Bernie Madoff: Lucky Duck Gets Otisville!
According to PageSix , (the NY Post's infamous gossip column), Ruth Madoff was overhead at a California Pizza Kitchen gushing about how happy she is Bernie is going to Otisville:
RUTH Madoff had a rough time at California Pizza Kitchen the other night. Slinking into the East Side eatery with a young female friend, she ordered a salad and white wine, but quickly got flustered. "The waiter said she was upset because she had coupons and they expired before she could use them," a witness told us, adding that several diners told the waiters they shouldn't serve her. One bit of good news for Ruth, though -- she'd just learned her Ponzi-schemer hubby, Bernie Madoff, will be locked away in upstate Otisville, the prison his lawyer had requested. "I'm so glad! It's just what we wanted," she gushed to her dining companion. On her way out, one female diner shouted "Goodnight, Ruth!" The frosty-blond Madoff ignored her, but her dining partner cringed
Otisville is a medium security prison only 70 miles outside of New York. It caters to Orthodox Jews and houses such illuminaries as Herman Jacobowitz, former Allou Healthcare CEO, who is doing 20 years for stock fraud, bribery and arson.
(Rumor has Rabbi Glanz in line to become the Big O.'s first director of spiritually inspired social activities, a position newly created to satisfy inmate demand for more interactive family functions.) ***
Bernie's first choice was Otisville and his assignment is another indication he made a deal with the Feds before he was sentenced. I'm sure that's why the Feds announced they were not going to press criminal charges against Ruth and permitted her to keep $2.5 million.
SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz's three-hour meeting with Bernie at the MMC a couple of weeks ago is a sign that Bernie agreed to cooperate on other matters of interest to the SEC. Bernie was on Wall Street for more than forty years and he knows where the bodies are buried.
As an aside, Ruth bubbling that Otisville "is just what we wanted" is more evidence she is standing by her man and his monstrous crimes have in no way diminshed her love and regard for her husband. Just how shocked was she when she learned she was married to the king of all Ponzis?
***In his former position as a spiritual advisor at the Tombs, the rabbi became famous for his catered affairs. An in-prison bar mitzvah party for 60, complete with band, is his most noted accomplishment.
What?! Ruthie was the Queen of Ponzi! She kept the books. I think she's the brains behind the little guy.
July 12, 2009 12:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Madoffs are all con artists. Each of them played a role in protecting the family secret and keeping the game going as long as possible.
There was no upside for any of them to voluntarily terminate the scheme. The longer it went on, for example, the less time Bernie would ever spend in prison.
The only mitigating factor in the children's favor is that they were raised by their monstrous parents to accept that the family had a dark secret they were never supposed to talk about.
Mark, Andrew and Shana provided cover for what was really going on and they operated as a second set of eyes and ears for Bernie and Peter.
Maybe the Madoff children were able to postpone acknowledging what their parents had done to them while the money was rolling in but the awfulness of it has to be sinking in now.
July 12, 2009 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why not indict Ruth and the Picowers?
Do you think they are under surveillance?
July 12, 2009 3:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why does a correctional institution need a baseball diamond?
They need a yard, lots of big rocks, and enough hammers to make small rocks.
July 12, 2009 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Otisville seems to be capable of handling the needs of observant Jews but I have not seen anything about Bernie's level of religiosity. Seems like it would be riskier to put him there among the faithful considering the fact that he ripped off Elie Wiesel and many Jewish philanthropies.
July 12, 2009 5:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, I don't think Bernie or Ruth were particularly religious. In fact, when I first read that Bernie had hired a prison consultant, I commented that his first priority would be to squelch rumours about Bernie's pork sausage jones.
(I think it was his London office manager, Julie Fenwick, claimed Bernie and Ruth occasionally indulged in greasy breakfasts w/sausages.)
My understanding is that Otisville has a lot of white collar criminals. Herman Jacobowitz, for example, claimed to have millions of dollars of non-existent inventory on hand. The arson and bribery charges were a result of his burning down his Brooklyn warehouse and offering the fire inspector $100k to say it was an accident.
I don't if any of the Spitz brothers went to Otisville. They borrowed $60 million from three insurance companies and promptly stole all of it. You have to laugh. Their supporters characterized them as pillars of the community because they were so supportive of religious causes.
From a criminal's point of view, Bernie was very successful. Plus Bernie might be able to trade on information. He was on Wall Street for forty years so he knows all of the tricks of the trade and he knows who to contact to get things done.
The other thing is that Jews generally are non-violent. For the most part, they are going to be more educated than the average inmate and they probably will watch more interesting television shows.
July 12, 2009 6:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Half of NYC has Ruth under surveillance. My guess is that the Feds will keep an eye on whoever she associates for evidence of untoward financial transactions.
There was a rumor on Thursday that Ruth was staying with her niece, Diane Hochman, in Hewlett, one of the Five Towns on Long Island but to date, she has not been sighted, according to one Hewlett resident.
I subscribe to the theory that the fraud began at least forty years ago and Ruth's father was a perpetrator. I am not convinced that Ruth's sister and her husband, Joan Alpern and Robert D. Roman, were innocent victims.
(Robert Roman was Bernie's insurance agent before he retired two years ago. Their son-in-law and Diane's husband, Seth Hochman, took the business over.)
In fact, I thought the Romans submitted their $11 million claim to the trustee in a very showy manner to demonstrate that they too were Bernie's victims before Bernie was sentenced. This way, when they helped Ruth afterwards, people would be more inclined to believe Ruth is innocent.
I'm still not sure that at least part of Ruth's $45 million didn't come from her father. No one ever said whether Avellino & Bienes bought his share of the investment business. But if Ruth hadn't given it up, the Feds would have prosecuted her, I'm sure.
The Romans live in a gated community in Boca Raton in a house that has a tax value of $360k but it has to be worth at least four times as much. (I think there is some kind of tax dodge going on wherein a buyer has to sink a lot of money into a property association deal rather than the house itself.)
Diane Hochman is one of Joan's three daughters. She put her house in Hewlett up for sale ten days after Bernie's arrest. But the house has now been taken off the market.
I'm curious as to whether Bernie's sister, Sandra Wiener and her husband, Marvin, ever sold their $3 million Palm Beach house. Wiener was the one who made a big show of crying about being broke when Bernie was arrested. As a matter of fact, so did her son, Charles Wiener who was Bernie's director of adminstration for more than twenty years. He was supposed to be selling his house in Centerport, Long Island. (I'd love to know what Wiener did all day year in and year out.)
In any event, I'm sure the Feds have an idea where all the relatives are getting their money from.
July 12, 2009 5:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oops! I forgot to respond to your question about Picower. The Picower case is probably a lot more complicated than Bernie's. Picower has had his hand in a number of businesses over the years and he maintained a fairly low profile so information about him is more difficult to come by.
April Freilich has been with Picower for at least thirty years. She's the one who reportedly told Frank DiPascali what rates of return to generate. She's also an officer of at least two Picower entities.
Freilich probably has an encyclopedic knowledge of Picower's business transactions and I doubt she wants to go to prison at this point in her life.
Freilich lives in Armonk with her husband and one daughter, Samantha, who is an event planner and player on the NYC social scene. I think her husband is Allan Freilich, a jeweler in the Bronx but I'm not positive about that.
In the '80s, Picower invested with Ivan Boesky and later succesfully sued him to recover whatever money he lost. I think people assumed that their relationship had become adversarial but I'm not so sure. I'm not sure Picower hasn't been doing business with Boesky all along.
July 12, 2009 5:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Search http://southflorida.blockshopper.com/ for Marvin or Sondra W.
July 12, 2009 7:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks. Marvin and Sondra Wiener sold their house in Palm Beach Gardens in May for $575k so it looks like the Wieners really did lose their life savings of $3 million in the scam.
July 13, 2009 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
BTW, Cedarhoist is my favorite of the five towns.
Did your sleuths uncover this letter smuggled out of Otisville?
Otisville, New York
My darling Ruthie
I had to sell my Patek to get writing paper for this letter. You know it was the only thing left with my initials on it. I let the feds take the Hong Kong knockoff watches when they raided the penthouse. Such fools! G-d know I don’t need a watch around here, though.
The warden said the strangest thing to me when I passed by his office. He said he smelled “a whiff of Queens.” Then this burly female guard who reminded me of Selma Diamond winked and said, “I’m with Bernie.” What do you think they meant? Sure, it's a long way from Laurelton, but…
By the way, Ruthie, Manny Bus Service runs a vehicle from Brooklyn to Otisville if you want to visit me now that we no longer have the car service or the Merc. It’s about $35, roundtrip, I think. Or maybe Peter and Shana will drive you.
Please visit. Or write.
Bernie
July 12, 2009 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
"A whiff of Queens" is perfect. Awhile back, one of the London papers said Bernie had a "whiff of the backstreet" about him but Queens is a much better description.
All in all, Bernie gives me the impression that he was one boring guy.
I wonder who is going to drive Ruth up to Otisville. Maybe she will hook up with the families of some of the other inmates. A lot of them have to from NYC.
July 12, 2009 6:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I lifted "whiff of Queens" from New York magazine. At least they didn't say "whiff of the Meadowlands."
I understand that Otisville protects its perimeter with guards on horseback so the whiff of horse manure is familiar to Bernie and his grifter relatives.
July 12, 2009 6:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
OT: There appears to be question about who owns the house on C Street. See Empty Wheel. Can you help?
July 12, 2009 6:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
From DC tax records
https://www.taxpayerservicecenter.com/RP_Detail.jsp?ssl=0733%20%20%20%200825
Address: 0133 C ST SE
SSL: 0733 0825
Record Details
Neighborhood: CAPITOL HILL Sub-Neighborhood: A
Use Code: 89 - Special Purpose-Misc Class 3 Exception: No
Tax Type: E1 - Religious Tax Class: 002 - Commercial
Homestead Status: ** Not receiving the Homestead Deduction
Assessor: LEIGHTON JONES
Gross Building Area: Ward: 6
Land Area: 3,466 Triennial Group: 2
Owner and Sales Information
Owner Name: YOUTH WITH A MISSION WASHINGTON DC INC C ST CENTER
Mailing Address: 133 C ST SE; WASHINGTON DC20003-1807
Sale Price: Not Available
Sale Date: Not Available
Instrument No.:
Tax Year 2010 Preliminary Assessment Roll
Current Value Proposed New Value (2010)
Land: $682,800 $682,800
Improvements: $1,162,010 $1,151,700
Total Value: $1,844,810 $1,834,500
Taxable Assessment: * $1,844,810 $1,834,500
July 12, 2009 7:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have read several articles that seem to exonerate the sons in the scam - what is your opinion?
July 13, 2009 10:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
My opinion is that the p.r. consultant Mark and Andrew hired, George Sard, was worth every penny they paid him.
Between Bernie and Sard, they created a myth that the trading side of the business which was operated by the boys was aboveboard. Not so. For years, the company violated customer order and market exposure rules.
Pricefixing was rampant when Bernie was chairman of NASDQ in the early '90s.
Investment fund were commingled with proprietary funds, a practice that is illegal.
Mark and Andrew knew they weren't handling the investment trading and they knew the staff on the 17th floor wasn't making any investment trades.
Surely Mark and Andrew asked why they weren't involved in the investment business since it funded their lavish lifestyle.
The idea that Bernie, at age 70, still hadn't shared the secret of his investing success with his sons after they worked at the company for more than twenty years is preposterous.
I'm working on a post now that demonstrates that Bernie's niece, Shana Madoff, had to have known there was no trading in early 2004.
July 13, 2009 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just last week I read an article about Ruth and Bernie making a big splash at Ruth's school reunion.
In the guest book in response to "what have you been doing since graduation" she wrote that since her marriage to Madoff he and she were operating his business.
The reunion and her statement was 2-months prior to Bernie's "confession" to the ponzi scheme...of which she and he keep insisting she knew nothing about.
The woman is bragging about running her husband's day-to-day business one day and a few days later and even now, (he and) she claim she knew nothing about anything is absurd on it's face.
Don't forget...Bernie's own mother and father were both charged and convicted for operating a ponzi scheme as he was growing up.
Nurture or nature?
July 13, 2009 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bernie's parents weren't charged with operating a Ponzi scheme. His mother was nabbed by the SEC in 1962 for operating as an unregistered broker. She terminated the business which satisfied the SEC.
The parents may very well have operated some sort of investment business resembling a Ponzi scheme before Bernie got into the business but that hasn't been verified.
If the parents were operating an investment business, it helps explain how young Bernie was knowledgable about the stock market when he went into the investing business.
I've long wondered whether Bernie's parents paid for his college education. If they did, they must have been somewhat successful.
A former long time Madoff employee claimed he used to ride the train home with Bernie's father, Ralph when Bernie first opened his office on Wall Street in the early '60s. No mention of Mom so she might have retired by then.
July 13, 2009 2:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Miz Panstreppon...why did this thread get retired so soon...it was just getting going.
July 13, 2009 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL - Out work here is done. Bernie is on his way to Butner in NC.
(Reader posts are only permitted to stay on the recc'd list for a max. of 24 hours)
July 14, 2009 12:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, I know posts get retired but I've noticed some that just gather like fusty tumbleweeds despite being off point.
Can't get enough Madoff.
July 14, 2009 6:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know what you mean. I have tons of Madoff trivia stuck in my brain.
Did you seee the news? Bernie is a holdover in Atlanta. According to CNN, holdover prisoners have no access to their personal possessions, cannot make phone calls and are sometimes limited to two showers per week.
July 14, 2009 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
No, let me check the wires. I think they sell Hai Karate cologne in prison stores, don't they?
July 14, 2009 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink