The man accused of killing a law partner of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein is mentally ill and unable to stand trial for the murder, a judge has ruled.
Tony Villegas, charged with first-degree murder in the March 2008 death of former Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler attorney Melissa Britt Lewis, was declared incompetent during an April 23 hearing, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Villegas, 46, was moved out of a Broward County jail and into a mental health facility after he was deemed unfit for trial by two forensic psychologists.
Villegas is accused of strangling Lewis and dumping her body in a canal in Plantation. Prosecutors have said they have plenty of evidence that links Villegas to the murder, including DNA found on Lewis' jacket that apparently matches Villegas.
Lewis was the best friend of Debra Villegas, Tony's wife and the COO of the Rothstein law firm.
Debra Villegas, 42, turned herself into authorities last week after she was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of Rothstein's estimated $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
The former "right-hand woman" to Rothstein, Villegas has been cooperating with the FBI's investigation since November, when the Ponzi scheme imploded.
She is the first co-conspirator and only person besides Rothstein to be charged under the scheme.
New light was shed on the murder trial after the Rothstein scheme unfolded as conspiracy theorists tried to link the two together.
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Rothstein, 47, pleaded guilty to the scheme in January and is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
