he's rothstein's attorney at the end, he's everything for him and arnold rothstein is shot at the park central hotel and is dying at the polyclinic hotel, which, by the way, valentino and marilyn monroe was treated at. and when rothstein, in his dying, kantor produces up at the deathbed and says arnold, remember that. will you ask me to prepare? a few weeks ago, and you never got around to signing? i happened. have it right here. sign. this was contested by arnold's relatives. but that that's the sort of fellow that morris was and the sort of people were often infesting politics at time, which is why tammany was about to collapse. they also had to vet arnold rothstein's papers, which randi may have with her. i don't know, though, she says. now was a was the 17th district court leader of of tammany and a guy named nathan berkin, the name of the tammany guys not dumb. berkin was the best entertainment lawyer in the country he represents. you name all the stars of the silent. you name all the studios. he represented them all. he was hot stuff was good. oddly enough, his grandson, jonathan

>> through rothstein. >> okay. >> reporter: bill rothstein.ie's one time fiance who turned her in for killing roden and hid the body in his freezer. >> what did she tell you about rothstein? >> that he built the bomb. he -- it was his toy. >> reporter: and there it was -- the first time anyone said what investigators suspected bill rothstein was in on the pizza bombing. and now marjorie began to describe a wider plot that seemed to involve every lost soul who had come into her orbit. and who were the players in this thing? there's rothstein, who else? >> there's ken barnes, floyd stockton -- james roden -- pinetti, and of course brian wells. >> these are just names to you, you don't know who the -- >> i have no clue. >> --who these players are. >> none. >> reporter: but kelly did know one of the names: brian wells, the pizza delivery man who'd been blown up. and kelly said marjorie told her that wells was no innocent victim but rather part of the conspiracy. that is, if you can believe a snitch. as for the others, ken barnes, of course, was th

and scott rothstein's disappearances connected? kings be stealing the gold. >> the dark secret buried beneath all these rothstein riches. >> he said if i don't get this taken care of, somebody is going to put a bullet in my head. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues rsv is a contagious virus that usually causes mild symptoms, but can cause more severe infections that may lead to hospitalizations, in adults 60 and older - and adults with certain underlying conditions, like copd, asthma, or congestive heart failure. talk to your doctor and visit cutshortrsv.com. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ it's spring! non-drowsy claritin-d knocks out your worst allergy symptoms including nasal congestion, without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d. chevy silverado factory-lifted trucks. where will they take you? with the capability of a 2-inch lift. ♪♪ the versatility of the available multi-flex tailgate. ♪♪ and the connection of a 13.4” diagonal to

but surviving this mess is arnold ross rothstein and rothstein. there many, many sites that one can visit, which were associated with him in new york city, most notably the park central hotel, very near to carnegie hall, big hotel still in business now, 200 west, 56 street and he his is killed in the upper upper room there. by another gambler named george mcmanus. well, that's my theory, anyway. and it was the it was the days of their theory as well, but not the juries, but pretty much i think the fix was was in there too, to let him go. now, rothstein was involved in like i say, rum running with loan sharking, bootlegging, speakeasies, fixing things with these the great middle man of things. and and one of the middle man. well, there's a there's an adjunct or a detour from the rothstein story, which i'll and he has a relative of a relative of his is a cousin and is married to a guy named george ringler. and george ringler was a sort of he would get around in political circles again, politics. a you also worked for the new york daily news as sort

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the collapse of rothstein's ponzi scheme put an end to that.prosecution's theory of motive, fleisher argued it was as thin as it was nonsensical. >> you would think that if you were so enraged that your wife were doing this that you'd wanna harm her, and not someone else. >> reporter: as for debra villegas, defense attorney fleisher surprised everyone when he didn't ask her a single question. but he did go after the son, caleb, challenging him as to why he sat for so long on this story about his father badmouthing melissa. >> you didn't tell your mother about that when you first heard about that, did you? >> no. i didn't see any relevance. >> and when you spent time with him, things were good? >> yes. >> you love your dad? >> yes. >> reporter: would jurors notice the tear rolling down tony's cheek? so, onto the scientific evidence, the cellphone first. lawyer fleisher found a mistake in a chart the state's expert had used. was the expert analysis, in fact, sloppy? if you're such a hot shot expert -- >> right. and -- >> reporter: how does this e

things were going really well at the rothstein law firm. yes. yes. dennis murphy (voiceover): then came march 5, 2008, just one week after melissa had been made partner. it was a wednesday night. debra tried to call her several times, but got no answer. the next morning, though, when melissa was a no show at work, debra called her friend repeatedly but to no avail. then she got ahold of melissa's sister carrie. and carrie was like me, oh no. no. something's wrong. dennis murphy (voiceover): debra told her boss, scott. well-connected attorney that he was, he called a police officer he knew in plantation, florida, where melissa lived. the officer agreed to meet debra and carrie at melissa's house. when they got there, everything seemed to be normal inside the home. nothing was tossed? drawers weren't opened? nothing. nothing. no. the only thing that was amiss was in her garage. dennis murphy (voiceover): melissa's car-- her caddy suv-- was gone. and that's when they all clued to something bizarre-- a fine mist of what looked like orange spray paint thr

there was rothstein. who else? ken barnes, floyd stockton, james roden, pinetti, and of course brian wells. >> these are just names to you. you don't know who the -- >> i have no clue. >> -- who these players are? >> none. >> but kelly did know one of the names, brian wells, the pizza deliveryman who had been blown up. and kelly said marjorie told her that wells was no innocent victim, but rather part of the conspiracy. that is if you can believe a snitch. as for the others, ken barnes, of course, was the crack dealer who was marjorie's fishing buddy. floyd stockton was rothstein's old friend and was living in rothstein's house at the time of the bombing. marjorie said jim roden, her boyfriend, was in on the plot too, but she killed him when he got cold feet and ended up ironically in a freezer. >> he was going to turn her in, and he didn't want to be the getaway driver. he didn't want any part of it. he wanted out. >> and that's marjorie telling you that? >> yes. >> so roden is dead because -- >> yes. >> he didn't

rothstein is a slow pay. he knows the value of keeping money around so you can invest it in other things, such as loan sharking. so, if you don't pay the white sox players what you have promised them right away. say, you are holding on to another 40 or $50,000. you can use that $40 $50,000 to bet on them, which isn't much of a bet because you know the outcome. or just loan some money to some guy in times square. so why put the money to use that way? hang on to it. a slow pay will eventually get him killed after he was a slow pay in a very high stakes poker game in 1928. but his guys are not paying the white sox right away. and they feel stiffed. so, they are going to eventually start to play to win. everybody is double crossing everyone else. and that is why, say, for example, eddie seacot wins that one game that he wins in the -- in the 1919 world series. and why, even though harry was made up by elliot asanoff, there were threats coming in. there -- there's an account of one threat which was coming in to wi

he's doing it at the behest of arnold rothstein.e rothstein gets a cut, thea police get back cut, anything like that. being married to fannie brice, okay, fannie brice had been married earlier to ar guy named nikki arnstein, if you remember the movie. but the left out of the movie largely was nikki was a confederate and a great admirer of arnold rothstein. he was a con man in his own right. as a talked about jewelry robberies, there were also a lot of government bond robberies back then. the bonds were not come were bearer bonds so youou could just cash them in. so ifhi you got a shipment of oz wall street to the bank or something, they would be hit and then robbed. arnstein was involved in this. when on the lamp at one point and then got sick of being on the lamp, turned himself in and arnold rothstein gate in some advice. why don't you instead of just turning herself in in some boring way they would have a police parade down fifth avenue every year. why don't you get in a car and ride down in the police parade past the commissione

scott rothstein's disappearance is connected?ling the gold. >> the dark secrets buried beneath all those rothstein riches. >> he said if i don't get this taken care of, these people will put a bullet in my head. >> when dateline continues. ne be there for your loved ones. shingles could also to serious complications that can last for years. if you're over 50, the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside you. and as you age, your risk of developing shingles increases. don't wait. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles today. ask your doctor or pharmacist dennis murphy: debra villegas' world had been turned upside down. her best friend, melissa lewis, had been murdered, and debra's estranged husband tony was charged with killing her. >>> deborah's world had been turned upside down. her best friend, melissa lewis, had been murdered, deborah's estranged husband, tony, was charged with killing her. >> people thought, deborah's psycho ex-husband has murdered melissa, you know, just overwhelmed with guilt and shame. >>

rothstein, who else?ames roden, pinetti and of course brian wells. >> these are just names to you. >> i have no clue. >> you don't know who these players are? >> none. >> but kelly did know one of the names, brian wells, the pizza delivery man who had been blown up and kelly said marjorie told her that wells was no innocent victim, but rather part of the conspiracy. that is, if you can believe a snitch. as for the others ken barnes of course, was the crack dealer who was marjorie's fishing body. floyd stockton was rothstein's old friend and was living in rothstein's house at the time of the bombing. marjorie said jim roden her boyfriend was in on the plot, too, but she killed him when he got cold feet and ended up ironically in a freezer. >> he was going to turn her in and he didn't want to be the get away driver, he didn't want any part of it. he wanted out. >> and that's marjorie telling you that. >> yes. >> so roden is dead because -- >> yes. >> -- he didn't want to be in this thing. >> without a doubt

and scott rothstein's disappearances connected? kings be stealing the gold. >> the dark secret buried beneath all these rothstein riches. >> he said if i don't get this taken care of, somebody is going to put a bullet in my head. each day justin chooses to walk. at work... and after work. he does it all with dr. scholl's. only dr. scholl's has massaging gel insoles that provide all-day comfort. to keep him feeling more energized. dr. scholl's. born to move. ♪ happiness is powerful flea and tick protection from nexgard. a delicious chew that protects for an entire month. ask your vet for more information. reported side effects include vomiting and itching. nexgard. the vet's #1 choice. >> reporter: debra villegas' world had been turned upside down. her best friend, melissa lewis, had been murdered and debra's estranged husband, tony, was charged with killing her. >> people thought, "debra's psycho ex-husband has murdered melissa." you know, i was just overwhelmed with guilt and shame. >> reporter: melissa's murder weighed heavily on

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he's doing it at the behest of arnold rothstein. rothstein gets a cut, police get a cut, everything like that. being married to fanny brice, okay, fanny brice had been married earlier to a guy named nicky anstein. if you remember the movie. what they left out in the movie, largely, was that nicky rnstein was a confederate and a great admirer of arnold rothstein. he was a con man in his own right. there were a lot government bonds back then. they were bearer bonds so you should cash them in. so if you got a shipment of bonds coming up from wall street to a bank or something, it could be hit and then robbed and arnstein was involved in this, went on the lam at one point and got sick of being on the lam, turned himself in and arnold rothstein gave him advice. why don't you instead of just turning yourself in some boring way, they would have a police parade down fifth avenue every year year, why don't you get in a car and ride down in the police parade past the commissioner of police. he did. the police were not amused. he did go to lev

arnold rothstein's times square. and because it's times square where you keep your hand on your wallet. i was stiffed on payment for that to her. but i kept all my notes. more remarkably, i can find them in the hovel that passes for my office. so i thought i will do the interview and maybe i could publish a little pamphlet. i tend to get carried away. one of the reasons i could get carried away is because unlike today's newspapers, which we got all sorts of details, particularly about crimes, criminals, locations. the newspapers then were just full of details, and they had plenty of details to be full of in the prohibition era in times square. i took the thing forward and did like a part two in the book about the upper west side, which i was quite surprised to learn was really mobbed up back then. it's a direct shot from times square, from the upper west side to where the action was in times square. so the newspapers would tell you all of the details and they would tell you not only the street that something occurred

rothstein's on scene watching.orie diehl-armstrong, ken barnes are in a location watching with binoculars. and they were definitely there making sure he followed through with what he was supposed to. >> and they see him blow up. what's the reaction of this gang? >> when the evidence was they had a meeting afterwards and she was very upset that her money wasn't there. >> even if they had recovered the money, clark says, it wasn't nearly enough for what marjorie diehl-armstrong needed. $250,000 to kill her own father. >> i can't ever recall a holdup bank robbery getting much more than a few thousand bucks. >> right. >> i mean, who thought you could walk into a bank and come out with 250 grand? >> that's the absolute absurdity of the whole thing, quite honestly. you're going to get teller drawer money and that's in the thousands. to think you're going to reach a $250,000 haul was just never very plausible. and when he walked out of that bank with 8,000-some-odd-dollars, it was far short of the amount they were going t

bill rothstein, marjorie diehl-armstrong. even another suspect, a crack dealer named kenneth barnes. barnes claimed brian wells was in on the plot from the beginning and that he was duped. >> wells was essentially told he would be robbing the bank but the device being put around his neck would be fake so he would not be putting himself in harm's way. as it turns out he was double crossed. >> criminologist, jim fisher, believes it was rothstein who wanted to pull off the perfect i do bol -- diabolical crime that would baffle investigators. the scavenger hunt would send them to a dead-end. the confusing yet meticulously collar bomb, even the white t-shirt brian wells wore into the bank spray painted with the word "guess," to fisher, all hatched in the mind of a madman. >> the kind of motive we can understand, like a standard bank robbery, someone needs the money. then we have a catory of crime involving motive a normal person can't really understand. >> you're describing bill rothstein. >> that would be bill rothstein in my min

so people -- so rothstein becomes the victim, oh, poor around rothstein. but what he does is rothstein and fallon had sent abe out of the country to montreal, hide, stay there forever, shut up, but then they think it over and fallon brings abe back. abe is walking through time square one day and a couple detectives, the pickpocket squad, go up to him and arrest him and arraign him for his part on the black sox fixes. and they bring in a witness from chicago who atell had bet with on the series. he would have said the series was fixed and i was defrauded. he shows up in court and they said, this is abe atell. he had been featherweight champion of the world. he was a famous guy. and he says, no, it was a different abe atell that i bet with. this is complete perjury. this is a total lie. money was passed to pass at grand central terminal or penn station when he got into town. and so atell walks that way. this is how chicago justice and new york justice was handled in those ways and so, you know, in the -- when the trial concludes with the black sox, one of th

the rothstein law firm. view out to the ocean. >> from a few guys with law degrees to a juggernaut by the mid 2000s, with more than 70 attorneys led by scott rothstein. mike mayo was a columnist for the "ft. lauderdale "sun sentinel." >> he probably thinks i'm king of the world. >> and the firm is where melissa lewis, a by-the-book attorney found great success for herself and her clients. she was by all accounts a workaholic who loved what she did. no shrinking violet either. melissa loved these boozy, splashy office parties just as much as the other lawyers. she'd found herself a nice slice of the american pie. and that's the thing about 38-year-old melissa lewis. even as she raised her voice and glass with the senior partners, her sad end wasn't far off. and her unexpected death would get caught up in a chain of events right out of a john grisham novel. in fraud. melissa lewis at the start of everything awful that followed. >> it ended up being the beginning of the end. >> missy, as her family called her,

the brian wells pizza case. >> through rothstein. >> okay. >> bill rothstein.one-time fiance, who turned her in for killing roden and hid the body in his freezer. >> what does she tell you about rothstein? >> that he built the bomb. he -- it was his toy. >> and there it was. the first time anyone said what investigators suspected. bill rothstein was in on the pizza bombing. and now, marjorie began to describe a wider plot that seemed to involve every lost soul who had come into her orbit. >> and who are the players in this thing? rothstein. who else? >> there's ken barnes. floyd stockton. james roden. pinetti. and of course, brian wells. >> these are just names to you. >> i have no clue. none. >> but kelly did know one of the names. brian wells. the pizza delivery man who had been blown up. and kelly said marjorie told her that wells was no innocent victim. but rather part of the conspiracy. that is, if you can believe a snitch. as for the others, ken barnes, of course, was the crack dealer who was marjorie's fishing buddy. floyd stockton was rothstein's old fr

. >> reporter: including scott rothstein?> including scott rothstein. >> reporter: who actually paid for the funeral. >> he actually paid. he came to the funeral home and paid for everything. >> reporter: three days after the funeral, detectives arrested tony villegas. he was charged with first-degree murder. >> he denied involvement in this. >> reporter: tony's attorney is bruce fleisher. >> they sought the death penalty. and new questions were about to be raised about who really killed melissa. and in the midst of it all, scott rothstein, like melissa, would disappear. >> coming up -- were melissa and scott rothstein's disappearances connected? >> we three kings be stealing the gold. >> the dark secret buried beneath all these rothstein riches. >> reporter: debra villegas' world had been turned upside down. neurologic disorders. the most common side effects are vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. say goodbye to ticks and fleas... with monthly simparica chewables. ...the only eye drop... ...approved for the signs... ...and sym

so we have that and, but surviving this mess is arnold rothstein and rothstein, there are many, manyt one can visit which were associated with him in new york city. most notably, the park central hotel, very near to carnegie hall. a big hotel still in business now, west 56th street and he is killed in an upper room there by another gambler named george mcmanus. well, that's my theory, anyway. and it was the d.a.'s theory as well, but not the jury's. pretty much i think the fix was in there to let him go. now, rothstein was involved in, like i say, rum running, loan sharking, bootlegging, speak easies, the great middle man of things and one of the middlemen-- or well, there's an adjunct or a detour from the rothstein story which -- and he has a relative, a relative of his is a cousin and married to a guy named george ringler and george ringler was sort of-- he would get around in political circles, again, politics. he also worked with the new york daily news as sort of a photographer and a go-to guy and a guy who would feed stories to the reporters and stuff like this. he showed up in

>> including scott rothstein.e funeral home and paid for everything. >> three days after the funeral, detectives arrested tony. he was charged with first-degree murder. >> he denied involvement in this. >> tony's attorney is bruce fletcher. >> they sought the death penalty. >> they were confident they had a solid case against tony, but something happened to threw the investigation into free fall. that's because new crimes were about to be revealed and new questions about to be raised about who really killed melissa. in the midst of it all, scott rothstein like melissa would disappear. >> would three kings be stealing the gold. >> the dark secret buried beneath the riches. >> he said if i don't get this taken care of, they are going to put a bullet in my head. peggy! i've finished his shoulder! millennials, am i right? no... oh, no. yes. dinner! introducing mcdonald's buttermilk crispy tenders. juicy, and made with 100% white meat. they're not grandma's... i'm ok with that! but she's ok with that. ito become danger

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and scott rothstein's disappearances connected?> we three kings be stealing the gold. >> the dark secret buried beneath all these rothstein riches. >> he said if i don't get this taken care of, somebody is going to put a bullet in my head. >> reporter: debra villegas' a, bill's back needed a vacation from his vacation. so he stepped on the dr. scholl's kiosk. it recommends our best custom fit orthotic to relieve foot, knee, or lower back pain so you can move more. dr. scholl's. born to move. get stronger... get closer. start listening today to the world's largest selection of audiobooks on audible. and now, get more. for just $14.95 a month, you'll get a credit a month good for any audiobook, plus two audible originals exclusive titles you can't find anywhere else. if you don't like a book, you can exchange it any time, no questions asked. automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you don't use them. with the free audible app, you can listen anytime, and anywhere. plus for the first time ever, you'll get access to e

>> including scott rothstein. >> who paid for the service?for everything. >> three days after the funeral, detectives arrested tony villegas. he was charged with first-degree murder. >> he denied involvement in this. >> tony's attorney is bruce fleisher. >> they sought the death penalty. >> police and prosecutors were confident they had a solid case against tony villegas, but something happened that threw the whole investigation into free fall. that's because new crimes were about to be revealed, and new questions were about to be raised about who really killed melissa. and in the midst of it all, scott rothstein, like melissa, would disappear. >> we three kings be stealing the gold. >> the dark secret buried beneath the rothstein riches. >> he set, "if i don't get this taken care of, these people are going to put a bullet in my head. " nders that can pass as mine, which is nice because i've got better things to do. peggy! i've finished his shoulder! millennials, am i right? no... oh, no. yes. dinner! introducing mcdonald's buttermilk crispy

rothstein got involved, because he knew he was dying and wanted to go out with a bang. >> so rothsteinnever talked about these things to anybody. and you are taking the notes. >> yeah, there was one moment when i was taking notes and marjorie is like it's not like we didn't measure his neck for the collar, and we did so in rothstein's kitchen. >> you knew exactly what she meant. they would have loved to have that quote, maybe the most important words you wrote down, that connected marjorie to the case they could never make. putting the brian wells case on her. >> when i realized everything she was telling me the honest truth i had to turn it over. i knew she would get out and kill again without a doubt. >> kelly handed the notes over to the prosecutor in the roden case, but an explicitly the explosive notes weren't turned over to investigators in the pizza bombing case for two years. >> put everything together, and wrapped it up in a nice little bow, and the fbi, white was not turned over to the fbi is beyond me. >> when jerry clark finally got the notes he thought they confirmed much

rothstein becomes the victim. poor arnold rothstein. what he remarkably does is rothstein and fallon had sent a attell out of the country to montreal. they think it over and he brings attell back. he is walking through times square one day and a couple of detectives go up to him and arrest him and arraign him for his part in the black sox fix. and then they bring in a witness from chicago and he would have said he bet with me in the series was fixed and i was defrauded. he shows up in court and they say, the featherweight champion of the world, he was a famous guy. he says, no, it was a different abe attell that i bet with. this is complete perjury, a total lie. money was passed to him at grand central terminal when he got into town. attell walks that way. this is how chicago justice and new york justice was handled. when the trial concludes, one of the most suspicious things that happened, and this looks like it would have been invented by the people within hollywood but it is not. the celebrating players and their attorneys go to an i