Palm Beach confidential: Prosecutors try to keep deposition of state attorney’s ex under seal
She’s a Donald Trump devotee, so much so that she named her three-legged dog “Ivanka.” He’s an elected official in one of Florida’s bluest counties and not a fan of the former president. Soon, their marriage was kaput. In a press release trumpeting the dissolution, they called it a “Trump Divorce.”
High-profile divorces of the rich, famous and influential are a Palm Beach staple. But this breakup, between Lynn Aronberg, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, and Dave Aronberg, the Democratic state attorney in Palm Beach County, has taken a decidedly unexpected turn.
The “amicable split” — so described in the press release issued in July 2017, just over two years after the nuptials — unraveled when Broward prosecutors filed criminal charges against a millionaire named Glenn Straub. Straub, a developer who owns the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club, is friends with Lynn Aronberg. As part of Straub’s legal defense, his lawyers took a deposition from Lynn Aronberg.
Whatever she said under oath during three days of questioning is apparently sensitive. Prosecutors asked the presiding judge to seal the sworn statement, an unusual step.
With a few exceptions involving family issues, what happens in the courts is supposed to be open to public scrutiny. After the Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post learned that the depo had been sealed, they filed a request with Broward Circuit Judge Tim Bailey to have it unsealed. A hearing was held Wednesday on the matter. No decision was rendered.
What seems clear is that in the course of trying to shield the contents of an obscure document, Aronberg has called attention to whatever is in it.
Straub, of Wellington, is charged with grand theft and fraud. Lawyers for Straub — he was actually friends with both Aronbergs — deposed the wife over three days, on July 2, 2021, Dec. 14, 2021, and March 1, 2022.
Broward prosecutors then asked Judge Bailey, who is presiding over the case after it was moved from Palm Beach to Broward because of the involvement of Palm Beach’s top prosecutor, to seal the sworn statement, a request he granted. Bailey also ordered the parties not to discuss with anyone what was in the statement.
In his Sept. 30, 2021, order sealing the deposition, Bailey offered no reason for keeping the testimony secret. He wrote only that the deposition “shall remain unfiled until further court order and no party, including their attorneys or investigators, shall disseminate any information related to the deposition.”
He required that any further testimony by Lynn Aronberg “shall likewise remain [confidential] as per agreement of the parties.”
Dave Aronberg declined to discuss the unusual litigation with the Miami Herald. His spokesman at the State Attorneys Office, Marc Freeman, issued a statement Thursday morning on his behalf: “There are clear political interests at play with efforts to drag Mr. Aronberg into a criminal case where he has had no involvement. Given these efforts, Mr. Aronberg retained legal counsel at his own expense to ensure he is represented as a private citizen.”
In an email, Guy P. Fronstin, an attorney for Lynn Aronberg, said she would not discuss the litigation at least until after the next court hearing, when Bailey is expected to make a ruling.
How, precisely, Lynn Aronberg fits into the puzzle is unclear. In a court pleading, prosecutors wrote that she “has no firsthand knowledge” of the offenses of which Straub stands accused.
Aronberg’s attorneys wrote in a July 8 motion that releasing “sensitive matters” from the sworn statement would “infringe on his privacy.”
In their litigation, the Herald, along with the Gannett Co., which owns the Palm Beach Post, argued that the sealed document involves “matters of great public interest concerning criminal allegations against a prominent local businessman and also involves the state attorney.”
“This case garners particularly heightened public scrutiny because Straub also has strong connections to powerful public figures within the community,” the pleading stated.
The prosecution, in fact, is a drama with a cast that includes some of the most influential — or colorful — characters in Palm Beach County.
Dave Aronberg was first elected state attorney in 2012. Before that he served in the state Senate for eight years, starting in 2002. Despite being a Democrat, Aronberg was appointed drug czar by Florida’s Republican then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.
More recently, Dave Aronberg has become a go-to interview by cable news outlets, commenting on politics and legal affairs regularly, particularly on MSNBC.
Lynn Aronberg was a Dolphins cheerleader in 2006-2007 — a season with little to cheer about, since the team lost all but one game. She’s now the face of an eponymous public relations firm, whose home page features multiple photos of her with Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. Elements of their marriage played out in public, including the Eiffel Tower engagement and sunset wedding at a St. Pete Beach resort, both chronicled by then-gossip columnist Jose Lambiet. (“Exclusive — State Attorney Dave Aronberg Marries ex-Miami Dolphins cheerleader Lynn Lewis in Sunset Ceremony!” exclaimed one headline.)
Straub’s attorney, Michael Gottlieb, also is a politician: A Democrat with a district office in Sunrise, he holds a seat in the Florida House. Straub also is represented by a retired Palm Beach County chief judge, Jeffrey Colbath. Colbath’s hiring led several other judges to recuse themselves.
Making an encore appearance in the drama is Jose Lambiet. A former contributor to both the Herald and Post at different junctures, he is now a private investigator who reportedly had been good friends with Lynn Aronberg and was hired by Straub’s legal team.
The charges against Straub arise out of the breakup of another relationship. Straub had been involved for about three years with a Wellington woman named Jessica Nicodemo. Police wrote in Straub’s arrest complaint that he had “made countless threats to ruin her financial independence…if she ended their relationship” or failed to follow rules he established requiring her to “check in” with him constantly.
“Straub became very controlling and [Nicodemo] wanted out of the relationship,” police alleged.
In retaliation, police claim, Straub filed two liens, totaling $77,380, against properties Nicodemo owned in 2016. In March 2017, a Palm Beach County sheriff’s detective set up an undercover phone call between Straub and Nicodemo. During the conversation, the detective wrote, Straub acknowledged the liens were bogus, intended as leverage against his girlfriend leaving him.
“Straub told Nicodemo she was an intricate part of his future,” the detective’s affidavit said. “Straub admitted the liens were done to protect him and keep Nicodemo in a relationship with him because he does not want to lose Nicodemo.”
The case remains pending.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Bailey said the rules governing criminal cases generally require that court records be open to the public. Quoting from such rules, Bailey said “the public should have access to all judicial records… except to avoid injury to a party by disclosing” a matter that should remain confidential.
Dana McElroy, who represented the Herald and the Post, argued that there was a “Constitutional right of access to records.”
A separate dispute involved Straub’s recent request to file certain motions under seal — meaning only the judge and prosecutor would see the documents. Gottlieb said the records would contain medical information that his client did not wish to share publicly.
Bailey said he had the power to withhold such records only under “limited circumstances.”
“You can do that if the subject matter justifies the judge not allowing public access to that information,” Bailey said.
Bailey said records are usually sealed when releasing them would jeopardize a defendant’s right to a fair trial. “I’m not getting the impression that this is an argument that the defendant won’t have” a fair trial if the court pleadings were widely released, he said. That’s when Gottlieb said he’s asking for privacy to raise a “medical issue.”
Said McElroy: “Even when a court is making a determination sealing a particular record, those hearings are public. They are uniformly public.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 12:00 AM.