Stettin Under Fed Microscope - Florida Clarion

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Stettin Under Fed Microscope

19 Jul

Judge Herbert Stettin, trustee of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothsteins bankruptcy estate, will hold onto

claim to the assets of Rothsteins former law firm, per the ruling of U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn,

but the feds are not done with him just yet.

Cohns decision represented a blow to federal prosecutors hopes to take over all of Rothsteins assets

and distribute them to his victims before attorneys could grab a high percentage of the money in fees.

Stettin and his cohorts at Berger-Singerman, the law firm handling the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler

bankruptcy shouldnt celebrate too soon.

Federal prosecutors are livid and have turned their sites on Stettin, whose reign as a judge and

bankruptcy judge have been marred by allegations of impropriety.

Lawyers in the Rothstein case were poised to have a bonanza before the government looked to

intervene, Bob Norman wrote in March, noting that Berger Singerman, the law firm Stettin hired to

represent him in the bankruptcy case, requested a fee of more than $1.25 million for work and

expenses between November 10 through January 31.

The federal government filed a forfeiture motion in April that might have not only required Stettin and

co. to hand over the remaining assets but even return legal fees that had already been paid out.

Now it looks like Stettin, who told one lawyer in the courthouse crowd he expected to make enough

on the Rothstein case to step down as a judge and retire, will get to keep his nest egg after all, but

questions persist about his fitness to act as the trustee.

Federal prosecutors are investigating Stettin on a series of allegations similar to those raised in

November by Miami attorney Richard Sharpstein, according to a source familiar with the matter.

tettin Under Fed Microscope | Florida Clarion http://floridaclarion.com/2010/07/stettin-fed-microsc

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Sharpsteins accusations against Stettin included:

Abusing his judicial office and the Miami Dade Courthouse for personal gain by conducting a

constitutionally prohibited private law practice while concurrently serving as an appointed

sitting Senior Circuit and Associate Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge with chambers and

a courtroom in the Miami Dade Courthouse;

Filing false sworn financial and gift disclosures with the State of Florida since 1999 that concealthe sources of millions of dollars in payments and mislead as to the activity of his sole

proprietorship law firm, Hebert Stettin P.A.;

Using the American Arbitration Association as a billing conduit to facilitate the ability of local

lawyers and law firms to secretly and indirectly hire and pay Judge Stettin while at the same

time appearing in his courtroom;

Wielding his judiciary power, under color of state authority as a sitting judge, in private

arbitration proceedings to improperly confiscate millions of dollars in assets to fund his law

firms activity;

Appointing cronies to a receivership whereby over a span of five years millions of dollars

were misappropriated;

Accepting his appointment as receiver in the Rothstein scandal given either the real or

appearance of conflicts created by Judge Stettins ties to members of the Rothstein Law Firm.

Such ties include: Judge Stettins recruitment by and lengthy collaboration with Judge Barry

Stone (now a member of the Rothstein Law Firm), on the 4 th District Court of Appeals; Judge

Stettins service on the 4th DCA with Judge Gary Farmer Sr., father of Rothstein partner Gary

Farmer Jr.; alleged scamster Scott Rothsteins position on the 4th DCA nominating commission;

and Gary Farmer Jr.s relationship with Eric Stettin, Judge Herbert Stettins son.

Feds are also scrutinizing Berger-Singerman lawyer Charles Lichtman and his arrest for DUI and drug

possession to determine why he was not prosecuted.

Comments 6 Comments

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Author Bryan Lopez

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The Florida Clarion is the new progressive voice of Florida, an online media outlet without partisan

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Stettin Under Fed Microscope - Florida Clarion