Casa Casuarina a Rothstein casualty

Casa Casuarina, the glitzy South Beach hotel, restaurant and club, is one of the many businesses and properties affected by attorney Scott Rothstein’s alleged $1 billion Ponzi scheme. His restaurant operation, Bova, briefly ran Casa Casuarina in an effort to revive the finances at the troubled former Versace mansion. Owner Peter Loftin dismissed the Rothstein team after investigators accused the Broward lawyer of the scandal. Loftin said the club would re-open with a new, respected operator. Members have paid as much as $50,000 for initiation fees; Casa faces $160,000 in state and federal tax liens. [Miami Herald]