Still, federal sentencing guidelines for financial fraud are driven by the amount of loss. The $1.2 billion take for Rothstein’s Ponzi scheme will set the bar high.

Goldstein, a shareholder with Goldstein Jette, represented a business partner of Leonard Bogdan, a convicted Ponzi schemer in Fort Pierce, Florida.

“I’ve seen fraud cases with much lower numbers than Rothstein, where people ended up getting longer than 20 years,” Goldstein said.

In a 30-page presentencing memorandum, defense attorney Marc Nurik starts off by claiming Rothstein has been subjected to unfair “public vilification by the media,” and insists that his client has done everything humanly possible to mitigate his crimes since October 2009. Nurik called for a “rational sentence” that would leave open a tiny possibility that the 47-year-old Rothstein might get out of jail for the final years of his life.

The memo is accompanied by a letter from Rothstein to U.S. District Judge James Cohn, in which the disbarred attorney says “the money and the power were intoxicating.” Click here to read Rothstein's letter.

A commonly cited comparison for Rothstein is New York attorney Marc Dreier, the “other lawyer” in the rogue’s gallery of recent Ponzi schemers, who was jailed in 2009 on charges of wire and mail fraud.

Prosecutors had recommended 145 years, while the probation department suggested 25 years. Dreier got 20 years.

Dreier may have used his position as an attorney to gain confidence, but his fraud was tied to the sale of fake promissory notes.

Rothstein pleaded guilty to using his law firm as a front for his Ponzi scheme and to selling interests in phony lawsuit settlements.

He has admitted to fabricating plaintiff and defendant names for the bogus settlements, and also admitted to funneling illegal money through his firm’s attorneys for political donations.

Cohn is not known for being soft on such cases. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence LaVecchio.

Paul Calli, a white-collar crime attorney with Carlton Fields in Miami, Florida, said Rothstein’s forgery of a judge’s signature is likely to draw an enhancement for obstruction of justice.

“You’re going to hear Mr. LaVecchio saying that this case was kind of a black eye on the South Florida legal community,” Calli said. “I can’t imagine him being sentenced to less than 30 years, even with his cooperation.”

In a recent conversation, Intriago said Rothstein probably faces up to 25 years. But, after considering the impact on the legal system, he said it could be more.

“It’s particularly egregious because it desecrates the judicial system,” Intriago said. “He made a mockery of the legal system.”

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Paul Brinkmann writes for the South Florida Business Journal.