Is it just me or did that asshole Madoff pull up to court in a KIA today?

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A guy that stole 60 billion dollars is driving around in a $22,000 KIA? Who the fuck is he trying to fool. I don't know why I find this so absurd and so maddening; maybe its because even on his way to plead guilty to stealing from many innocent people this asshole is still trying to play publicity games. Fuck him!

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1. His money goes to "the cause". He's lived frugally by NY billionaire standards

Every dollar he saved on automobiles bought another five brick and mortar, somewhere. It had to end up in bricks and mortar, somewhere. Bernie didn't spend but a fraction of it all.

Here's what may be one of the best articles about where a lot of Madoff's loot came from, that also, perhaps, provides a clue about where it all went: www.dailyestimate.com/article.asp?id=17348

SNIP

On December 10, 2008, just a day before the Madoff scandal erupted, Merkin held a posh fundraiser in his multi-million-dollar apartment for the Israel Museum. Indeed, Merkin has been a key philanthropist for other Israeli projects and enjoyed close personal relationships with former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as well as that country’s current Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. A much seen press picture of Merkin shows him handing an oversized ceremonial check to an enthusiastic Sharon with a smiling Olmert looking on.




Beyond his honors and philanthropy, Merkin also manages Ascot Partners LP, a hedge fund which was valued at $1.8 billion prior to the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. It was Merkin’s decision to funnel nearly all of Ascots’ holdings into Madoff’s operation. Any ponzi scheme must have more money flowing in than flowing out. So too, Madoff’s investment firm was dependent on new flows of money coming into the firm. Merkin’s Ascot Partners LP was one of the key “feeder” funds for Madoff Investment Securities. A confidential 60-page 2006 Ascot memorandum obtained by The Cutting Edge News states on page 23, “All decisions with respect to the management of the capital of the Partnership are made exclusively by J. Ezra Merkin. Consequently, the Partnership's success depends to a great degree on the skill and experience of Mr. Merkin.”

Clearly, Merkin’s relationship with Bernie Madoff is multifaceted and deep. Madoff served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University, as well as Treasurer of its Board of Trustees. Merkin also served as a Trustee on the Board of Yeshiva University and served on its investment committee. Yeshiva University’s endowment fund has incurred losses of $110 million, or 8 percent of the university’s endowment, according to school sources.

In addition, Merkin is the president of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York City. Members of this synagogue have lost an estimated $2 billion. His father, Hermann Merkin, was an icon of Jewish philanthropy who gave millions to help build Yeshiva University, the Fifth Avenue Synagogue and Merkin Concert Hall. This legacy was wiped out in a matter of a few days, according to outspoken criticism in the Jewish community. Among Synagogue members losing millions were: Ira Rennert - $200 million; Elie Wiesel—$37 million; Michael Jesselson—$1.3 million. The main reason so many Fifth Avenue Synagogue members invested with Madoff was the powerful recruiting effort put forth by Merkin.

It is unclear what benefit Merkin received from Madoff for his recruiting efforts, only that Merkin was a prolific source of funds for the scam. Interestingly enough, numerous professional investors at the synagogue refused to invest with Madoff. Joseph Sprung, a synagogue member and financial advisor, decided not to invest when a former client informed him that “it was not legit.”

Ironically, while the nation is littered with sharp financial eyes who guessed or concluded that Madoff was a scam, complaints to the highest levels of the SEC were ignored for a decade.

The most shocking revelation to investors, who were paying Mr. Merkin a 1.5 percent management fee plus 20 percent of the profits to manage their money in his Ascot Partners LP hedge fund, was that the entire fund was invested with Madoff. These investors were paying high fees to Mr. Merkin for his investment expertise. Little did they know that he was just feeding the funds through to Madoff Securities. One investor had asked him directly whether he had invested all the funds with Bernie Madoff. His answer was reportedly “no.”

The auditors for Ascot Partners LP were BDO Seidman. If the entire fund was invested with Madoff Securities, it seems logical that an auditor would verify that the funds actually existed. Trusting the investment statements produced by Madoff without verification of the figures seems, on its face, to be negligent on the part of BDO Seidman.

Many feel the truth will be revealed in many courts of law, as lawsuits fly. New York Law School, which has lost $3 million investing in the Ascot fund, has already filed a lawsuit against Merkin and BDO Seidman. The class action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan said the defendants "recklessly or with gross negligence caused and permitted $1.8 billion, virtually the entire investment capital of Ascot" to be handed over to Madoff, the suspected perpetrator of a $50 billion securities fraud.
One plaintiff’s effort to freeze Merkin’s personal assets was withdrawn after a judge commented he was disinclined to grant it. But Merkin’s Gabriel Capital LP, a $1.5 billion hedge fund plans to liquidate.

Suspending withdrawals and selling remaining assets is the fund’s “only realistic option” Merkin told clients in a December 18 letter. Gabriel Capital lost 39 percent this year. Even still, liquidating Gabriel will be a years-long process because the assets not liquid, Merkin stated.

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2. Yup, he did. They were joking about it on the news this morning. n/t