The last of Bernie Madoff

It would have been more poetically just if Bernie Madoff had shuffled off this mortal coil on April 15th (the once and future tax day). But he dreamed (perchance) about his last Ponzi swindle or Palm Beach swankery on April 14th. And that's it. The last of Bernie Madoff. He died at a North Carolina medical facility run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. After pulling off the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, in late 2008, Madoff was turned in by his sons. He's been in prison since 2009. He outlived both of his children. One died of cancer, the other killed himself.

Pink Slip has devoted plenty of virtual ink to Bernie since he first came onto my scene in December 2008. 

My first Bernie-related post  - Bernie Madoff: "People make mistakes"? - opened up with a quote that left me slack jawed. It was from a retired broker who knew Madoff. "I think very highly of him," this jamoke told the Wall Street Journal, "People make mistakes." Given that the magnitude of Madoff's scam was well north of $50B, I'd say that "People make mistakes" was probably the understatement of the year back in 2008.

I really got crankin' on Bernie in 2009, which was a banner year for Madoff posts. In February, I wrote about some interesting revelations about the scam, which included the gem that one of Bernie's victims - dah-link! - was Zsa Zsa Gabor. 

Another pair of victims: artists Madeline Gins and her husband Arakawa. The couple were conceptual artists who had dedicated their lives to the notion that you could outwit destiny, i.e., not die, if you lived in an environment that was architected to be unstable and uncomfortable. As it turns out, Bernie outlived both of them. Arakawa died in 2010. (Gins said at the time, "This mortality thing is bad news.") She died in 2014. I hope they felt that living in instability and discomfort was worth it. In any case, I'm pretty sure that Bernie Madoff was not responsible for their deaths.

Although I don't believe she was part of Bernie's scheme, his wife Ruthie sure did benefit from it. The couple had luxe home in Manhattan, Montauk (Long Island), Palm Beach. Ruthie had all the beautiful clothing, furs, and jewelry a gal could want. That Bernie, he was a good provider. But I do have some sympathy for her. Bum for a husband (in her word, a "villain") and - far worse - outliving both of her children. Before Bernie went to jail, they tried to futz around with their finances and squirrel away $70M to take care of Ruthie. The futzing didn't work. Most of the money was clawed back to give to the victims of the scam. She ended up getting to keep $2M, and last I heard she was living modestly in Connecticut.   

If Ruth Madoff thought that 2009 started out pretty rotten, it got worse. In August, it was revealed that Bernie had been cheating on her: a twenty year affair with the CFO of Hadassah. 

Did I mention that the bad year got worse? Yes, I did. And it got even worser when their earthly possessions were put up for auction - everything from Bernie's Cartier and Rolex watches to Ruthie's golf shoes to the couple's personalized Post-it notes. Her pricey silver, china, and glassware. A dozen sterling saltshakers (salt included) and her ceramic cow creamer. (Hey, I have one of those.). 

The auction went over quite well. Bernie's fancy Mets jacket that was supposed to go for $720 went for $14.5K.

Bernie's Hofstra College Class of 1960 ring brought in $6K. The pre-auction estimate was $360.

Ruthie's diamond dangle earrings went for $70K per pair - pre-auction worth was set at $9.8 and $21.4K.

I'm sure that Madoff's victims were delighted to see so many items bid up, up and away. 

In 2013, news emerged that while Bernie Madoff was running his scheme, his company also had a wild, anything goes expense policy. And not just for Bernie. Some of this nearest and dearest employees were allowed to charge anything on their corporate cards. I guess money's no object when it's not yours to begin with.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the outing of his scheme, Bernie spoke with the Wall Street Journal. In the interview the dear man blamed his investors (they were "'sophisticated people' who should have known better") for his misfortunes. Them and  banks. ("He insisted banks knew about his fraud and were complicit in the scheme for years.") What a prince that Bernie Madoff was. 

Although I've used his name in throwaway references plenty of times, I haven't written about Bernie Madoff in years. But he had been a good source of blog fodder. 

But that was then, and this is now. 

As far as Pink Slip is concerned, this, I'm guessing, will be the last of Bernie Madoff. No great loss.