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Nov 7, 2009 11:10 am US/Eastern
Rothstein Case Leaves Versace Mansion In Limbo
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) ―
The famed entrance to the old Versace mansion has closed and is caught up in yet another scandal by one of its owners. The closure came just hours after news surfaced Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein, who is a part owner, had been accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in a phony investment scam.
Executive chef Wolfgang Birk, along with at least two dozen other Casa Carina employees, was given a police escort out of the Miami Beach landmark Monday. "I'm still in shock. I'm still in shock," Birk said.
Birk had just moved to South Florida three weeks ago from Washington, DC where he left a job to establish a five-star restaurant in South Beach. His team was set to open on Tuesday.
"I don't know what is going to happen. I have a wife and two kids and I move here and after two weeks of work, I'm out of a job," said chef de cuisine Jeremy Sandoz.
"I was fighting for this job over three months, so it hurts," said sous chef Reto Von Weissenfluh.
Birk has been told all of the employees payrolls are tied up in the courts while multiple issues are being worked out. The future of the landmark is now unknown and for Birk and the other workers, it's the unknown that has them the most concerned.
"This is the first time in 25 years that something like this has happened. It's a very strange feeling," Birk said.
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