We're not even a week into the Madoff Movie of the Week and it seems as though the victims, and their truly saddening sob stories, will not stop piling up. Old people in Palm Beach who've lost everything. Charities that are being forced to close up shop. The fate of Arki Busson's perma-grin, hanging in the balance. And yet. There are also some unintended consequences that we must stop and give thanks for. For instance, earlier today, a CNBC reporter stood outside a courthouse waiting for Bernie Madoff, and when the accused emerged, followed him to his car and shouted, "Why did you do it? Why did you confess? Anything to say to your victims? Did your wife have anything to do with this?" as though he were on Hard Copy. The network ran it over and over, not because any footage of Madoff equals ratings but because it was downright hilarious. Also comical? Recent action taken by Yeshiva University.
As we mentioned earlier, the Jew-y institution of higher learning was affected by the fact that they were putting money (by way of Ascot Partners) into a Ponzi scheme. They penned a letter to the YU community yesterday to discuss the matter, and noted that while the school's financial position is still "strong," make no mistake: "Bernard Madoff is no longer associated with our institution in any way." Harsh words, but President Richard Joel was upset and entitled to his feelings. But it did not stop there!
Quite gloriously, we've been informed by Remy Stern that Yeshiva staffed some intern-- or maybe Joel did it himself, which would be excellent-- with going back and removing all pictures of Madoff from their photo galleries from various events over the years. Of course, you can do a Google image search for him and find thumbnails leading back to the Yeshiva site but upon click through, nada. He is truly dead to them.
If there are any former investors reading this, who perhaps maybe spent the weekend letting out your inner 8 year old/psycho ex-girlfriend by cutting Bernie's face out of all pictures of the Del Boca Vista gang in better days, please, I implore you-- let us know.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:18PM
Bess - this morning Fairfield Greenwich took all the pictures of its partners off its Web site. Probably because they were afraid of getting bonked in the head by a disgruntled investor.
Oh - and Walter Noel showed up at the Round Hill Country Club Xmas party on Sunday (he is a member). People were appalled. I mean, come on - at least PRETEND you're hard at work for your clients, rather than going to a party (strike 1) at your country club (strike 2).
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:21PM
Rewind back to 5000 BC, when ex-pharoah's names were scratched of the hieroglyphs.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:24PM
Happy hanukkah Wall Street!!
May all your gavilta fish dreams come true!!
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:26PM
I'm just about as saddened by these people's losses as I was when they hanged Sadam.
You pay your money and you take your chances.
PT Barnum man - PT Barnum
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:31PM
And whate about that reporter who pretty much punched Madoff to get a better shot!
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:32PM
Dear Bess
I really enjoy reading you but it's been a few times where the "jewish" thing comes up in a not too elegant way (see your piece on Dan Loeb). I think you should tone it down a bit (and you guests commentators too). I don't know what a "Jew-y instiution" is. If you read the press in Egypt and Qatar, that's the kind of expression they use.
The fact that yourself or some of the commentators might be Jewish is not relevant. And it's not about political correctness either. It's about good taste. You can still come up with great stuff and stay clear of this kind of language. Thanks again for the good work!
Posted by Bess Levin , Dec 17, 2008 4:34PM
@5- that wasn't as funny as the CNBC guy letting out his inner Nancy Grace.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:34PM
HOLY FUCK THEY HAVE MUMRA ON CNBC RIGHT NOW!
Posted by MarshallStack , Dec 17, 2008 4:35PM
WTF? He is wearing a Jackson Hole hat? That ancient old fuck couldn't ski anything out there - not even Apres Vous. Another wanna be wasp like Guttfreund.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:35PM
Please, enough. I can't take another boring story filled with drab references to and name dropping of Jewish organizations and charities that this guy defrauded.
We get it. He was a crook. Find something else to write about.
There is enough fodder in the news these days to make for more than just one focus.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:38PM
has anyone noticed how awful Maria looks today?
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:38PM
Let comments involving an amalgamation of "head" and "ass" on #6 begin...
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:41PM
@10- you're (presumably) a big boy. stop complaining and read the stories that have nothing to do with madoff from today. whiney bitches are not welcome here.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:46PM
@10- if you dont want to hear about madoff anymore, i suggest you retire to some sort of bunker without phone or internet access for the next several months.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:46PM
@6 wasp-y wasp-y wasp-y. How's that?
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:46PM
oy vey.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:47PM
Lighten up number six. Some comedians' material is jewish self deprecation.
Posted by Clown Capital , Dec 17, 2008 4:49PM
@5 and 6
Dear Bess,
Please tell these two yutzis to suck each others shmeckles.
Vielen dank.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:49PM
oy vey.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 4:57PM
Clearly a psychopath, he should at least attempt not to smile for the cameras. Devoid of guilt and incapable of hiding it
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 5:01PM
WASPs don't invest in hedge funds because they are too, well Jew-y.
They understand that their idiot spawn will piss everything away in a couple of generations so there is no hope of chasing high enough returns to pay for Muffie's horse farm in Middleburg or child support for Biff's bastards.
They set up family offices where the money can quietly be embezzled by the hired help the old fashioned way and it never gets in the papers.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 5:08PM
The guy looks like the Russian General Anatol Gogol in the Bond films.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=General+Anatol+Gogol&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 5:12PM
Madoff spent $65 bucks for a haircut? looks like shit.. He needs flowbee..
Posted by Anal_yst , Dec 17, 2008 5:15PM
21 for comment of the day
Also, #6/10
Stop your kvetching. If you don't like it, leave.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 5:15PM
@21 dont Greenwich Middleburg pls
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 5:20PM
Biff and Muffie, ah the bane of American society. Yep, 21 wins!
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 5:26PM
long live wasps!
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 5:43PM
Wasp's are the new roaches-long after all you punk pimps and wann
a be playa's are gone the wasp will still be here
Posted by Gordon Gekko , Dec 17, 2008 5:44PM
#6/#10 really needs to grow a pair
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 6:02PM
Indeed, I don't feel anything for those guys that lost their money, I feel much pity for my colleagues who are losing their job in Wall St.
Anyway, it's fun to see jews screwing up other jews... I thought that was a closed-knit society.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 6:40PM
can someone provide an updated list of the victims and how much they lost?
where can i find this...i am very concerned about his victims.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 6:52PM
this reminds me of the time i grew up poor and a bunch of c*cksuckers discriminated against me because of my race/religion. oh wait, that is still happening....carry on.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 7:04PM
Ramaz Orthodox Jewish school on the UES had $6MM invested in Madoff.
Moses warned his people not to worship the golden calf (i.e. money). Jeremiah and Ezekial blamed the fall of Judea on the continued elevation of money over religion. I wonder if Madoff has a solid gold bull somewhere in his house. Happy Chanukah to all my frum menches!
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 7:08PM
The jews are just like you and me. They'll put their friends, neighbors, women and children alike out into the street for a few billion dollars.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 7:28PM
They should start sutting Madoff's fingers off and stop only when he comes up with the money. If he doesn't have it tough shit bye bye fingers. Better yet, do it live on TV and we might see a slight reduction in future financial fraud.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 7:38PM
How does "an eye for an eye" translate into $50 billion?
Us:What now?
Inevestors: What now? Let me tell you what now. I’ma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin’ [...], who’ll go to work on [Madoff] here with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. You hear me talkin’ [Madoff]? I ain’t through with you by a damn sight. I’ma get medieval on your ass.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 7:47PM
Was that reporter who kept asking questions reading DB today? Because it sounded like he had Lucille and Ruth confused.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 11:17PM
@6
stop whining about the jew-y thing. Everyone mocks nuns and priests and no one says anything. You never hear a jew or a rabbi being mocked on tv or the movies. Just get over it and stop taking yourself so seriously and pretending all jews are harmless. This is the perfect time like the rest of all clowns on this earth to show everyone that every religion, nationality ect. has good and bad people and life goes on.
and the dear Bess introduction ??
take the schtick out of your ass.
Posted by guest , Dec 17, 2008 11:53PM
Bess Levin sucked madoof's c o c k for years
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 12:58AM
21 I have to disagree. The pissing away thing has nothing to do with ethnic background. No one is immune to that old shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations thing. I cant tell you how many successful jews i know whose spawn are wasting their time in film schools (not even good ones) and then basically doing nothing after.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 1:06AM
Admit it. Jews simply place in inordinate amount of trust in other MOTs. Did your mother even consider a gynocologist that wasnt MOT? What happened that time when grandma was taken to the emergency room and an Indian doctor walked in. Your accountant, stockbroker, jeweler. All MOTs. It just happened to backfire big time here and I for one cant understand why. Best I can figure is that in the beginning Bernie, who doesnt seem like a bad person, lost some money and thought that given time he could earn it back. Then things just got out of hand.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 8:55AM
Flowbee! He said Flowbee!
Post of the century with Flowbee refernce.
Gold Jerry, Gold!
Posted by e_anthony58 , Dec 18, 2008 11:52PM
11 - Maybe Maria invested with Madeoff and she probably lost everything too!
THEY'RE FRIGGIN NEIGHBORS! THEY GOT TO BE!
Posted by jbr , Dec 19, 2008 12:29AM
This is definitely complicated.
It seems to me that it will be very hard to go after principal of redeemers with a satisfactory good faith defense based just on a "should have known" inquiry notice because so many people, form institutional investors to the SEC itself remained unaware for so long (decades). In fact, the SEC remained unaware even after an investigation. There was a similar precedent in the Bayou case where it was ruled a hedge fund advisory firm was not liable for reckless disregard in due diligence in not discovering the fraud BECAUSE so many people including institutional investors and the SEC were similarly fooled for so long (and in this case the extent of that is an order of magnitude larger).
From what I saw, in the Bayou case, all fraudulent conveyance claims were made only to direct redeemers, either individual investors, funds, or fund of funds. I recall no case where the claim was made directly to investors of the funds or funds of funds who redeemed. In that case, all satisfactory good faith defense resulted in settlements where the investors kept their redeemed principal but returned all fictitious profits.
What makes this case compelling is that most of the direct investors appear to be feeder funds of one type or another. So say an investor in a feeder fund redeems in good faith. Based on the Bayou precedent, it appears to me that Madoff trustee would pursue the feeder fund. The question is whether the feeder fund has a legal claim on the redeeming investor. I say this because 1) The transfer from the feeder fund to the redeeming investor was not fraudulent in that the feeder fund was not itself operating a ponzi scheme (even if it was inadvertently investing in one) and depending on the fund (some are backed by large financial institutions) it itself may or may not be bankrupt by it's investment in Madoff, and 2) The feeder fund may be claimed to have exercised insufficient due diligence so it's possible it may be liable for it's own losses.
I'd appreciate other peoples thoughts on these matters.
Posted by jbr , Dec 19, 2008 12:30AM
One question I'm not seeing addressed which further complicates issues relates to previously paid taxes on fictitious gains. Many of the Madoff investors were long term investors who paid taxes yearly on the gains as they were reported (as short term gains taxed as ordinary income). Lets say a good faith redeemer returns profits and keeps their principal. I would think they would need to refile their prior year taxes with the IRS to get refunds for previously paid taxes since the gains were fictitious and any redeemed gains have been returned. I'm not a tax person but in looking at the IRC, it's not clear to me if they are subject to a 3 year lookback under 6511(a) or would qualify for a 7 year lookbacdk under 6511(d) pertaining to worthless securities or 6511(g) pertaining to partnership items (since the feeder funds were typically implemented as limited partnerships).
Also, since the SEC has effectively perpetuated this fruad by not acting on credible evidence that was apparently provided to it as early as 9 years ago, I wonder if investors who paid taxes on fictitious gains since then (particularly if they made their investments since then without the benefit of an adequate investigation) might have a justifiable claim against the SEC?
Any comments would be appreciated.