Ponerology 101: The Psychopath’s Mask of Sanity
Harrison Koehli writes on Signs of The Times:
A Wall Street Psychopath?
In 1960 Bernie Madoff founded his Wall Street firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. As chairman of its Board of Directors until his arrest in December of 2008, Madoff saw his firm (and himself) rise to prominence on Wall Street, developing the technology that became NASDAQ, the first and largest electronic stock exchange in America, in the process.
A multimillionaire with over $800-million in shared assets with his wife and high school sweetheart, Ruth Alpern, Madoff was well-regarded as a financial mastermind and prolific philanthropist. He exuded an aura of wealth, confidence, and connections, and many trusted him as a pillar of the community. Sounds like a great guy, huh?
His humanitarian image was supported by his work for various nonprofit…
Bid On Bernie’s Madoff’s Plunder
Now’s your chance to make off with some of the trappings of arch-villain Bernie Madoff’s preposterous plunder of investors large and small. From NJ.com:
What’s it like to walk in Bernie Madoff’s shoes? You’ll get a chance to buy them, along with the billionaire swindler’s monogrammed socks, size 40-short suits and other items from his New York City and Montauk homes at an auction to be held in Morris County this spring.
James Plousis, U.S. Marshall for New Jersey, has worked out a deal to use donated space at the county’s public safety academy in Parsippany for a Madoff auction, likely to be held in April or May.
“We want to run an auction for as little cost as possible, so that just about every penny we make can go back to the victims,’’…
Bernie Madoff Seriously Injured After Falling Out of Prison Bed
Reported by ABC News:
DURHAM, NC — A source tells ABC11 Eyewitness News that disgraced financier Bernie Madoff is being treated for serious injuries after he fell out of his prison bed.
ABC11 Eyewitness News first reported that Madoff had injuries consistent with an assault. Now, the source says Madoff was not attacked in prison, but that he fell off a bed onto his face. The source said there was a lot of facial bleeding.
Sources also confirmed Madoff was treated at Duke University Medical Center in Durham last Friday and discharged earlier this week. He is serving a life sentence at the federal prison in Butner after admitting to cheating investors out of billions of dollars.
According to the sources, Madoff came to Duke with facial fractures, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
Madoff Explains How He Concealed Fraud
CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston reports:
In a wide-ranging jailhouse interview with SEC Inspector General David Kotz, convicted swindler Bernard Madoff explained how he managed to conceal his multi-billion-dollar fraud operation.
“It never entered the SEC’s mind that it was a Ponzi scheme,” Madoff said, because of “the reputation I had.”
“They thought the likelihood of Madoff being a big criminal was probably not something that was realistic,” said Paul Atkins, a former SEC Commissioner.
At the height of his career, Madoff was regarded as a financial genius, he even served as chairman of NASDAQ.
In 2003, Madoff was sure he would be caught and was surprised when investigators did not check his accounts to see if he had actually traded stocks – which he had not.
It is accounting 101, Madoff told the inspector general, to look…
Madoff Friend, Jeffry Picower Found Dead At Bottom Of Pool
Sound a little fishy?
from AP:
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jeffry Picower, a philanthropist accused of profiting more than $7 billion from the investment schemes of his longtime friend Bernard Madoff, was found at the bottom of the pool at his oceanside mansion and died Sunday, police said. He was 67.
Picower’s wife, Barbara, discovered his body and pulled him from the water with help from a housekeeper, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Medical Center at about 1:30 p.m.
Palm Beach police are investigating the death as a drowning, but have not ruled out anything on the cause of death.
