 |
| Maloman Photographers |
| Crist with the Rothsteins at Versace mansion wedding. |
Posted on 12/17/2009 2:06:39 PM PST by PJ-Comix
Remember how Charlie Crist emerged on the "short list" to become John McCain's running mate last year?
Well, the behind-the-scenes money that helped make that happen came from, yes, of course, Scott Rothstein. Those were the Ponzi schemer's favorite candidates, after all.
Maloman Photographers
Crist with the Rothsteins at Versace mansion wedding.
Rothstein, you understand, put huge amounts of his stolen money into the campaign coffers of both Crist and McCain. He put millions of dollars into McCain's campaign, most of it bundled illegally through lawyers in the RRA firm and business associates. So much that Rothstein was made a member of the Arizona senator's unofficial "kitchen cabinet" of top supporters. Rothstein was, in fact, McCain's fourth-ranked fundraiser on the national level, and the Republican nominee kept Rothstein's number in his cell phone and vice versa, says a campaign insider.
Naturally Rothstein wanted his good friend Crist on the ticket and is said to have promised McCain personally that if Crist were chosen, he would raise the money to bring Florida to the GOP's side of the ledger in the general election. Rothstein put vast resources into the Crist-for-VP effort, paying for travel, hotel suites, meals, mailings, and other expenses, according to the insider. He allegedly paid Republican political consultant Roger Stone $50,000 to get to work to make sure Crist was named on the VP shortlist of three in the national media.
Of course, Crist made that shortlist, and Stone clearly worked his magic to help make it happen. He promoted Crist on his blog, StoneZone, which was then sponsored by Rothstein and is read religiously by GOP heavyweights. Remember when the rumor emerged that Crist was caught making out (with a woman!) in an elevator? That was a Stone plant, likely meant to overpower rumors and reports that the governor is gay. There is rampant speculation that Crist's engagement with Carol Rome was initially part of the VP push as well.
Stone wouldn't confirm or deny that he was paid the $50,000, but he confirmed that Rothstein made a considerable effort on behalf of Crist for the vice presidency. "Under federal law, expenditures to promote someone for vice president are not reportable or disclosable," he said. "It's perfectly legal to spend whatever you want."
John, Kim, Scott, Carol, and Charlie from RRA office wall.
Now of course in the end McCain, who enjoyed a fundraiser or two at Rothstein's home, didn't choose Crist, instead opting for Sarah Palin.
What needs to be done is a thorough accounting of just how much Rothstein sank into the Crist-for-VP effort and exactly where it went.
Specifically, did Rothstein pay for Crist's travel, hotels, and meals on the McCain campaign trail?
Whew! What a relief! So that ugly rumor that Charlie Crist was caught making out with a woman on an elevator turned out to be false.
BTW, I know a woman who worked at Rothstein's law firm and she tells me that Crist was frantically trying to distance himself from Rothstein just before she lost her job when everything collapsed there. She is still owed for two weeks of unpaid work.
South Florida FYI
being supported by a crook isn’t “ugly”?
Does his mother still dress him?
So that ugly rumor that Charlie Crist was caught making out with a woman on an elevator turned out to be false.
———————————————————————>
Kinda. the woman was really a friend from Key West dressed in drag..........only kidding.
If it were a man, I’d believe it.
I wonder how long Scott Rothstein will serve in prison. Maybe his sentence will be reduced from 3 consecutive lifetime terms to only 2 consecutive lifetime terms.
Have you been reading Bob Norman’s blog? I thnk a lot of people at the Broward County Courthouse and “Government” Center (aka county commission and school board) are going to get some of this on them!
Both Rothstein and Crist should be arrested for publicly dressing in a ridiculous manner. Rothstein seems to think he is some sort of sub-tropical Godfather with that outfit and what’s with the turtlenecks, Charlie. He is probably the only Floridian who wears turtlenecks in all weather. The last thing one wants to wear in this humidity is a turtleneck with a sweater over it.
Shoot, I thought he was gay.
Of course. Broward County is one of the most corrupt counties in the country. The schoolboard here just wasted about a billion bucks in pay to play construction. Oh, and did you know that our previous county sheriff, who served a stretch in prison for corruption, was part of the same law firm as Rothstein when it went under. Ken Jenne. I heard he is quite broken up by the fact that there is no more easy loot for him. I sure hope Jenne swept up in this scandal.
I had a heated email exchange with Beverly Gallagher about the Obama speech to students over the fact that Broward was the only school district in the country that made viewing mandatory. She lectured me on the value of civics and how civics classes had helped form her character. She cc'ed everybody...I guess she felt pretty pumped about putting a mere (conservative) taxpayer in his place. Less than two weeks later she was arrested. Fortunately I had saved the email and responded (including all her cc buddies) asking how that civics education was working out for her. Proving her stupidity, she has elected to stand trial rather than make a deal, even though she was caught red handed, six ways from Sunday.
More evidence of Charlie getting training to fit into the Washington scene. He recently twisted Legislature arms to do a corrupt deal with CSX that includes sticking Florida with open ended liability.
That seems to be Charlie’s specialty; kick out insurance companies and make the taxpayers assume financial responsibility for disasters. We are now one hurricane or one train wreck away from bankruptcy.
But not to worry Florida, when Mr. Charlie Goes to Washington, he plans to make the entire country assume responsibility for insuring Florida citizens, what a guy.
Is there no limit to how ugly a guy can be and still have hot chicks marry him for money? My ass is more attractive than Rothstein.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.