GOP fundraiser to plead guilty

A prominent Broward County ophthalmologist who raised millions for Republicans and once advised Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to plead guilty Thursday to scheming to bilk the U.S. government -- including failing to report $82,000 in political donations secretly given to a former state senator.

Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, 52, is scheduled to plead in Fort Lauderdale federal court to a single conspiracy charge, which also accuses him of lying to federal agents. He is eligible to receive about two years in prison under sentencing guidelines, but his lawyers plan to seek significantly less punishment from U.S. District Judge William Zloch.

Although the ex-senator is not identified in Mendelsohn's plea agreement, sources familiar with the case said the former politician is Mandy Dawson, a Broward Democrat. She has not been charged in the Justice Department's four-year corruption investigation into Mendelsohn and state officials.

House votes to add homeless to hate crimes categories

After about 30 minutes of emotional debate, the House voted 80-28 to add homeless people to the list of people protected under the hate crimes act. Under that law, if someone is attacked because they are a member of a protected class -- for their race, gender or disability -- the punishment is enhanced.

Debate seemed to be moving smoothly until Rep. Paige Kreegel, a Republican from Punta Gorda, asked sponsoring Rep. Ari Porth a series of pointed questions about the need for the bill, at one point derisively referring to the homeless as "bums."

Porth, D-Coral Springs, fended off the questions with about 20 Democrats standing silently behind him. During a series of emotional speeches that followed, Rep. J.C. Planas, R-Miami, referred to a 2006 video of a group of Broward teens brutally attacking three homeless people with baseball bats: "It is disgusting. It's something this state should be ashamed of."

Said Porth: "Nobody is more vulnerable. They have no place to retreat to. They don't have a home to retreat to and be safe in."

Get ready for state buget fun this week

The state budget takes center stage in the House and Senate on Wednesday. And based on the amendments already filed, it could be a lively debate.

In the House, Democratic Leader Franklin Sands gets the partisanship started with an amendment to allow state universities to conduct embryonic stem cell research, which is currently prohibited. Another from top Democrat Ron Saunders of Key West would rename the state budget the "Job Killer Act of 2010." Saunders is upset the budget cuts $466 million for road-building fund, which Florida Transportation Commission is also fighting. And Rep. Marcelo Llorente wants to cut the language proposed by House Budget Chairman David Rivera that would require most state agency chiefs to live within 50 miles of Leon County.

Waldman tells off Bogdanoff; Bogdanoff blasts back

Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff (R- Ft. Lauderdale) and Rep. Jim Waldman (D-Cocount Creek) got into a round of name-calling on Wednesday night at a Broward Delegation meeting.

The subject: A bill that would ask voters to decide whether or not the county should have an inspector general to investigate public corruption. Waldman accused Bogdanoff, who is running for state senate and sponsoring the bill, of drafting the bill only to propel "political ambitions" during her election year.

He chided the bill for being poorly put together and a "knee-jerk reaction" to recent indictments of officials such as former Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman and Broward School Board member Beverly Gallagher.

At the meeting, a red-faced Bogdanoff called him "adversarial," and accused him of being "high maintainance." The next morning, she referred to Waldman as "a puppet" to the Broward County Commission, who she complained have not fully addressed residents' call for ethics reform.

"It was a nasty, nasty meeting,'' Bogdanoff said.

Rothstein's tangled business assets make recovery tough

Jailed lawyer Scott Rothstein collected companies like he collected exotic cars, fancy watches and powerful politicians.

By the time his alleged $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme collapsed last month, court documents show he had a stake in more than 100 corporations and businesses. Most were low-profile investment vehicles, with names like 2133 IP and CI27, designed for expediency and to obscure assets. Others were shares in trendy restaurants, flashy vodka companies and beachside hotels that echoed his lavish lifestyle.

Now, as investigators pick through the wreckage of Rothstein's empire on behalf of the investors he allegedly duped, many of his business partners are also facing scrutiny. See story here. 

Rothstein: Rumors of my demise exaggerated

Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein, who returned from a trip to Morocco last week to face a federal fraud investigation, said he was in good spirits Sunday.

``I am sitting here smoking cigars with Marc,'' Rothstein said in a brief interview Sunday afternoon with The Miami Herald, referring to his attorney Marc Nurik. ``Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I'm doing pretty good.''

Rothstein, 47, has been accused by investors in an alleged Ponzi scheme of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars and by his law partners of crippling their firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.

The rise and fall of Scott Rothstein

If there was one thing Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein craved, it was attention. And how better to get it than to whip out his checkbook?

Like at Gov. Charlie Crist's 52nd birthday party/GOP fundraiser last year, when, instead of buying a $1,000 candle, Rothstein bought an entire chocolate cake covered with 52 candles. His donation: $52,000.

As the governor gave a speech, Rothstein was talking loudly.

``Scott, if you want the mic, it's going to cost you another $100,000!'' the governor joked when Rothstein wouldn't stop talking.

Like at an Eagles concert in January, when band leader Don Henley stood on stage and dedicated, at Rothstein's request, Life in the Fast Lane to the lawyer and wife Kimberly for their first anniversary. His donation: $100,000, to a Henley environmental cause.

Like the TV ads showing Rothstein with star athletes Dan Marino and Alonzo Mourning, whose children's charities benefited from his philanthropic largess, and the glossy magazine ad with his firm photo proclaiming: ``Giving back is an essential part of life.'' Full story here.

Strum won't run for state House in Broward

Now that Shane Strum has been named Gov. Charlie Crist's chief of staff, it means that he won't run for the Legislature in Broward.

Strum had been thinking about running for District 91, the seat being vacated by Ellyn Bogdanoff. Bob Wolfe, a Republican committeeman in Broward, said he received a call from a representative in Crist's office stating that Strum will stay with Crist and not seek his own office.

That's bad news for Broward Republican activists who had been hoping a heavyweight would enter the race. Republicans are eager to hold on to their only state house seat in Broward -- and the voter registration numbers lie in their favor. But so far, two young businessmen with little name recognition are  the only ones to file: David Maymon and Yomin Postelnik.

They will face two Republicans turned Democrats: Barbra Stern, daughter of lobbyist Judy Stern, and Freda Sherman Stevens, who lost a race against Evan Jenne last year.

"There will be other candidates down the road,'' Wolfe said. "We don't know who yet.''

Lobbyist Steve Hull linked to Mendelsohn probe

A well-known political campaign consultant and former aide to a Florida governor is tied to a federal corruption investigation touching the highest levels of state government, the Herald/Times has learned.

Stephen D. Hull, a Tallahassee-based lobbyist and consultant, helped establish a political committee whose records were seized by the FBI before Wednesday's indictment of Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, a Broward ophthalmologist and high-profile fundraiser for dozens of current and former state lawmakers.

Hull, a lobbyist for the Florida Society of Ophthalmologists, did not return messages to his cell phone, office phone or e-mail. He worked as the press secretary to then-Gov. Bob Graham for seven years in the 1970s and '80s.

Two of the political committees under investigation -- the Alliance for Florida's Future and the Alliance for Promoting Florida's Future -- share a phone number or address with Hull's offices, records show. Full story here.

-- SCOTT HIAASEN, MARC CAPUTO AND JAY WEAVER

Fort Lauderdale attorney officially enters Republican race for Bogdanoff's House seat

David Maymon, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who is active in the Broward Republican politics, announced Thursday that he has formally joined the race for the state House seat now held by Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale.

Maymon, 32, is deputy director of communications for the Broward Republican Executive Committee and has volunteered on several campaigns. The Broward native also leads Fort Lauderdale's Community Services Board.

Bogdanoff's announcement last month that she plans to run for the open state Senate seat created by Senate President Jeff Atwater's run for chief financial officer has created a scramble for her House seat.

House District 91 runs up the coast from Dania Beach to Boca Raton, and as the only predominately-Republican House district to include a large portion of Broward, it is expected to generate a heated Republican primary in a county otherwise dominated by Democrats.

In addition to Maymon, Soil and Water Commissioner Oliver Parker and marketing company president Yomin Postelnik also plan to run.

As a young Republican, who is well known in Republican activist circles, Maymom could be the fresh face Republicans are looking for, but he will need to work hard to make his name known to those outside local party politics.

See below to read the full text of Maymon's announcement.