Talk about irony.
Boca Raton attorney Chris Salamone was one of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's closest friends; they went to law school together at Nova, were early law partners, and Salamone was one Rothstein's groomsman at his million-dollar Versace mansion wedding.
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In emails, they called themselves brothers. And bankruptcy lawyers allege in a clawback lawsuit against Salamone that he cashed in big on the scheme, making about $750,000 on investments with Rothstein, some of them with outrageous rates of return.
An example: Rothstein offered Salamone a return of $75,000 on a $50,000 investment in a mere 60 days -- 300 percent annualized rate of return. Salamone jumped on that one as he did many others.
At the time Salamone was running a company called LeadAmerica, which purported to teach values to children. Recently Salamone had a book published titled Rescue America. From promotional materials:
"Rescue America creates clear and specific connections between the loss of our founding values and the current political, economic, and cultural problems. What is necessary, the book asserts, is a fundamental shift back toward a national embodiment of the three primary leadership qualities that sustain all lasting human institutions: gratitude, personal responsibility, and sacrifice."
And guess what: The book just hit No. 5 in the nonfiction paperback category of the New York Times bestseller list. What is it that Don King (another former Rothstein associate) say? Only in America.