How not to have an illicit affair

August 5, 2002

New York Magazine: Fool for Love

How did an Orthodox Jewish lawyer and family man fall so hard for a Scores stripper that he invited her to his kids' bar mitzvahs?

When the prosecutor stood up and began weaving a sordid tale of strippers and a secret life and a love nest and all of the money Rothken had spent, everyone was stunned. [Rothken's wife, his parents, his in-laws (including his father-in-law, an Orthodox rabbi), and several members of the community] had no clue this had been going on...Needless to say, after what they'd heard, no one volunteered any collateral for bail.

A mildly entertaining story involving a wealthy lawer, a stripper and hubris: what better workday entertainment is there?