Before he took a detour into politics, Alan Mendelsohn was already the epitome of success.

Northwestern University medical school grad. Thriving eye-surgery practice. Growing family attending private schools. Nice home in Hollywood's Emerald Hills neighborhood.

Mendelsohn, a brainy guy with an earnest manner, strayed into politics a couple of decades ago through the Florida Society of Ophthalmologists.

He used the little-known group to raise his profile in the prominent Florida Medical Association, launching an improbable role as a tour-de-force political fundraiser on a first-name basis with Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist and other top Republicans.

Today, Mendelsohn, 51, is accused of being a crook.

An indictment returned by a Fort Lauderdale federal grand jury last week portrays the eye doctor as a boastful rainmaker turned criminal opportunist: He is accused of defrauding doctors and other major contributors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations. He led them to believe he could perform behind-the-scenes miracles in Tallahassee, the indictment says.

Mendelsohn, who pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday, used the money to support a more than comfortable lifestyle, prosecutors say. He spent it on himself, his mistress and his four children's private schools -- including donating $250,000 in political funds to his medical school alma mater when his son sought admission, the indictment says. It is illegal to divert political contributions to personal use.

He also conspired with an unnamed ``accomplice'' to set up a series of political action committees and corporations to conceal the illegal diversion of donations to state lawmakers -- including one unnamed public official who received $87,000, the indictment says.

In another instance, he's accused of moving $150,000 through one corporation to his mistress, ``falsely'' representing to the IRS that it was for a public education program advocating eye-cancer screening for kids. In all, records show Mendelsohn raised more than $2 million for his three political action committees.

POLITICAL POWER

Mendelsohn, who declined to be interviewed after his court appearance and did not return a phone message at his home Friday, is described by many political observers as a smart doctor consumed with the power of politics.

He frequently referred to politics as ``smash-mouth football'' and would talk about going after political rivals with baseball bats, Tallahassee insiders said. He used to say that raising money for politicians and then pumping them for favors was like ``trading baseball cards,'' they said.

Mendelsohn displayed remarkable bravado, say those who know him. When he resigned as legislative director for the Florida Society of Ophthalmologists in February, Mendelsohn was fully aware he was under investigation by the Justice Department. Yet, the following month, Mendelsohn, a Republican, hosted a fundraiser at his home for former GOP House Speaker Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate bid.

``If we help Marco Rubio become elected to the U.S. Senate, he could easily serve several decades, gaining rank, while being a staunch ally of ours,'' Mendelsohn e-mailed potential donors invited to the reception.

In Tallahasseee, where politicians clamored for the big checks Mendelsohn could deliver from fellow doctors, the button-downed doctor could roll up his sleeves and be a cowboy. He liked to talk trash and wasn't afraid to make enemies, say those who know him.

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