The Day Bernie Madoff Dropped His Trousers
More in BUSINESS NEWS
back-up- Top Firms Finally Hit By H1N1 Threat
- Top Firm Caught Out By Rogue Traders
- 'It's Not As If They Paid Great Bonuses In The First Place!'
- Top Firm Chain Letter
- Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves
- Dear All - 'I Am Not Interested' In Bank of America Job
- Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Goldman, JPMorgan, Galleon Group
- Old Traders Never Die - The Seance
- Click Here To Register For Free News E-Mail Alerts
- Speculation Mounts About Goldman's Bonus Plans
- Top Boss Tells Church Crowd 'Profit Is Not Satanic'
- Your Views On Bonuses (Poll Results)
- Bank of America 'Is Not A Monarchy'
- Bankers Will Have The Last Laugh On Pay
- 'There Aren't Many People Who Think Charlotte Is A Major Financial Center'
- Top Firm Delivers 'Another Big Disappointment'
- Bank Of America CEO Poll - Incredible Result
- Scruffy Civil Servant Warns Tax Dodgers
- BofA Said To Have Got Another Turn-Down
- Interview With Bernie Madoff
- Top Firm Dismisses Talk Of Further $10bn Writedown
- The Average British Soldier
- Top Firm Puts More Aside For Staff Compensation
- Firms On Alert As Insect 'Infestation' Crashes PC Networks
- Register Now For Free 'Old Traders Never Die' Updates
- Secretary Geithner's Written Testimony On Reform Of Financial System
- ISITC Europe Successfully Introduces New Operating Structure
- Dumb & Dumber - Incredible Details About Lehman Weekend Revealed
- The Cityboy Column
- The Man Bank of America Should Hire As CEO (But Won't)
- Goldman Needs To Give Away $1bn
- Top Firms Said To Have Lost $400m On Hedge Fund
- H1N1 Flu - Have You Got It ? (Quick Test)
- H1N1 Bank Call Center Transcript (You Couldn't Make It Up)
- 'It's Just No Fun Anymore!'
- Top Firm CEO Says He Won't Poach Staff From Rivals
- 'I Hate Recruitment Consultants' - Reader Comments
- Bohemian Bankruptcy
- 'I Hate Recruitment Consultants'
- Mack Attack - The Moment Big John Hit Back
- Compliance Training ? 'The Biscuits Were Good'
- Banker, Hire Thyself
- IT Recruitment - The Smart Way
- And Wall Street's Top Athlete Is...........
- John Mack On Saving Morgan Stanley
- Bankers Taught How To Be Killing Machines
- Banks Given Five More Days To Justify Bonuses
- Billionaire Madoff Investor Found Dead In Swimming Pool
- Top Bailed-Out Execs Averaged $18m Each In 2008
- The Vic Daniels Column - 26/10/09
Related Content
- Interview With Bernie Madoff (02/11/2009)
- Too Good To Be True - The Rise & Fall of Bernie Madoff (14/08/2009)
- 'Madoff With The Money' (14/09/2009)
- 'So Tell Me Bernie, Just What Is The Food Like In Here?' (01/10/2009)
- Report On SEC Shortcomings Over Madoff Affair (03/09/2009)
- Banker Faces 45 Years In Clink / Madoff & The Ladies (18/08/2009)
Very slowly, details are starting to emerge about the strange and crazy world of Madoff, and, here and there, are clues that, with hindsight, might have focused suspicion on the fraudster before he confessed to his crimes last December.
Fortune reveals, for instance, that it took a special pass to gain access to Madoff's back office processing area, based in offices in mid-Manhattan. And the IBM server which supported his scam operation was almost 30 years old, and many things had to be manually inputted. Despite it's age, and the fact that it often went wrong, Madoff repeatedly refused to replace it.
Bernie, in fact, appeared to have a phobia against technology (strange for a former Chairman of the NASDAQ, who claimed that he was involved in the design of its technology platform). According to the news magazine, Madoff didn't have a BlackBerry, didn't use e-mail, and had his computer set up so that he never had to turn it on (because he didn't know how to).
And Madoff appears to have been petrified every time US regulators came knocking on the door (mostly on routine visits). He is said to have often returned to the office immediately he was alerted to their presence, even flying back early from holidays.
Bernie could also apparently be a rather insensitive fellow. Fortune quotes an instance when a female member of Madoff's staff told the fraudster that she had a nightmare about being raped. 'That's not a nightmare, that's a fantasy!', came the reply.
And finally, as reported previously, Madoff had a thing for symmetry and straight-lines. His offices had to be decorated in the same way, in the same color schemes. Blinds had to be drawn to the same length, computer screens had to be at the same angle, and rugs had to be aligned. Fortune even says, that on one famous occasion, Madoff dropped his trousers just to show his staff that the 'line of of his shirt buttons was precisely vertical'.
Please use the 'E-Mail' button immediately under the article title to send this item to a friend.
