Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley did nothing wrong when he responded to the scene of a car crash after receiving a call about it from lawyer Scott Rothstein Aug. 21, the city concluded.
The city's office of professional standards concluded that there was "no evidence of misconduct."
The accident itself was routine – a high-speed head-on intersection crash — but raised questions about Adderley's relationship with Rothstein who now faces up to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to a Ponzi scheme.
Adderley told city investigators that Rothstein called him to alert him to the traffic accident which involved cigar shop owner Moe Sohail. But when Adderley went to the scene he did not interfere with the investigation, police officers told city investigators. Police officers said that there was no need to do a DUI investigation since there was no signs of drinking by the driver.
The city interviewed 33 people about the incident — not Rothstein since he is in jail and not Sohail who refused. The report contains some juicy tidbits about Sohail: "upwards of a half dozen stacks of cash were seen on the floor of the passenger side of the Bentley. At least one stack contained hundred dollar bills." One lieutenant testified that he saw Sohail putting the money in a white bag.
The city's review of Adderley isn't over – he still has to answer questions about a plane trip he took with Rothstein and why he delayed filing a gift report for that private flight.
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