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In Memoriam: Mark Levinson, Levinson Jewelers February 25, 2015 (0 comments)
Ft. Lauderdale, FL—Mark Levinson, co-owner of Levinson Jewelers, died early Tuesday morning of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 60.
According to a report in the Sun Sentinel, Levinson sent a suicide note via text message to his wife, Robin, who co-owns the eponymous jewelry store. His body was found near the couple’s waterfront home. Although their investigation was still open at press time, Ft. Lauderdale police did not suspect foul play and the Broward County coroner has ruled Levinson’s death a suicide.
The Levinsons, who founded their business in 1983 in a small jewelry exchange in Plantation, FL, are fixtures in the South Florida philanthropic community, and well known in the jewelry industry for their creative promotions, most of which include a charity element. The couple numbers many local and national celebrities among their friends, such as NFL sports legend Dan Marino, Lauren Tannehill, wife of Miami Dolphins Ryan Tannehill, singer John Oates, and NBA player Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, among others. As retailers, they grew their jewelry exchange location again and again over the years until they gradually took over that entire space, and in 2008 moved to the current location on Las Olas Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale.
Local news reports linked Levinson's name to a Ponzi scheme that collapsed in 2009. The primary architect of the scheme, an attorney named Scott Rothstein, had purchasesd millions of dollars' worth of jewelry and watches at Levinson Jewelers. He is now serving a 50-year prison term. Levinson was not charged in the fraud but agreed to pay $650,000 in clawbacks. No further information was available at press time, although the Levinson Jewelers Facebook page has announced his funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, FL and requests donations in his memory be made to the Dan Marino Foundation, which supports children and people with autism and other disabilities.
A spokesperson for Levinson Jewelers told The Centurion the family has requested privacy during this difficult time. Read more here and here.
Levinson Jewelers' Las Olas Boulevard store in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.