If the image of alleged Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein chomping on cigars and yukking it up with his lawyer makes you ill, you may want to stop reading.
But the scandal-drenched Ft. Lauderdale lawyer was doing just that when he was reached by phone by the Miami Herald yesterday.
"I am sitting here smoking cigars with Marc," Rothstein told a Herald reporter, referring to attorney Marc Nurik. "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I'm doing pretty good."
Rothstein's apparently doing a lot better than he was last week, when he sent a gloomy text message that hinted at suicide to his partners at the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm.
"Sorry for letting you all down," he allegedly wrote. "I am a fool. I thought I could fix it but got trapped by my ego and refusal to fail and now all I have accomplished is hurting the people I love. Please take care of yourselves and please protect Kimmie (Rothstein's wife). She knew nothing. Neither did she nor any of you deserve what I did. I hope God allows me to see you on the other side. Love, Scott."
Rothstein, 47, is accused of selling legal settlements for investments that resulted in the loss of tens of millions of investors' dollars, all for his own benefit.
Rothstein allegedly used the money to make powerful political connections and live a life of luxury filled with expensive cars, homes and a lavish, security-laden office some are calling a "Bat Cave."
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Authorities gave a tour of the Bat Cave last week, showing off Rothstein's collection of sports memorabilia and photos of him hobnobbing with numerous politicians including good buddy Gov. Charlie Crist.
Rothstein, who had been in Morocco when news of the suspected scheme broke last week, returned Tuesday and has been reported to be speaking with authorities, though Nurik disputed those accounts yesterday.
"All this nonsense that he is somehow hanging out with the government -- he is free," Nurik told the Herald. "I don't know where all this stuff is coming from."
Nurik also said he and Rothstein weren't smoking cigars and that he is keeping Rothstein hidden in an undisclosed location.
"He is under a lot of pressure," said Nurik. "I don't want anybody to think he is having a good time."
Authorities haven't arrested Rothstein yet as they continue to build a fraud and conspiracy case against him, according to the Herald.
Meanwhile, earlier today federal agents began seizing some of Rothstein's assests, including one of those fancy cars he liked to cruise around in. Agents were seen earlier seizing a cherry red Ferrari from his home in Ft. Lauderdale.
