Bernie Madoff will continue to await trial from his $7 million Manhattan penthouse, despite attempts by prosecutors to have him sent to jail on charges he violated terms of his bail by attempting to protect his assets from the investors he burned in his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
Madoff has been confined to his lavish digs since his arrest, and was being monitored by an ankle bracelet. But prosectors claimed while out on bail, he sent $1 million worth of jewelry to friends and family as holiday gifts. Prosecutors said that the gifts were grounds to have his bail revoked because what’s left of Madoff’s assets will eventually be returned to burned investors.
Madoff’s lawyers called the sending of the gifts an innocent mistake.
The prosecution’s argument appeared consistent with a discovery of 100 signed checks worth $173 million that Madoff was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time he was arrested last month. Investigators found the checks in his Midtown office.
In the court filing against Madoff, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt said Madoff cannot be trusted because he had long engaged in a “scheme that required the defendant to lie routinely to thousands of people and a scheme which has caused extraordinary damage to individuals, families, and institutions all over the world.”
The defense says Madoff has offered to give up properties in Manhattan; Montauk, N.Y.; Palm Beach, Fla.; and Antibes, France — along with four boats and three cars. The U.S. properties alone are valued at more than $19 million.
Litt said Madoff has attempted to distribute some of his wealth over the last month.
“The only thing that prevented the defendant from executing his plan to dissipate those assets was his arrest by the FBI on Dec. 11,” Litt said.
Earlier this week the government said Madoff and his wife sent through the mail jewelry worth some $1 million, including 16 watches, some with diamonds from Tiffany and Cartier, four diamond brooches, two sets of cuff links and an emerald ring.
Madoff has posted $10 million bail, signed over three homes, and is under 24 hour house arrest. His attorney has said his clientis not a flight risk.
Madoff delivered impressive returns to investors for decades before authorities say he told his sons that it was “all just one big lie” and “basically, a giant Ponzi scheme.”
(Source: WCBSTV)
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19 Responses
It isn’t like he did something really and truely awful, like stealing a loaf bread since he was hungry, or “heaven forbid” hiring someone who was guilty of being born in a foreign country who was trying to support his family.
Can someone explain the halochos of loshon hora as they apply to a case of the Madoff magnitude? Is there some sort of exception for widely reported news? I find it interesting that there is not a person (regardless of rabbinic stature) who is not well versed in this story.
What a good place to live Do what ever you want & get cought and live a lavish style and go out on bail no wonder we are in Recession
Madoff may have done terrible things, but he’s not HefKer.
He needs to do everything in his power to return what he stole, but you have no right to kill him–even verbally.
Have you all become assimilated into American life and the ways of the “goyishe velt” that you’ve forgotten the issur of turning over a Jew to a goyish medina? More so, the extent that every single Gadol of every single generation (up until the most recent one), have moved heaven and earth to get a Jew released from a goyishe jail, if even for one day.
I will be “dan l’kov z’chus” that none of you are familiar with these halachos and are truly assimilated and live in the “goyishe velt” as an American citizen (so as not to be held responsible for desecrating the basic concepts of our wonderous Torah). Which brings me to ask, doesn’t the American medina have a basic rule….”innocent until proven guilty”? Yet, all of you assimilated Americans have already convicted Mr. Madoff.
Quoting Hillel…….The entire Torah in one sentence is “V’ahavta Reyeche Komocha”. The rest of the Torah is just an explanation of how to refine and perfect this most basic and important halacha. I will say tehillim for all of you so you can love every single Jew, where ever he may be.
#5-when i was ripped off by a con artist as madoff one of the leading poskim in israel as well as a well known posek in new york said you must turn him into the police
i rechecked recently on th epsak an dit was held up again as very pertinent
the reason is that the issur of mesirah means you can not turn over jewish money to th egoyim.however,a crook belongs in jail.shoftim v’shotrim,the din of shoftim is for bais din but in galus we dont have shotrim and therefore we turn them into the police
madoff and all other scam artists should be announced from th eshul bima,and that is a quote from a well respected poisek
bernie madoff saved my life as he donated a huge amount to the medical institution that facilitated the life saving procedure i underwent.
do i owe him hakoras hatov?good question.but he is a crook and i think it is fairly clear that he is yatza michlall amitecha,and as such the laws of loshon hara do not apply to him,that is quite different than the heter of apay tlatha.
yes usa everything is fair,that is why madoff is treated like rubashkin,i guess you cant blame anti semitism,it depends on the judge
as a final note to #5 maybe say tehillim for the thousands of people who have suffered from madoff.are you are how many millions in tzedakah has stopped because of him?innocent until proven guilty unless he admits and we say hodaas baal din is like a hundred wittneses.
#6, Al Pi Din, a ganuff (and I am not pre-judging Madoff) does NOT go to jail!
What does that mean?
#7, when you finish High School you will have a better grasp on halacha. Until then, you are sorely lacking. What you “don’t think” is meaningless according to halacha.
Crazy!
the rabbi of my community said its not lashon hara (forgot the reason though lol)
Please expound on why you feel that this alleged crime would make him yatza miklal amisecho which refers to an apikoros. I don’t see why that should be the case. Even if it igives a status of rasha, it is by no means a blanket heter to speak aa you wish and to speak for the sole purpose of spreading the news is forbiden. The probable heter would be that there is a kala dlo pasik, which is only a limited heter as well.
the reason a ganuf has to be jailed according to th epoisek is to protect society not as a punishment,so even though they may jail him as punishment he still needs to be jailed as a protective measure against society
i was haule dto a din torah and threatened with a cherem if i reported my crook to the police.boruch hashem there were two talmeday chachamim with me when we heard the respected poisek,one much greater in stature to the dayanim at the bais din and they were quite aware of it,and i was off the hook
maran harav eliyashiv stated a little differently,he said that if the person continues to steal then and only then can he be turned in.in my case the guy was still stealing.
is madoff an apikores?no he is a real ma’amin in the mishna in avoth-sheli,sheli,shelcha shelcha,which the mishna says is a rasha,i think you can speak loshon hara freely on a rasha,please corrrect me if i am wrong.
if anybody cares, the judge wrote a very well reasoned opnion thats an interesting read, for those with legal background
misterzee, I don’t see how Madoff can possibly continue to steal at this point. So that logic doesn’t work. And a ganuff isn’t put in jail al pi din; according to your svara he would be locked up indefinitely, which is surely wrong. In fact, he still has the opportunity to do teshuva, and I don’t see any heter for loshon hora.
Re Joseph: considering the magnitude and massive chillul Hashem, does the concept of rodef figure in anywhere?
these are not my svara,i am repeating what i was told.
how can he can continue to steal?he is very bright and may have money overseaes or under other names and he can meet people or send notes with his wife or a hundred different ways.poskim who you surley hold of,told me that these crooks must be jailed to protect society.have you spoke to poskim or are you saying svara from the boiyech?
please read chofetz chaim klall daled as well as klall zayin,also in the beer maim chaim 32,to mean madoff fits all the qualifications.why dont you ask a rav if you think it is asur,i asked a rav even though i thought it was mutar.people need to be aware of these people for future reasons.
misterzee, how can anyone “tell” you that someone, anyone for that matter, deserves prison for theft — without affording that person a Din Torah? It doesn’t wash.
GMAB, good point. It’ll take you a lot longer. 🙂