Another load of Rothstein's bling heads to auction block
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From http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ READ ARTICLE WITH PICTURES AND VIDEO
Next up on the Ponzi auction block: Scott Rothstein's world-class watch collection and the diamond-encrusted jewelry he lavished on his wife Kim, with some pieces expected to fetch tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Also going under the gavel: A collection of stylish lighters used by Rothstein to fire up his premium cigars, two late-model Corvettes and a 2009 Mercedes SL550 sports coupe.
The auction scheduled July 13 at the Broward County Convention Center will be the second major sell-off of Rothstein's material possessions. The first auction in June 2010 featured many of the convicted fraudster's big-ticket toys – exotic supercars and yachts – and generated great public interest, netting $5.8 million to help repay his bilked investors.
As the now-imprisoned Rothstein was grabbing tens of millions of dollars from his investor-victims, he also spent generously on jewelry, but the nature of his purchases remained mysterious – they were never described in government documents in the criminal forfeiture action filed against him. The new listings and photographs issued to promote next month's auction finally provide details and a look at the super-fine bling.
For his wife, the now disbarred Fort Lauderdale lawyer bought diamonds, rubies, sapphires and pearls by the multi-carat-load, with mounts in platinum, gold and silver. For himself, he stockpiled diamond rings, flashy cufflinks and more than 200 of the world's most prized watches – crafted by the likes of Rolex, Patek Philippe, Franck Muller, Gerald Genta and Richard Mille.
Rick Levin, who is handling the auction for the government, declined to hazard a guess on how much it might bring in to help compensate people swindled by Rothstein.
"Its high-end jewelry," he said. "It's worth what someone is willing to pay for it. They can be people curious about the issues surrounding the items, or they could be interested in the items themselves."
The Sun Sentinel asked Jeff Josephson, owner of Raymond Lee Jewelers in Boca Raton, to view photographs of some of the most prominent pieces and place a value on them, based on descriptions provided by the auction house.
"It is all good stuff," was Josephson's overall opinion. "I think that I want to go to that auction."
His assessment of specific items:
A woman's platinum diamond bracelet with 41 emerald-cut diamonds weighing a total of nearly 24 carats: "Gorgeous, high quality, beautifully made. Thirty grand for that."
A white and yellow gold necklace featuring a 10-carat heart-shaped diamond: "Probably worth $85,000."
A woman's fancy yellow 12-carat diamond ring: "That is probably a quarter of a million dollars….Enough money for a couple of Ferraris."
The auction gets under way at 9 a.m., July 13, at the convention center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Registration begins at 8 a.m.
Items won't be available for viewing at the auction, but previews are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 11 and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 12 at the VSE Corp. warehouse, 2951 NW 27th Ave., Pompano Beach.
For more details, visit http://www.treasury.gov/auctions/treasury/gp/ftl_main.html.
Rothstein is serving a 50-year sentence in federal prison, but prosecutors filed notice this week they intend to ask a judge to reduce his punishment because he is cooperating in the official probe of his suspected co-conspirators.
pfranceschina@tribune.com or 954-459-2255