i m craig melvin. and i m natalie morales. and this is dateline. i just collapsed. she s dead because she was my friend. first melissa disappeared. where s melissa? that s the million dollar question. i knew right then she absolutely never made it into her house. left behind in her garage signs of a struggle and a strange orange mist, then her boss went missing too. who is he afraid of am. he might have been afraid he s next. he left behind a bigger mess. we three kings be stealing the gold. a missing fortune. ballpark a billion, billion and a half dollars. a missing woman. we have know clue, no leads. some wonder was there a link? this had a twist to it. two crimes, one for money, one supposedly for love, and behind both, a lingering mystery. it s just so ugly and so wrong, and i can t fix it. welcome to dateline. hotshot florida attorney melissa lewis was living large in fort lauderdale dale, but then her seemingly charged life ended
Selfdefense . The lead detective kept tellin us everyones life is in danger. Reporter or was it Something Else . Its a lousy excuse to kill somebody. Reporter what secrets were stored on this tape . When he come out, i was ready. Reporter villain . I just couldnt believe what i heard. Reporter or victim . Hug your family, kiss your children. You dont know when youre going to lose them. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with miami heat. 3 f2 estamos con el calor de miami the days heat retreated, parks filled up, soccer games were called to order. Orlando mesa loved the evening ritual. He and his 18month old son, noah. Orlando doted on the boy. He was a handson dad. Reporter and noahs mom, cindy, was there to record it all. My husband was an outdoor person. So, you know, he was always doin things with noah. Reporter and so, on a spring evening in the gathering dusk, orlando walked behind noah, who rolled along on his toy car. A Security Camera watched the
Selfdefense . The lead detective kept tellin us everyones life is in danger. Reporter or was it Something Else . Its a lousy excuse to kill somebody. Reporter what secrets were stored on this tape . When he come out, i was ready. Reporter villain . I just couldnt believe what i heard. Reporter or victim . Hug your family, kiss your children. You dont know when youre going to lose them. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with miami heat. 3 f2 estamos con el calor de miami the days heat retreated, parks filled up, soccer games were called to order. Orlando mesa loved the evening ritual. He and his 18month old son, noah. Orlando doted on the boy. He was a handson dad. Reporter and noahs mom, cindy, was there to record it all. My husband was an outdoor person. So, you know, he was always doin things with noah. Reporter and so, on a spring evening in the gathering dusk, orlando walked behind noah, who rolled along on his toy car. A Security Camera watched the
Selfdefense . The lead detective kept tellin us everyones life is in danger. Reporter or was it Something Else . Its a lousy excuse to kill somebody. Reporter what secrets were stored on this tape . When he come out, i was ready. Reporter villain . I just couldnt believe what i heard. Reporter or victim . Hug your family, kiss your children. You dont know when youre going to lose them. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with miami heat. 3 f2 estamos con el calor de miami the days heat retreated, parks filled up, soccer games were called to order. Orlando mesa loved the evening ritual. He and his 18month old son, noah. Orlando doted on the boy. He was a handson dad. Reporter and noahs mom, cindy, was there to record it all. My husband was an outdoor person. So, you know, he was always doin things with noah. Reporter and so, on a spring evening in the gathering dusk, orlando walked behind noah, who rolled along on his toy car. A Security Camera watched the
He said, if i dont get this taken care of, these people will put a beullet in my head. What was he afraid of . That he was next. No leads. Couldnt connect the dots that she was in the garage with her friend . Absolutely not. Two shocking crimes. One for money, one for love. Was there a connection . This had a twist to it. Its just so utterly so ugly and so wrong. Shes dead because she was my friend. If you ask someone in town where the buzziest part of town is, theyll probably steer you to los alos boulevard. In the district is a penthouse office suite that once upon a time was home to a highpowered law firm. The boldest, brassiest bunch of politically connected lawyers in florida. The rothstein law firm. Had a gorgeous, panoramic view out to the ocean. From a few guys with law degrees to a juggernaut by the mid 2000s, with more than 70 attorneys led by Scott Rothstein. Mike mayo was a columnist for the ft. Lauderdale sun sentinel. He probably thinks im king of the world. And the firm