Schwarzenegger got big money from alleged Ponzi schemer

[marmar]

from the Sacramento Bee:



November 17, 2009
Schwarzenegger got big money from alleged Ponzi schemer


A big chunk of the money that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collected last year to finance a political reform ballot measure came from a man now being accused of running a massive Ponzi-style fraud in Florida.

When federal investigators raided the offices of Fort Lauderdale, FL, attorney Scott Rothstein, looking for evidence to bolster civil and potentially criminal charges of running a huge Ponzi-style fraud, they found many pictures of Rothstein with prominent politicians.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Rothstein appeared to be particularly close to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist but among other political figures in the photos were former President George W. Bush and Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger's relationship with Rothstein was more than photographic, however. The law firm founded by Rothstein was one of the biggest contributors to Schwarzenegger's 2008 drive to reform California politics by shifting legislative redistricting from the Legislature to an independent commission.

The firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, gave $250,000 to the campaign for Proposition 11 just a month before voters passed the measure, according to state campaign finance records. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/027144.html