Merry Christmas Darling

Oy I had to pop a few Xanax and put on some old Carpenters after reading this story about the various outstanding loans that former RRA lawyers including Marc Nurik owe RRA:

The documents for Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, filed late Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, said the firm has $1.4 billion in liabilities and only $42.9 million in assets, painting a bleak picture for recovery of claims.

The documents list $34.8 million in apparent payments to various individuals between 2007 and 2009, including many of the firm’s former employees and attorneys. In some cases, those loans were partially paid back, but there’s an outstanding balance of $23.9 million in “advances to non-debtor third parties.”

Among those on the list is Steven Lippman, who is said to have received $8.9 million. Lippman was recently hired by Rice Pugatch Robinson & Schiller in Fort Lauderdale.

According to the schedules, Lippman repaid $6.5 million, leaving an outstanding balance of $2.4 million.

Lippman could not be immediately reached for comment.

The schedules were filed by Herbert Stettin, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in the Chapter 11 wind-down of the firm. Stettin told the court that RRA’s books are in disarray, and he does not have complete information on many facets of the firm’s finances.

Other advances shown on the schedules include:

• Millions of dollars in loans or advances to Bova Group restaurants, none of which has been repaid. According to the schedules, RRA spent $117,000 on a planned restaurant called Bova Smoke, which never happened.
• Stuart Rosenfeldt, co-owner of RRA, received $916,011 in loans or advances. The schedules show that Rosenfeldt, who recently formed a new law firm, repaid $474,144, leaving a balance of $441,867.
• Marc Nurik received $190,000 in loans. The former RRA partner who represents Rothstein, was not repaid, according to court documents.
• The bulk of that money was paid to Nurik in 2009. He told the Business Journal in November that he was not paid a retainer to represent Rothstein and that he had ensured that he was being paid from legitimate sources.
• Riley [McDermott's, the restaurant purchased by Rothstein to become Bova] received $1.8 million in loans. The schedules show they have not been repaid.

Alright, it's starting to kick in...I'm beginning to feel better.....Karen's voice is just heavenly.....