Bernard Madoff: Still Free
NOTE: First posted Tuesday January 6th
Came across this on the BusinessDay website today:
Yes, we all know the story, but let’s just let it sink in for a moment. Bernard Madoff is home tonight. He’s home at his palatial Manhattan penthouse, in the exact same cushy environment he’s been in for many of the years that he was perpetrating what may well be the biggest property crime ever by a single human being. There’s something very, very wrong with this picture.
Countless lives have been ruined by Bernard Madoff. At least one life has ended because of what Bernard Madoff did. And he gets to stay at home while this plays out? Are you kidding me? If he gets out on bail (and don’t talk to me about house arrest or monitoring bracelets.. the man is HOME), I say any criminal deserves to be out on bail.
And Madoff even appears to be toying with the situation. Prosecutors are asking that his bail be revoked because he and his wife mailed packages of valuables to family members and friends, in what sounds suspiciously like a blatant effort at asset-hiding. The defense?: “Ira Lee Sorkin, a lawyer for Madoff, said at the hearing that Madoff had not meant to violate the agreement and should not be sent to jail.”
So let me get this straight: this vastly wealthy man who can afford the best legal counsel money can buy, violates the terms of his bail agreement anyway, and then says he should be able to stay home because he didn’t MEAN to do it?
Enough. Magistrate Ronald Ellis needs to put Bernard Madoff behind bars pending trial, and he needs to do it yesterday.
Comments: 7
A $10M bail to this guy is like $100 to me. Big deal. It's ridiculous that these judges continue to let out the most despicable of criminals. He's ruined so many lives and he should be locked up for the rest of his life. And to think that he and his wife were sending [essentially] stolen goods away is unbelievable. It should be considered another federal offense She (the wife) should be locked up for assisting and all of their belongings should be seized.
From the Daily News:
"When Barron's asked Madoff in May 2001, how he engineered such consistent double-digit returns, the man who once ran the Nasdaq was tight-lipped.
"It's a proprietary strategy," he said. "I can't go into it in great detail.""
He wasn't kidding, was he?!
I think what happened with the jewelry that got mailed off to friends and relatives: Bernie's wife did it BEFORE they were OFFICIALLY told not to. So she has the (flimsy) defense that she had NOT YET been officially ordered not to do so. But it does seem that they knew the orders were coming, so they played a game of beat-the-clock.
What's particularly galling about that is that..they knew they could "defend" their jewelry actions legally...and apparently don't give a damn about defending their jewelry-mailings actions morally. The Madoffs have already proven they are morally bankrupt. SHAME ON THE JUDGE who doesn't take their arrogant sense of entitlement into consideration when making bail decisions.
Nice message to send the world: If you are a billionaire, the rules don't apply. MAGISTRATE RONALD ELLIS -- I'd love to see a good investigative journalist look into his life. What possibly could inform his actions in the Maddoff case?
You rock, Jim.
Laurie
I am so sick and tired of all these rich people, especially the madoff character getting away with basically murder(of the man that killed himself when he lost everything). I bet you if it was any other person like you or me, we would be thrown in jail with the key thrown away. I am also dissapointed that our legal system caters to the rich. I do not believe in house arrest, especially for this man. He needs to go to a federal prison! My tax dollars pay for this man to go to federal prison and I want to see my tax dollars at work!
Also the fact that he did not "Mean" to break the law does not excuse the fact that he broke the law. The law is the law! What makes him so special? And his wife should also be locked up for aiding in the commitment of a crime!
Jim you are awesome! I would love to see and investigative report special on this guy. It would be great if you and some WPIX staffers would do it.
Hi Jim,
Ok I am a new poster and I am really enjoying this blogging thing. I just want to add this. I would love to be under house arrest in this criminals home. Sounds like Madoff has a sweet deal. I'll take an ankle bracelet and a beautiful home over my own. WHY ISN'T THIS GUY IN JAIL????? THE YOUNG GRANDMA SPEAKS AGAIN!!!
Oh yeah, Bernie boy, great defense: "I didn't mean to attempt to subvert justice by having my wife send out nearly a million dollars worth of jewelry away, and those multi-million dollar checks that you saw in m drawer on my arrest..."
I'd love to be able to use that defense the next time I'm caught speeding. "I didn't mean to go 85 mph in a 55 mph zone, officer..." Yeah, right.
Madoff should be in jail. If he's allowed out on bail, he is a flight risk. Even Stevie Wonder could see that!
Hi Jim,
The rampant hypocrisy and injustice going on all around us is already beyond sickening. The fact that Madoff is still allowed to stay out of jail after repeatedly violating the terms of his house arrest is just disgusting. But it's nothing new. The wealthy have always gotten as much justice as they could afford, and the more money you have in this country, the more justice you can afford. If Madoff had been a "regular" person committing the same despicable crime, or even doing so to a lesser degree, there would have been no question that he would be in jail now awaiting trial, but it seems that under the current administration, favoritism and cronyism not only still exist, but they are thriving, and they are more pervasive than most people would like to believe.
And when you look at things in this light, it's actually not a surprise to hear that once more Madoff was allowed to remain free pending trial, because obviously he has friends in high places in New York City.
Recently I was dumbstruck when I saw Mayor Bloomberg feel the need to speak out over what happened with the Plaxico Burress case, where the mayor claimed that no one was above the law, as the football player attempted to withhold information. I guess that perhaps Bloomberg should video tape his own press conferences and replay them, listening carefully to what is being said, because when he coerced the city council to vote for the end of "Term Limits" - which will enable him to run for a third term, he also put himself above what was enacted into law twice by voters. We will soon be getting a long awaited "change" in Washington -- what we as taxpayers in New York City desperately need now is a change in administration here. All of the rampant and irresponsible behavior that went on down over on Wall Street for the past eight years or more was under the watch of our current mayor. We should remember this fact when we go to vote next time around.
If our politicians will not work with us for the changes we want, and for crucial "quality of life issues" - such as reasonable MTA fares, fair utility rates, low crime, etc, then perhaps these same politicians should not work FOR US! Because when we vote for them, they are not doing us any favors. They serve at our discretion. It should be an honor for them to serve us. And if they are not doing what we elected them to do, then we have no obligation to support them. We should never forget this fact. We have the power to make change, but far too often we squander this power. The power to make change lies in the hands of each and every one of us.
Hi Jim,
Ok, I almost flipped out when I heard Bernie was not sent to jail and was free to live in his luxury 7 million dollar apartment. OMG.... Right after that I heard that a woman was sent to jail for trying to see her kids. You know, it seems to me that in this world we live in MONEY TALKS AND NOBODY WALKS..... AGAIN LEE