Bernard Madoff Wins the Brass Stindeens Award.
Unless you have been in a coma for the past week or so, you know about Bernard Madoff and his fifty-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. I suppose it doesn’t take much more than a truly black heart to bilk people out of their life savings and bankrupt a charity or two – any con man can do that, but this guy has also ensnared sophisticated investigators, including hedge fund operators.
But, what earns Bernie da Woim the prestigious Brass Stindeens Award is that he included among his investors, former New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer, who made his political bones as New York’s Attorney General by being the “Sheriff of Wall Street.†Good eye, Eliot.
First, it was the hooker thing and now this. Definitely not a banner year for ol’ Eliot, but he did manage to enable Bernie Da Woim to win an award.
Wow!-the Sheriff of Wall Street, better known as Client #9, gets took in the Ponzi Scheme. I feel sorry for folks who didn’t know better and lost their life savings, but if Spitzer could be conned-it must have been some sales pitch.
Comment by Ernie Nilsen — December 20, 2008 @ 10:59 pm
Madoff oughta get shot in the stindeens…repeatedly…until he reveals where he stashed his piece of the loot. Then one in the back of the neck.
I know people – fortunately for me, I am not among them – who have gotten hammered in this criminal enterprise of Bernie’s. People in their seventies who now have to go back to work…assuming they can find work. This thing is an unmitigated fucking disaster.
Comment by Elisson — December 20, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
We know many people personally caught up in this. Fortunately, we never had that kind of cash… Phht, not even in our dreams even close. But its a bad bad thing… what we’re hearing. Good people we know, who lost EVERYTHING. And as Elisson said… in their 70s.
The classic story is the guy we know who called his financial advisor 3 weeks ago and bitched him out saying he couldn’t understand why he had friends who’d pulled themselves out of the market and were still making 18%. He bitched that advisor up one side and down the other and the advisor kept saying, ‘I don’t know how they are doing it! I’m sorry. I have you diversified, you’ve not done as poorly as you could have… I don’t know how they’re pulling that kind of cash in this market.”
Well… turns out they weren’t really making 18%. Bernie was doing them wrong and now they have NOTHING… unless they are of the lucky who just lost ‘millions’.
Comment by Bou — December 20, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
second biggest ponzi scheme ever..next to social security
Comment by GUYK — December 21, 2008 @ 9:40 am
Eliot Spitzer… couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. That’s actually funny. It’s the only funny thing about the entire debacle. But, it does make me laugh.
I don’t know anyone with enough money to have been involved with this guy. But I must say, it really does put one off doing any type of investing at all. Seems he conned everyone all up and down the line. Investors, employees, even his own sons.
I look at the market being down and think… if my husband doesn’t get laid off, this might be a good time to invest a bit. Then I see this crap and think – well, geeze, if all these people who really know about making money got taken in – what chance do I have??? And realistically I say – zero.
Time to take our money and bury it in the back yard. Holy crap.
Comment by Teresa — December 21, 2008 @ 1:51 pm