year political appointee of Diane never seemed to matter to you.
Pat has been so tight with Jim Romano , head of Parks and Rec and the Mayor for so long that his nose is dark brown .
I dont remember you meeting me at Webbys ( posted on your website ) to get the rest of the story.
This hole deal started with Pat raising hell about Alcohol being served at a PAL event .
OPPS Major with Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco . Would still like to see the old Buddy !
How much money has Pat been paid to fix the tapes?
Who is on the tapes?
Has Diane asded him to step down from Parks and Rec which serves the children of Plantation now that he works for strip clubs?
FROM BUDDY: Your passion on this subject has given me an idea: How about writing your views as an article and I’ll post it? Contact me at Browardbeat@hotmail.com
September 17th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Larry Smith is the most arrogant man I have ever met. I can’t believe he could convince anybody about anything because his personality is so abrasive. Rothstein has finally lost it.
September 17th, 2009 at 8:55 am
deal
September 17th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Whether Roberts was correct or not on Petrocelli, he is a hypocrite.
He complained about being silenced by the PAL, but when the football league he was overseeing tried to sub in one player for an injured player and Roberts rebuffed him, the coach tried to complain elsewhere. But Roberts stifled him from complaining.
This matters because it does back up Bzdek’s allegation that Roberts is of poor character. And it happened well after Bzdek had moved out of the state.
September 17th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Larry Smith was probably caught with his pants down in the Cheetah champagne room. That’s why RRA hired the ABT guys, to ward off the blackmail videos…