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<br />COUNSEL: Tony Villegas, left. confers with attorney Alberto Milian. Villegas is charged with the 2008
<br />strangling death of Melissa Britt Lewis, a partner at the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm.
<br />
<br />Lawyers: Let's talk to Rothstein
<br />
<br />. Defense attorneys for
<br />a murder defendant
<br />want to Interview Scott
<br />Rothstein about the
<br />2008 slaying of his
<br />former law partner.
<br />Melissa Britt Lewis.
<br />BY DANIEL CHANG
<br />dchilng:~'MlilmiHl'rilld_com
<br />Disbarred lawyer Scott
<br />Rothstein has yet to tell all
<br />he knows about the
<br />$1.2 billion investment
<br />scam that federal authori-
<br />ties say he masterminded.
<br />Now defense attorneys
<br />for Tony Villegas, the man
<br />charged with the 2008
<br />slaying of Rothstein's for.
<br />mer law partner, Melissa
<br />Britt Lewis, want to inter-
<br />view the disgraced Fort
<br />Lauderdale attorney about
<br />the crime.
<br />"J think Mr. Rothstein
<br />knows a lot about a lot of
<br />things," Villegas' attorney,
<br />Alberto Milian, said after a
<br />court hearing Thursday.
<br />"Anything is possible:'
<br />Milian, however, did not
<br />say he had any evidence
<br />linking Rothstein to the
<br />slaying, and Rothstein's
<br />defense anomey scoffed at
<br />the suggestiolL
<br />"Jt's beyond ridiculous,"
<br />Marc Nurik said. "It
<br />doesn't even deserve a
<br />response, and it just proves
<br />people are watching way
<br />too much 1V:'
<br />Milian asked Broward
<br />Circuit Judge Michael
<br />
<br />REPUBLICAN PARTY
<br />
<br />Gates for more time to pre"
<br />pare his client's defense,
<br />including depositions of
<br />Rothstein and Debra Ville.
<br />gas, chief operating officer
<br />of Rothstein Rosenfeldt
<br />
<br />I... "....~... '" ;'~::r~~~
<br />:., .: It' Tony Vil-
<br />~;.~ :-.~ :~:~' n-
<br />>.~ Gates
<br />~ scheduled
<br />f a status
<br />confer-
<br />LEWIS ence for
<br />Feb. 25; no trial date bas
<br />been set.
<br />Villegas, who is being
<br />held in the Sroward
<br />County Jail, pleaded not
<br />guilty in April. He was pre-
<br />sent in court Thursday,
<br />and appeared gaunt in a
<br />striped prison jumpsuit.
<br />Milian has yet to file a
<br />subpoena to depose Debra
<br />Villegas or Rothstein, who
<br />is in federal custody in
<br />Miami after the U.5. Attor-
<br />ney's office charged him
<br />last week with racketeer-
<br />ing and fraud.
<br />But Milian vowed that
<br />he will seek the judge'S
<br />permission to interview
<br />them and others who
<br />worked at the now defunct
<br />RRA law firm, to deter-
<br />mine whether someone
<br />had a motive to kill the 39-
<br />year-old Lewis.
<br />"We're going to depose
<br />anybody and everybody
<br />who knows something
<br />
<br />
<br />MIAMI ART MUSEUM
<br />
<br />_Q]_. .f~Q~ '!'~J~~.m1BER !1, 200_~_L~.
<br />
<br />Museum board
<br />elects trustees
<br />
<br />BY LYDIA MARTIN
<br />lmartlll'~':e-M'amIHefald.com
<br />Just weeks after the
<br />resignation of Miami Art
<br />Museum director Terry
<br />Riley, the downtown
<br />Miami contemporary-art
<br />museum has elected nine
<br />new trustees. A museum
<br />statement said they will
<br />help guide MAM's com-
<br />munity programs, donor
<br />support and planning for
<br />its new facility at
<br />Museum Park.
<br />"Building a new
<br />museum requires the ded.
<br />ication of a committed
<br />group of supporters,"
<br />board Chairman Aaron
<br />Podhurst said. "We're for-
<br />tunate to have found tbat
<br />in these outstanding new
<br />board members."
<br />Among the new trust.
<br />ees: Dennis SchoU. Miami
<br />I program director for the
<br />John S. and James l.
<br />Knight Foundation, who
<br />said that despite Riley's
<br />departure and the resig-
<br />nation last week of
<br />trustee Ella Fontanals-
<br />Cisneros, MAM is on
<br />solid ground.
<br />"J think the addition of
<br />nine new trustees is a
<br />glowing endorsement of
<br />the strength of this insti-
<br />tution," Scholl said. "The
<br />new building is going to
<br />happen. The MAM has
<br />
<br />THE HEALTHCARE DEBATE
<br />
<br />the funding to build the
<br />new museum. . . . They
<br />need to raise an addi.
<br />tional sum of money in
<br />connection with endow-
<br />ments and programming.
<br />But the money to build is
<br />in the bank.
<br />"Miami is the only
<br />major metropolitan area
<br />in the United States with-
<br />out a significant
<br />museum," he said. "This
<br />is our moment."
<br />In 2008, the Knight
<br />Foundation gave a $10
<br />million gift to MAM for
<br />educational programs.
<br />"We hope to bring in
<br />every single fifth-grader
<br />to the museum when it's
<br />built," Scholl said. "I grew
<br />up here when there were
<br />no museums, and in order
<br />to see art you bad to go
<br />elsewhere. For a major
<br />urban center, that's not
<br />acceptable."
<br />Also elected to the
<br />board: real-estate devel-
<br />oper Steven J. Guttman,
<br />banker Mark H. LaRoe;
<br />lawyers Juan P. Loumiet
<br />and Arthur Halsey Rice;
<br />global management con-
<br />sultant Rodolfo Luzardo,
<br />construction-manage-
<br />ment firm CEO Deryl
<br />McKissack, Dr. Mark E.
<br />Oren and Jackson Health
<br />System CEO Eneida Rol-
<br />d",.
<br />
<br />Punch- thrower
<br />must go to class
<br />
<br />BY LUISA YANEZ
<br />lyanez@MiamIHerald.com
<br />A Miami-Dade man
<br />who punched a demon-
<br />said they would continue strator at a healthcare-re.
<br />to pursue any new devel- form rally has reached a
<br />opments that might plea deal that includes
<br />develop. anger-management
<br />"We remain committed courses and 50 hours of
<br />to a thorough investiga- community service.
<br />tion," Detective Robert Back in September,
<br />Rettig said, "including the Raul Anasagasti, 56,
<br />follow up of any leads that punched a 65-year-old
<br />may develop during the man in the face after a
<br />ongoing RRA investiga- heated exchange.
<br />tion." Police said Luis Per-
<br />Milian said he is "not at rero was attending the
<br />liberty" to disclose rally outside the Greater
<br />whether he believes Lewis Miami Chamber of Com-
<br />was aware of Rothstein's merce, headlined by U.S.
<br />alleged scheme, exposed in Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.,
<br />November after Rothstein when Anasagasti, driving
<br />fled the country, and FBI by in his green pickup,
<br />and JRS agents seized con. stopped and began argo-
<br />trol of the firm's offices on ing with the crowd.
<br />Las alas Boulevard. 1F
<br />Miami Herald sta!.
<br />writer Amy Sherman con-
<br />tributed to this report. ,
<br />
<br />PRESIDING: Judge Michael L. Gates will preside
<br />over the murder trial of Tony Villegas.
<br />
<br />about this case," be said,
<br />later adding that, "Motives
<br />will be exposed. Lies will
<br />be exposed."
<br />Broward prosecutor
<br />Alberto Ribas said he
<br />could not comment.
<br />Plantation police said
<br />they have confidence in
<br />their arrest of Tony Ville-
<br />gas for the slaying of
<br />Lewis, who was a
<br />co-worker and best friend
<br />of Debra Villegas.
<br />Among the evidence
<br />against Tony Villegas, a
<br />train conductor with no
<br />criminal past, are records
<br />tracing Lewis' iPhone sig-
<br />nal to his residence in
<br />North Miami-Dade and his
<br />workplace in Fort Lauder-
<br />dale after ber disappear-
<br />ance.
<br />Still, Plantation police
<br />
<br />Rebellion brewing against Greer
<br />
<br />. State GOP chief Jim
<br />Gret1!r won a vote of
<br />confidence - but
<br />criticism of his spending
<br />of party money
<br />continues.
<br />
<br />BY STEVE BOUSQUET
<br />Herald{TmE's Tallahassee Bureau
<br />TALLAHASSEE
<br />Republican Party of Flor-
<br />ida chairman Jim Greer got
<br />a strong vote of confidence
<br />Thursday, but the rebellion
<br />against him continued to
<br />fester, witb a longtime
<br />party fundraiser calling for
<br />his resignation.
<br />The 25-2 vote came at
<br />the party's quarterly exec-
<br />utive board meeting in Tal-
<br />lahassee, considered
<br />friendly Nrffor Greer. He
<br />has spent months deflect-
<br />ing criticism of lavish
<br />spending, hardball political
<br />tactics and favoritism in
<br />statewide primaries for
<br />governor and U.5. Senate.
<br />Republican National
<br />Committeeman Paul Senft
<br />called for the vote "in the
<br />interest of party unity and
<br />for public clarification
<br />[that the board has] full
<br />confidence in our duly
<br />
<br />elected chairman, Jim
<br />Greer." The motion,
<br />quickly passed with no dis-
<br />cussion, appeared to have
<br />been sprung on the board.
<br />Greer said he's "done
<br />
<br />~h~n~'~ ~~ I
<br />address
<br />concerns, .lIr.. ..\ '.
<br />including .
<br />cutting up '.
<br />a batch of
<br />party-is-
<br />sue d
<br />c red i t GREER
<br />cards. "Other than a few
<br />people having fantasies
<br />and dreams, I wasn't going
<br />anywhere," he said.
<br />But fresh signs that Gov.
<br />Charlie Crist's hand-
<br />picked party chairman is
<br />under fire include a circu-
<br />lating petition calling for a
<br />meeting neIt month to
<br />recall him from office, and
<br />a letter from longtime GOP
<br />fundraiser Al Hoffman say-
<br />ing Greer should resign.
<br />"It is time for you to
<br />resign in order to end the
<br />excessive, irresponsible,
<br />unethical, and perhaps ille.
<br />gal spending that has
<br />marked your administra-
<br />
<br />,Car Trouble1
<br />
<br />tion and has moved the
<br />Republican Party from mil.
<br />lions of dollars in surplus
<br />at the time you took office
<br />to millions of dollars in
<br />deficit by the end of this
<br />month," wrote Hoffman, a
<br />former finance chairman
<br />of the Republican National
<br />Committee.
<br />Greer said Hoffman is
<br />misinformed and out of
<br />touch.
<br />At Thursday's meeting,
<br />the party treasurer said the
<br />state Gap has $IA million
<br />cash on hand, and Greer
<br />promised "a very big num-
<br />ber" when the current
<br />fundraising quarter ends
<br />Dec. 31.
<br />Pasco County Republi-
<br />can State Committeeman
<br />Bill Bunting, normally out-
<br />spoken on all matters,
<br />would not directly say
<br />whether Thursday's vote
<br />reflected confidence in
<br />Greer. "J just don't know if
<br />that's the case. I'll just
<br />leave it at that," Bunting
<br />said.
<br />He said Greer faced
<br />some criticism about his
<br />performance at last
<br />month's closed-door exec-
<br />
<br />You,
<br />Gewride
<br />Is waiting
<br />loryolliG
<br />
<br />4D>
<br />
<br />utive board meeting. At
<br />that session, Broward state:
<br />committeeman Ed Ken-
<br />nedy described Greer as '
<br />''Very apologetic" for some'
<br />of his decisions, such as
<br />aggressively favoring Crist:
<br />over former House'
<br />Speaker Marco Rubio in ~
<br />the Republican primary for:
<br />U.S. Senate.
<br />One of the two board:
<br />members who voted no!
<br />Thursday, Charlotte:
<br />County GOP Chairman!
<br />Bob Starr, said he did so ;
<br />because the motion was!
<br />out of order. '
<br />"J don't think that'
<br />should have been done'
<br />before everything is i
<br />addressed tbat's been,
<br />alleged, and it hasn't to:
<br />me," Stan said. .
<br />Peter Feaman, a Palm:
<br />Beach County Gap com- i
<br />miueeman, said of his no!
<br />vote: "We didn't have a
<br />chance for discussion, so it
<br />wasn't appropriate:'
<br />Herald/Times staff writ- :
<br />ers Adam C. Smith and
<br />John Frank contributed to
<br />this report. Steve Bousquet!
<br />can be reached at bous-'
<br />quet@sptimes,com
<br />
<br />
<br />After Perrero uttered
<br />an expletive in Spanish,
<br />Anasagasti punched him
<br />in the face, knocking him
<br />to the ground.
<br />Anasagasti, who owns
<br />Gala Air Conditioning in
<br />South Miami.Dade, was
<br />charged with battery on a
<br />person 65 or older.
<br />During the summer,
<br />the healthcare debate in
<br />Florida and across the
<br />country generated con-
<br />tentious town-hall meet-
<br />ings aimed at influencing
<br />members of Congress.
<br />Nelson, a moderate
<br />Democrat who sits on the
<br />Senate Finance Commit-
<br />tee, has been a popular
<br />target for those organiz-
<br />ing for and against vari-
<br />ous healthcare-reform
<br />proposals.
<br />
<br />."'....~.
<br />
<br />CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH
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