Still At Work - But The Phones Are Off, The Computers Unplugged
She continued: 'Everything was always so controlled. The London office had to resemble as closely as possible the New York office - grey walls, grey carpets, black trim, black cupboards. Everything was grey and black. On occasions he (Madoff) visited London, we'd spend days before his arrival levelling the blinds, making sure the computer screens were an identical height, lining every picture up straight......Bernie has some sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder'. In the meantime, over in the Madoff Securities New York office, staff are still in work and being paid - but they are doing no work, as the phones are turned off and computers are unplugged, as staff are simply there to try and help investigators piece together exactly went on in Madoff land.
Bernie himself seems to have upset US prosecutors, who are now asking that he be jailed for allegedly violating the terms of his bail - they claim that he has sent jewellery, watches and other items valued at more than $1m to family and friends. It is thought that his two sons ratted their father out (they were also the ones who are understood to have blown the whistle on their father's alleged activities last month).
And The International Herald Tribune reports that the brother of Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, the man who killed himself because of his exposure to Madoff's funds, has said that his sibling 'had a true concept of capitalism. He felt responsible and he felt guilty....If you ruin your friends, your clients, you have to face the consequences'.
In the meantime, The Financial Times reports that some of Wall Street's largest mutual fund managers kept well clear of Madoff, seeing red flags and, in some cases, 'steering clients away (from him)'. Merrill Lynch Investment Management (now part of BlackRock) was concerned about a lack of transparency, while Goldman Sachs Asset Management has said that it 'never felt comfortable with Madoff...(as it) never understood the investment process or the returns'.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities was examined at least 8 times by US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission over the years, and that Madoff himself was interviewed following tip-offs of alleged wrongdoing on at least two occasions. Still, Bernie's alleged fraud was only uncovered when he 'fessed up to his sons, who turned him in.
And The New York Post reports that, as the trustee handling the Madoff liquidation has sent out over 8,000 claim forms to investors, some of Madoff's victims are seeking a bailout from Uncle Sam (why not, everyone else is?). Some investors have called on the US Treasury to augment the $1.6bn in the Securities Investor Protection Corporation - and then pay them out. Nice.
Finally, as Bloomberg reports that Austria's financial regulator has now assumed control of Bank Medici, the private bank that had some $2.1bn invested with Madoff, The Times City Diary pointed us to a great gag on the subject courtesy of Joan Rivers. Talking to The New York Time's magazine, Ms Rivers said: 'I love life, except for losing all that money with Ruth and Bernie Madoff. I'm pleading with you (she asks the interviewer), please say, 'She's lost a bundle to Bernie Madoff''. 'Did you ?', the interviewer asks. 'No, but everybody is walking around now saying that, and that shows you used to be very rich'.
Please use the 'E-Mail' button immediately under the article title to send this item to a friend.
An Amazing Document On Madoff Said To Have Been Sent To SEC In 2005