Fort Lauderdale developer Glenn Wright arrested on grand theft charges

Fort Lauderdale developer Glenn Wright has been arrested on charges of bilking $20,000 from a homeowners association and giving it to a rabbi who used it to make a down payment on a new building for the Downtown Jewish Center. Notorious Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein was also a member and donor of that congregation (his name adorned one of its buildings), and his law firm handled the closing. The rabbi, Schneur Kaplan, has not been accused of wrongdoing, as Wright apparently didn’t disclose the source of the funds at the time of the loan. Wright was a director of the board of the La Preserve homeowners association along with his wife, Patricia, and is said to have transferred the $20,000 to his company’s account before writing the check to Kaplan. Later, Kaplan said Patricia Wright called him to ask for the money to be repaid, and he obliged, though investigators said the money was never returned to the association. [Sun Sentinel]