The lawyer for the alleged mobster who was ratted out by convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein doesn't have kind words for the schemer-turned-snitch.
"Rothstein has no credibility. He is a despicable human being in every sense," attorney Jeffrey Weiner told the Sun-Sentinel. "He is a terrible, terrible person."
Weiner represents reputed Mafioso Roberto Settineri, who was arrested in March after he and two other men reportedly agreed to help Rothstein destroy evidence and launder $79,000.
Rothstein, out on bond for his estimated $1.2 billion scam when he approached Settineri, told him the FBI was on his tail and he needed help.
The FBI of course wasn't just on Rothstein's tail, they had him wired and working for them. In fact, Rothstein wore a wire at least 18 times while meeting with Settineri and fellow alleged Mafiosos Daniel Dronerhauser and Enrique Ros, according to newly released court documents.
Even as Rothstein smoked cigars and sipped martinis with his lawyer and denied he was working with the Feds, Settineri was a target, Weiner said.
"That was part of the charade that the government choreographed and planned," Weiner told the Sun-Sentinel. "I think the government and Rothstein choreographed everything. Rothstein relished the limelight and relished his role."
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Settineri, 41, Dronerhauser, 39, and Ros, 33, were all arrested in March as the FBI rounded up mob suspects in Miami, New York and Sicily.
Rothstein's cooperation could land him in the witness protection program, giving him a new name and more protection behind bars. He was transferred from a Miami detention center to the St. Lucie County Jail two weeks before the feds were planning the arrest of Settineri.
Rothstein, 47, is facing a maximum of 100 years behind bars for his Ponzi scheme. He's set to be sentenced on May 6.
Weiner said Rothstein cooperated to hopefully get some years taken off his sentence, but said that Rothstein's involvement in the $1.2 billion scheme should make anything he says suspect.
"Rothstein was caught cold in his despicable acts, and he cut a deal with the government and I'm sure the deal involved, ‘Tell us everything about everyone you have ever been involved with,'" Weiner said.
