After reading ‘Madoff and His Models’ in The New Yorker…

I’m convinced more than ever that Bernie Madoff is still running his ultimate scam. The article details the machinations of the original Ponzi and another fraudulent wannabe, Ivar Kreuger.  The delusion, the greed, the entitlement.

I’m not a psychologist or psychotherapist but would love to read a clinical take on Madoff’s  behavior and his family members:

Forever dependent on a growing supply of fresh victims, Ponzi schemers can’t be fussy about their clients are typically in an unseemly hurry to snare them.  Here, Madoff made his audacious innovation.  Instead of openly courting investors, he pretended to fend them off. Back in the nineteen-twenties, sophisticated investors joined together in pools that manipulated individual stocks, and such funds acquired a certain cachet. Something similar happened in recent years with hedge funds, which retained snob appeal even when returns flagged.  Madoff made it seem impossibly difficult to invest with him.  As a rule his fund was close to new investors, requiring special introductions to the club. “I know Bernie, I can get you in” was the open sesame whispered throughout the world of Jewish society, where “Uncle Bernie” was affectionately touted as “the Jewish bond.”  The aura of exclusivity was bogus, of course: he ended up with almost five thousand client accounts.

I’m fascinated by any person who can convince themselves that they are honorable and decent while committing such amoral acts.  This delusion, evidenced from home to the workplace, from reality to plotted reality, has been the most damaging virus to American culture.

Madoff and His Models [The New Yorker, subscription required]

Ruth Madoff only worked for her husband Bernie Madoff but is trying to claim the following:

Mine, all mine!

The Daily Beast:

• Ruth Madoff has not yet been questioned by investigators, according to sources on the defense team. A source close to the case says “they are going after family and associates with a vengeance, but in their own way, by indirection.” The many assets put in her name over the years—including real estate, yachts, jewelry and cash—have been frozen, but now the government is moving to try to seize the $69 million worth of real estate and cash and bonds in Ruth’s name that she says are unrelated to the Ponzi scheme. For example, Ruth claims a house in Montauk was given to her by her father in the early ’80s, according to a federal source: “This is one of her recent fabrications. She darn well knows her father had no money. He didn’t give it to her, Bernie did.” The US Attorney’s office will find it quite a hurdle to seize these assets. They will have to go to trial; both sides will require depositions and discovery; and the whole thing could take months.

Because I was never rich enough  to become a Madoff victim, I can see the humor in Ruth Madoff’s insanity.  Her husband has admitted to stealing billions of dollars and her response is to lie to keep the stolen money?

That’s just coldblooded.

Pic via.

thought bubble…

The  most enraging part about Tom Daschle’s tax problem or Bernie Madoff’s massive fraud (and the behavior of many people who would be considered the elite in American society) is the attitude that they’ve earned the right to be unethical by surviving in the trenches of careerism.

You know, it’s the feeling that REPEATEDLY  getting something for nothing is the ULTIMATE  reward for being top dog in any American industry.

So many Americans revel in being clueless  grubby greedheads.

Harry Markopolos really did have the goods on Bernie Madoff [Time]

The Daschles: feeding at the Beltway Trough [Salon]

OPEN THREAD – What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?

Must I go out on New Year’s Eve?  What will be waiting for me if I venture to some bar that was free last night  but will be demanding cash  if I want to walk in the door tonight?  I remember when I loved to go out on New Year’s Eve.  Usually it meant being in a foreign country with a healthy exchange rate.  Or drinking punch at a brownstone in Chelsea.

But tonight?  It’s a little difficult to muster up the joy brigade.  Even though I am looking forward to the beginning of the Obama Presidency, I don’t feel like singing at the top of my lungs about happy days.

• People are still being laid off.
• We still don’t know where all the bailout money is going.
• Madoff is not in jail for stealing money from Ren McCormack and Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson.
• The Republican Party still wants to believe it’s 1954 in Mississippi and wants the rest of us to believe it too!
• And the Republican Party thinks teen pregancy is okay when white girls whose mothers are picked to run for VP do it. (Now, that’s a Tripp!)
• MTV continues to make TV  featuring dullards who should have their reproductive rights terminated.
• The wait for season three of  Mad Men will be unbearable.
• Personally, I don’t have a job or health insurance (please leave any tips, leads and donations in comments)
• Florent is no more.
• That fatuous bigot  Rick Warren is going to ruin my Inauguration.
• The Mid East is reminding the world that peace takes more than wishing and hoping.

Going out to pretend that things aren’t as wobbly as they are seems like a waste of time and effort as of 1:57 a.m., EST.  But if you’re reading and you have some good plans to share, I may be inspired to change my mind and put on my party clothes to kick ‘08 to the curb and ask the new year to show some TLC to the world and me.

New Year’s Eve parties  for people who have money. [Vanity Fair]

For Brooklynites who don’t need to cross no bridge for a good time. [NeverLeaveBrooklyn]

Linkarrhea, December 17th

Stock up before the tax hits!

An up to the minute feed on media layoffs and shifts. In some ways, this is handy information for PR and media professionals but it doesn’t begin to explore the emotional fallout of watching long-time co-workers/friends being laid off.  I know that’s not the role of the feed but each layoff or department disintegration has a human face behind it.  [Twitter]

A guy with a masters in economics and a law degree from Harvard got scammed by Madoff, too! [NY Times]

If the state will tax soda, will they be taxing ghetto Chinese take out wings next? [The Daily Green]

If Paris Hilton could act, sing and dance, she would be starring in  a remake of  Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

So damn crush worthy! [The Black Snob]

People on reality shows sometimes lie. [Jezebel, The Superficial]

As a matter of fact, I’m a little old country fair whore! [NY Daily News]

Is anyone sending their old shoes to the White House?  [Daily Kos]