The Newt Gingrich presidential campaign probably is in need of a life preserver in the wake of reports that the candidate lied about key factors in his 1980 divorce. Well, I'm just the gal to give Newt a hand.
Here's what he needs to do: Study up on an Alabama divorce case called Rollins v. Rollins and then use the press to spread the word about the abominable behavior of Wall Street darling Ted Rollins. In comparison to one of America's corporate "1 percenters," Newt will look positively charming.
Who is Ted Rollins? He is the CEO of Campus Crest Communities, a company that completed a $380-million IPO late last year. For good measure, Rollins belongs to one of the nation's wealthiest families, the folks who run Rollins Inc., parent company of Orkin Pest Control. Rollins Inc. is led by billionaire brothers R. Randall and Gary Rollins, who are Ted's cousins. The company is based in Atlanta, so there is a tie to Newt's home state of Georgia. Newt needs to use that connection--plus information from the Rollins v. Rollins court file--to show the public what a real marital scoundrel looks like.
Ted Rollins, it's been said, makes Newt Gingrich look like George Bailey, the famed family man from It's A Wonderful Life.
What kind of charmer is Ted Rollins? Get a load of this:
Newt Gingrich might be a scuzzbucket in the spouse department, but he's got a ways to go if he's going to catch Ted Rollins, the CEO of Campus Crest Communities. Rollins' company completed a $380-million Wall Street IPO late last year, based on its projected strength as a developer of student housing near universities across the country.
Investors probably were attracted by the fact that Rollins belongs to one of America's wealthiest families, the folks behind Orkin Pest Control and other profitable enterprises. Court records show that Rollins owns multiple private jet craft and has engaged in business ventures with his cousin, R. Randall Rollins of Atlanta. Randall Rollins is chairman of Rollins Inc., the parent company for Orkin, and his stock worth in 2005 was estimated at a cool $763.8 million. Gary Rollins, Randall's younger brother and president of Rollins Inc., had a 2005 stock worth of $791 million.
It seems a safe bet that the overall wealth for both Randall and Gary Rollins has easily topped the $1 billion mark by now. And that gives us some idea of the financial waters in which Ted Rollins swims.
So why are Sherry Carroll Rollins (Ted's ex wife) and their daughters (Sarah and Emma) on food stamps in Birmingham, where they now live? The answer seems to be this: Ted Rollins came up with schemes in his divorce case that Newt Gingrich could not even imagine.
Yep, a guy who jets around the country in multiple private air craft has an ex wife and two children on food stamps in Alabama. And while he was under a court order to ensure that his wife had "undisturbed possession" of the marital home, Ted Rollins took actions that ensured she and the children would be kicked out of their house. By failing to pay the mortgage, as ordered by a judge, Ted Rollins forced his own kids to go on the run and be temporarily homeless.
This is the kind of guy that Wall Street's "1 percenters" adore. Investors throw money at his feet.
Ted Rollins, it appears, has pulled divorce-related stunts that Newt Gingrich could not even imagine. Newt needs to inform the country about this, so his status as a "family values" Republican can be restored.