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Bonds Are a 'Safe' Investment: A Big Lie Gets Even BiggerBernie Madoff -- who continues to luxuriate under house arrest in his East Side apartment -- keeps losing more of his camouflage. Specifically, prosecutors found checks totaling $173 million, which he had made out to his family members and friends prior to his arrest last month.
He had received a $250 million loan from Carl Shapiro, the 95 year old who lost $545 million with Madoff, around the same time. Did Madoff take Shapiro's cash and then write checks against it to his family members? That detail has not yet been revealed, but it could certainly have happened.
It seems a bit odd that Madoff is not in jail at the moment. Since he moved $160 million of his money into his UK operations, it would seem logical for him to leave the U.S. and go there. Unless he has even more money stashed away in some bank accounts in the Cayman Islands.
He may have passed a legal test to keep him free on bail. But morally, he definitely belongs in the clink.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-08-2009 @ 4:14PM
CTS said...
Agreed. Perhaps we should resurrect the indentured system where he and his family work (a few lifetimes perhaps?) to repay the money that has been spirited away?
1-08-2009 @ 4:33PM
Martin said...
If he gets to stay a home why are they not cutting off all contact to the outer world. Take phone, mail and Internet away. Right now he is sitting home figuering out how to hide and transfer money and assets.
1-08-2009 @ 6:04PM
BHarrison said...
Well, $173 Million is 3.5% of the purported $5 Billion that has been "lost". So, where did the other 96.5% of the $5 Billion go to? Was it paid out as "previous Ponzi dividends" to clients, lost in bad investments, or skimmed off by Madoff? And how much may have been squirreled away by Madoff just in case he might need to flee in the event that his Ponzi scheme was exposed?
There are certainly a lot of questions that need to be answered . . . Meanwhile the Judge, in essence, gave Madoff bail and the ability to work on covering up his scam, obviscating the "evidence", possibly transferring funds, etc. for TWENTY SIX days since he was allowed out on bail on Dec. 11? Is this insane or what? Is there some type of Judical corruption due to the influence of other powerful persons who may be trying to avoid connection to Madoff?
It simply is not rational for the Court to have allowed madoff out of jail and access to his computerized, or even hard copies of his financial records . . . this Judge should be disbarred and removed from the bench.
1-08-2009 @ 6:21PM
BradB said...
Bharrison - its $50 BILLION not $5 billion
1-09-2009 @ 8:09AM
meggawhats said...
They should do to Madoff what they did to Bonnie & Clyde.
Janet Reno would surely volunteer for the job.
She has a resume.
Waco Texas and Elio Gonzalez
Love those Democrats
Kill those kids in the womb or out ,it really doesn't matter to a Lib