Three months after Woodstock, the hippie scene shifted south.

To the boondocks west of West Palm Beach.

On Thanksgiving weekend, 40 years ago.

See anyone you know in the crowd? (Courtesy Ken Davidoff)

And the local ruling class didn’t like it one bit.

Then-Palm Beach County Sheriff Bill Heidtman vowed to make life miserable for the free-loving, pot-smoking, anti-establishment youngsters who gathered at the Palm Beach Pop Festival. He threatened to herd alligators toward the crowd, gathered at the Palm Beach International Raceway. And he swore he’d have his good ole’ boys dig out fire ant colonies and relocate them at the venue.

Yet, 50,000 people showed up for the three-day event, the only one of its kind ever in this area. And they got to calling Heidtman “Sheriff Eichmann,” after Hitler’s henchman, Adolf Eichmann.

Mick Jagger at the 1969 Palm Beach Pop Festival (Courtesy Ken Davidoff)

The lineup of bands was nearly the same as the earlier New York state rendezvous. Except that Jimi Hendrix couldn’t make it. He was replaced by a little band known as The Rolling Stones. Janis Joplin belted out a few tunes, as did The Byrds, Sly and the Family Stone, Johnny Winter, Grand Funk Railroad, Spirit and Jefferson Airplane.

Florida rocker Tom Petty was there, too, after hitch-hiking south from his hometown of Gainesville.

Palm Beach society shutterbug Ken Davidoff remembers the festival well. At 19, he scored a gig as the event’s official photographer.

Janis Joplin and Johnny Winter at the 1969 festival (Courtesy Ken Davidoff)

“It was rainy and freezing cold and people were ankle deep in mud,” Davidoff said. “There were 50,000 at the beginning, but by the time the Stones got on stage on Sunday, there were maybe 3,000 left. The weather and delays just drove people away.”

Among the delays, Davidoff cited the Stones’ arrival after authorities forced the band to wait on their jet on the tarmac for six hours, sorta, kinda, on purpose.

Davidoff recently built this Web site for the anniversary and stuffed it with some of the 600-plus pictures he took that weekend. He’s also interviewing festival-goers, roadies and promoters for a documentary.

“The festival was definitely a historical event that very few residents knew about,” Davidoff said.

For more photos, click here.

Bruce Helander (Michele Sandberg/Special to Page2Live)

West Palm Beach collage and pop artist Bruce Helander, a darling among Palm Beach’s art collectors and a popular figure on the society circuit, may soon lose his beloved classic home.

The bowler hat-wearing artist and his wife, Claudia, were notified last week that the U.S. Bank National Association filed a notice to have the home sold on the proverbial courthouse steps unless the couple comes up with $945,033.

That includes the principal on an $882,970 mortgage in 2006, and more than $2,060 in late fees.

Helander bought in 1998 for $195,000 but, according to court records, routinely borrowed against it. The digs are well-known for being the stage for some of the best parties in town and its second-to-none lush backyard.

Helander, whose art has been shown nationally, was the first hipster to buy a home in one of the downtown’s most neglected and blighted areas. He was soon followed by dozens of others, and Grandview Heights became livable again.

Helander listed the house in 2005 for $1.2 million.

“We didn’t know the bank was filing,” Helander said. “We were negotiating a new traditional mortgage. But this is a classic case of being upside down. The house appraised at less than $500,000.”

Romney, tasting the spaghetti sauce

The next presidential election is three years away, but a contender in the race that saw U.S. Sen. John McCain emerge as the Republican’s candidate last year is already working on unseating Pres. Barack Obama. Mitt Romney, a conservative former governor of Massachusetts, was in Boca Raton this weekend for a dinner at the $2 million-home in east Boca of real estate investor Mark Guzzetta. Guzzetta cooked — Italian, of course — and a dozen local swells wrote checks for a total $25,000 to Romney’s political action committee, Free and Strong America. Also in da house: Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater. Check out Page2Live’s gallery:

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Boca businessman Mark Guzzetta with Romney

Joel Koeppel, with wife Carole, and comedian Robert Klein in Mar-a-Lago (Courtesy Davidoff Studios)

Despite an extensive Palm Beach clientele, big deal real estate attorney Joel Koeppel just filed for bankruptcy.

In paperwork delivered to the federal court in West Palm Beach, Koeppel claims to owe between $1 million and $10 million to 10 creditors, including Amex, Bank of America, Colonial Bank and the IRS.

He also owes about $1 million to his former law partners, who accused him in a lawsuit they recently won of ripping them off. Former partners Larry M. Mesches and Stuart Gottlieb claimed Koeppel wrote himself checks drawn from the firm’s accounts to pay for things like his membership to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.

Mesches and Gottlieb won $857,187, plus court and attorneys’ fees.

Koeppel filed for bankruptcy Oct. 28, the day he was supposed to be deposed by Mesches in legal action to force Koeppel to cough up the dough.

“We don’t know what his intentions are in filing for bankruptcy,” Mesches said, “whether it’s to delay or avoid paying us. But we’re now checking into whether he transferred assets, which could be illegal.”

Koeppel has been involved with many charitable and civic organizations over the years, including the Town of Palm Beach’s powerful Code Compliance Board. He couldn’t be reached at his offfice and didn’t respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Bova received the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Leader of the Year award in 2004 (Palm Beach Post archives)

The scandal that engulfed the well-known Fort Lauderdale law firm of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler has spilled into the Boca Raton restaurant biz.

Tony Bova, 58, a Boca resident and the high-profile owner of a string of area restaurants, counts disgraced attorney and political power broker Scott Rothstein among his partners in at least a half-dozen ventures.

And chief among those are Bova Ristorante, Bova’s pride and joy on Boca’s Federal Highway, and the chain Bova Restaurant Group.

Bova Ristorante, where older guys with slicked-back hair loved to hook up with women too young for them, mysteriously closed its doors shortly before Rothstein took off for North Africa last month.

And no one’s talking.

“Tony Bova has no comment at this point,” a spokeswoman said.

Bova’s association with Rothstein, who’s believed to be the principal in a $500 million Ponzi scheme and just returned to Florida to face the music, surprised observers.

“Tony was a very successful restaurant owner in his own right,” said Tom Prakas, a hospitality-business broker. “I don’t know why he needed Scott Rothstein.”

One strange thing regarding Bova and Rothstein is that their businesses last year spent more than $200,000 on political causes, mostly in a heated race across the Palm Beach County line.

For more, please look below or click (Read more…)

This is a cellphone picture of a hand sanitizer in the men’s room at the Fort Lauderdale headquarters of the lawfirm Rothstein, Rosenfeldt Adler. The bottle bears the firm’s logo and these words: “OUR CLIENTS come to court WITH CLEAN HANDS.” The nerve! Let’s see if founder Scott Rothstein, one of Gov. Charlie Crist’s sugar daddies, has clean hands when he answers to allegations that he ripped off $500 million from investors to fund his champagne-and-caviar lifestyle! Check out the latest on Rothstein here.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Steve Abrams

Rookie Palm Beach County Commissioner Steve Abrams was called to the Fort Lauderdale headquarters of his private employer, the law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, for a 9 a.m. meeting today. The meeting is about the future of the 76-attorney company founded by the flamboyantly rich and politically connected Scott Rothstein.

Abrams is one of three attorneys at the firm’s Boca Raton offices. Hired 18 months ago, Abrams specialized in governmental law until he was picked by Gov. Charlie Crist to replace disgraced commissioner Mary McCarty on the commission.

“I’m just part-time now and I don’t do governmental law,” Abrams said. “I don’t know anything about what’s going on. I’m in a satellite office in Boca. We don’t hear anything.”

Abrams said he doesn’t know if he still has a job there. Several lawyers were recently laid off.

Rothstein, a tight buddy of Crist’s and other Republican heavy-hitters like U.S. Sen. John McCain, skipped town last week amid allegations that money borrowed from legal settlements was missing.

Rothstein was known to hire lawyers involved in politics, including Abrams, a former mayor of Boca Raton, and disgraced former Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne.

Fergie: Adult diapers, please!

Under congressional fire: Miami Dolphins’ celebrity owners!

U.S. Rep. Steve King, a Republican from the boondocks — I mean Iowa — asked NFL Commish Roger Goodell a pertinent question in a Capitol Hill hearing yesterday.

If Palm Beacher Rush Limbaugh is too offensive to be a part-owner of the St. Louis Rams, then why are Fergie and singer/actress Jennifer Lopez?

King, who hijacked a hearing about football injuries, said: “I don’t think anything that Rush Limbaugh said was offensive, but with Fergie and with J-Lo, they have, between the two of them, alleged that the CIA are terrorists and liars. They’ve promoted sexual abuse of women. They’ve used the N-word, verbal pornography, recreational drug use, etc. And they are owners of the Dolphins. And it’s also ironic that Fergie was approved as an owner on the very day that you made your statement on Rush Limbaugh.”

JLo

And King left out a few things.

He didn’t seem to remember the time when Fergie was so drunk she peed on herself during a show. And he left out Dolphins part-owner Serena Williams, the Palm Beach Gardens tennis titan whose obscene tirade at a line judge at this year’s U.S. Open was seen by a worldwide audience.

And he’s got the JLo thing wrong. Her hubby, salsero Marc Anthony, is an owner — JLo isn’t listed on the team’s media guide as one. She does accompany him to games and often ends up in game photos.

As for Fergie, the sale of her shares into the team is pending.

Still, Goodell’s response was little else than a typical D.C. topic-shifting ploy. He talked about Donovan McNabb, the Philadelphia Eagles QB whom Limbaugh once called “overrated.”

On his Web site Wednesday, Limbaugh called Goodell a “total weasel.”

King ended his questioning by telling Goodell to listen to JLo and Fergie songs and report back.

“I’d ask you to go back and take a look at the owners of the Dolphins, and . . . the songs that they recorded, review those lyrics, and I’ll provide some of those lyric songs to you,” he said, “and I’ll ask you to come back and respond to that question after the hearing as to whether you’ll put the same scrutiny on those owners who have really shined a negative light on the NFL as opposed to somebody that the NFL apparently just doesn’t agree with his politics.”

The Limbaugh controversy erupted earlier this month when star conservative radio talker was dropped from a group of investors who bid on the hapless Rams. Goodell spoke against Limbaugh becoming an investor, as did players and current team owners — mostly for things Limbaugh may or may not have said concerning race.

Meanwhile Dolphins majority owner Stephen M. Ross, whose Palm Beach home is two miles south of Rush’s, has stocked the team’s ownership with celebrities. The roster includes tennis star Venus Williams, Serena’s sister, and Miami singer Gloria Estefan and husband Emilio. The Dolphins signed a commercial deal with Palm Beach troubadour Jimmy Buffett and had hip-hopper T-Pain redo the team’s fight song.

Said Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene: “We have no comment, except to reaffirm that our limited partners were approved through the appropriate process by the NFL.”

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(Courtesy Mattel)

There are, in Palm Beach, dozens of dandies that could have served as the inspiration for the new, $81.99-Ken doll.

The must-have toy goes on the market in April — Fools Day, although it’s no joke. And yes, as the certificate of authenticity will show, the doll’s name really is Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken.

The newbie by Matel, maker of Barbie, comes complete with a George Hamilton tan, apple-green jacket, white pants and shoes, swim trunks, tea-cup white pooch with a pink leash and, it’s understood, an attractive bank account.

Sugar Daddy is the latest addition to the popular line of Palm Beach Barbie, which already includes Palm Beach Coral Barbie and Palm Beach Caftan Barbie.

This is how entertainmentearth.com describes Sugar Daddy, for which it’s already taking orders: “Cool sophistication in breezy Palm Beach! Sporting a dashing jacquard-patterned jacket with a light pink polo shirt and crisp white pants, Ken doll is ready for Palm Beach social season, sunning by the pool and a stroll with his little companion.”

Coming up next, Palm Beach Walker Ken!

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Greg Norman and Chris Evert at last year's event (Alan Eyestone/The Palm Beach Post)

Aussie golf legend Greg Norman’s name was quietly dropped from the list of the stars scheduled to appear at the Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic next week.

As Evert’s husband of a little more than a year, the Great White Shark was a lock for the 20th annual Delray Beach/Boca Raton fundraiser. But now that Norman and Evert are splitsville, the lineup for the Nov. 7-8 tournament was altered.

With Norman out, the prettier, and younger, actor Jeffrey Donovan is in. He’ll play tennis at the Delray Beach Tennis Center and should walk the red carpet at the black-tie gala at the Boca Raton Resort.

Jeffrey Donovan, on the set of Burn Notice (Courtesy USA Network)

It’ll be a first appearance at Evert’s wingding for Donovan, the star of USA Network’s Miami-based Burn Notice. His previous first appearance was in a Miami court in July. DUI!

The pros, ex-pros and wannabe pros enrolled: former tennis great Martina Navratilova, Navratilova’s doubles partner Pam Shriver, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Justin Gimelstob and Vince Spadea. The show biz celebs: actress Elisabeth Shue; comic Jon Lovitz; reality TV stars Bruce and Kris Jenner (Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian’s mom and her Olympic hero husband); rocker Gavin Rossdale; and Today host Matt Lauer.

The popular Norman, after all, may not be missed.

“It’s one of the freshest lineups in years,” said event publicist Tip Nunn. “Among the tennis players, you have four former women’s No. 1 players. And there are several new names on the entertainers’ side. Donovan and the Jenners have never been here before. And it’s been years since we saw Matt Lauer.”

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