Last week playboy Republican scumbag Tim Durham's offices were raided by the FBI. Today another Ferrari-driving friend of the GOP, Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein (pictured with Governor Charlie Crist) has been charged in a $1.2bn Ponzi scheme.

Rothstein was apparently a close friend of Crist, whose tough re-election battle bid for a Senate seat next year just got a bit tougher. There is also a picture on his office wall of him posing with the Rogue herself, Sarah Palin. She doesn't need the mainstream media and East coast liberal intellectual rules about consorting with fraudsters. She's a maverick.

In the traditional, corpulent Republican style Rothstein made sure to stock up on ridiculous cars, McMansions, a tacky portrait of Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part Three (not even Godfathers One or Two, for fuck's sake) and of course a yacht.

Rothstein fled to Morocco but has now returned to face the music and watch his old friends abandon him for political expediency. He was disbarred last week and charged with mail, wire and bank fraud and money laundering yesterday. He could go to jail for up to 100 years if found guilty. Intriguingly Reuters mention that Rothstein also paid:

gratuities to high-ranking members of police agencies" in order to deflect law enforcement scrutiny

So far we've had well connected money men in Indiana and Florida investigated for financial skulduggery. Which raises the question: which swing state is next?