My name is Diana Henriques.
As an investigating reporter
for the "New York Times,"
I had been covering
the Bernie Madoff scandal
from the day it began.
After months of requests
and correspondence,
I was finally able to sit down
and interview Bernie Madoff
on August 24th, 2010.
Until today,
his only visitor
apart from lawyers
has been his wife.
He has not answered
any independent questions
about his crime
except when standing
in a courtroom
responding to a judge.
On those occasions,
he seemed stiff,
almost rehearsed.
But in our conversation,
he seemed relaxed,
unfailingly candid,
earnest,
and trustworthy.
That is his talent
and his curse.
That is
what enabled him
to pull off the biggest
Ponzi scheme on record.
$65 billion.
Bernard L. Madoff...
inmate number
61727054.
In overseas trading today,
the Nikkei was down over 8%
with Australia's benchmark
not far behind.
The crisis shows
no sign of ending
as DOW futures are down
this morning on Wall Street
and Main Street
continues to find itself
- in the crosshairs of the
largest meltdown... - Shit.
...since
the Great Depression.
Investors and banks
are holding onto their cash
until more certainty can be
flushed into financial markets.
Let's go now
to Bob Summers
with a story
on yet another city
going under
from the mortgage crisis.
I'm in Fresno, California,
where if you look around...
Just let me lead it off.
It's completely
fucking crazy.
We can't back down
on this one, Andy.
We're not gonna back down.
We're gonna hold firm.
What, no good mornings,
no hellos?
Dad?
What's going on?
You're giving out
175 mil in bonuses?
- I am.
- In December?
We've had
a very strong year.
The year's not over. We don't
know where we're gonna land.
I wanna reward people.
I want them to feel good about
the work they've done here.
There's a reason that the
bonuses go out in February,
especially in this climate.
You're not hearing me.
It's important that people can
take care of their families.
Isn't it better
to play it safe?
Hang on to any windfall
just in case?
I'm paying out
the bonuses now.
But that's crazy.
It doesn't make any sense.
- Peter.
- Bernie, come on.
This isn't a fucking debate.
I'm paying out
the bonuses now.
I'm taking care
of everybody.
Dad, are you all right?
What's going on with you?
I'm okay.
Okay, are you sure?
Bernie, just tell them.
Tell us what?
What is it, Dad?
What's going on?
What is it, Dad?
I have to talk to you.
You can.
You know you can.
I know.
Fucking fish bowl here.
Fucking fish bowl.
Huh?
Everybody can see
everything in here.
How come we never got
fucking blinds?
- Hello?
- Hello, Ruth.
- Hi. - The boys and
I are heading home.
Why?
I have to talk to you all.
Oh, okay.
- Yeah, we'll be home soon.
- All right.
Is it your health?
No.
Let's go in the study
downstairs.
There's no way to...
to say it.
None of it is real.
It's all one big fucking lie.
- What is?
- The advisory.
It's a fraud.
There are
no investments.
What are you talking about?
Of course there are investments.
- I made them up.
- They're on every statement.
- I ma... I made them up.
- I've seen the trades.
They're fake.
It's all fake.
Basically,
just a big Ponzi scheme.
What's a Ponzi scheme?
I took money
from some people.
I gave it to others
and I never...
there's nothing left.
There's supposed
to be 50 billion.
There's absolutely nothing.
It's all gone.
I spoke to Peter.
I told him I'm gonna
turn myself in next week.
How could you do this?
- I just couldn't stop...
- Bullshit.
It got bigger and bigger
and it just wouldn't stop.
Bullshit.
- I didn't mean for it to get like this.
- No, no, no, no.
You can't do this.
I'm your son.
Dad. Dad,
how could you do this?
I'm gonna
set you guys up.
Yeah. It's,
it's all gonna be okay.
There's still
a few hundred million left.
I'm gonna,
I'm gonna make sure
that you guys
are all taken care of,
the rest of the family,
some loyal employees.
It's all gonna be good.
I just need a week.
Set us up with what?
With stolen money?
He's a criminal.
He's gonna spend
his life in jail.
- Dad, how could you do this?
- You're not my father.
I explained to them
that it wasn't malicious,
that when I started
this problem...
or this crime...
that is was something
that I thought
I would be able
to work my way out of.
But that
became impossible.
The harder I tried, the deeper
I dug myself into a hole.
But it comes down
to one thing.
I refused
to accept the fact,
could not
accept the fact
that for once in my life
I had failed.
I couldn't...
I couldn't admit that failure.
And what was that failure?
Shortly thereafter, I...
I think I went back
to the office.
Andy was there.
I saw Andy.
Did you two speak?
He did mention that...
that he, uh...
he and Mark were consulting
with a lawyer.
Well, as it turned out,
he went to see Martin London...
much honored lawyer, retired.
- He's Mark's father-in-law.
- Yes.
He'd invested a substantial amount
of money with you, right?
Well, more than some,
less than others.
Jesus fucking Christ.
50 million?
50 billion with a "B. "
Jesus fucking Christ.
All right,
I'm in Hartford.
I'll be there at 3:00 PM.
You have to understand
the money management business
was operating
from a small office.
- Yeah, the office is on a separate floor.
- The 17th floor.
- It's always seemed successful.
- A ton of clients, I think.
- Hedge funds. - I know he'd even
turn people away sometimes.
- But all the trades... - Yeah, the trades
go through European counterparties.
That's why he has
the London office.
And then upstairs on the
19th floor is market making.
- Which is where we work.
- These are not my immediate concerns.
But if he plans
to spend the week
distributing his ill-gotten gains
amongst his relatives,
employees, his friends,
then this is not over.
This is a crime in progress.
So what are you saying?
We have to turn him in?
You don't turn him in.
You're an accomplice.
Yeah?
Okay, it's all fine.
Yep.
Who is it?
The FBI is here.
I know why you're here.
Well, we're here
to find out
if there's
an innocent explanation.
There is no innocent
explanation.
Is there someplace
we can talk privately?
In there.
He said he'd been
operating a Ponzi scheme
since the 1970s.
He was so matter-of-fact
about it.
He wasn't nervous,
he wasn't afraid.
He was just very casual.
Well, sir, he claims
to have acted alone.
Yes, sir.
I'll bring him in.
Hi, it's Ruth.
Are the boys there?
They're not there.
He won't be
coming in today.
Sir, you're gonna have
to remove your belt,
your shoelaces, your tie,
and any jewelry.
- This?
- Yep.
Credit card, cash,
anything in your
pockets, sir.
Turn around,
please, sir.
Hands behind your back.
Palms together.
Put that stuff away.
And call Ike Sorkin.
What happened on the night
of December 9, 2008?
My brother told me
that his investment
advisory business
was a Ponzi scheme.
And what was your reaction
to hearing that Mr. Madoff
was operating
a Ponzi scheme?
Well, I was
in total shock.
In your first interview
with the government,
you stated that
you idolized your brother.
- Is that correct?
- Yes, and that's correct.
Why did you idolize
your brother?
Well, because
he was brilliant.
Everywhere you go,
people talked about Bernie.
He was a true pioneer.
Everyone in the industry,
including the highest-ranking
officials at the SEC,
believed
that my brother was
one of the most honorable
and successful traders
of our time.
Nobody believed that
more than I did.
I revered him.
I trusted him implicitly.
- Sorkin.
- Ike, it's Bernie.
Uh, I'm down
at FBI headquarters
handcuffed to a wall.
Bernie, don't say
another word.
We arrested him
this morning.
Was he okay?
I put the cuffs
on him myself.
He went quietly
as though he expected us.
To be honest,
he looked relieved.
You did
the right thing, son.
Turn to the right.
Yeah, the FBI
just processed him
and they transferred him
over to Pearl Street.
Yeah, we're heading in
right now.
So you were making money
off of the trades.
There were no trades.
- What do you mean there were
no trades? - I made them up.
- Weren't there statements?
- Every month, they were fake.
Purchase dates,
they were fake;
shares, they were fake;
options, they were fake;
returns,
they were fake.
So when was the last
trade you executed?
15 years ago.
Who else knew?
I acted alone.
When did he tell you he
started this Ponzi scheme?
He didn't.
And the entire time he was running it,
you had no idea?
- No, I didn't.
- And what was your role at the firm?
I ran the firm's NASDAQ
desk in the late '90s,
added the rest of the
market-making desk in 2001,
and moved to the proprietary
trading desk in 2003...
You're not answering
my question.
What exactly is your
role at the firm?
I'm only in the office
a few days a week.
I've been building a separate
business called Madoff Energy...
Sir, what is
your exact title at BLM?
Director of Proprietary Trading
and Codirector of Trading.
And where did the money
for these loans come from?
The loans that allowed you
to buy your loft in SOHO,
your house in Greenwich,
your house in Nantucket.
I assume from the money he
made through investments.
On the private
advisory side?
- Yes.
- On the 17th floor?
- Yes. - And you never asked
what went on the 17th floor?
Of course I did.
- You did?
- Yes.
- But...
- But what?
He would always say,
"You run your business
and I'll run my business. "
And you never thought
to follow up
on those questions?
- You don't understand...
- You're right, I don't.
I don't understand
how you could work in the
same office as your father
for 20 years
and suspect nothing.
Nothing?
Who are some
of your father's clients?
I'm not privy
to all of them,
but, um, Jeffry Picower
was a big one.
Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz
of the Mets.
HSBC,
Royal Bank of Scotland,
some family friends, Marty.
But he wouldn't talk about
who or what he did for them.
Our money was
with him as well.
So you were never
suspicious of your father?
Never?
Do you not understand
who he was?
I think we're all
beginning to understand
exactly who your
father is, Mr. Madoff.
He wasn't just my father.
You know,
he was fucking idolized.
We're talking about a man
who created the modern
market as we know it.
He created NASDAQ.
He's Chairman of NASDAQ.
He's Chairman of the National
Securities Clearing Corporation,
Chairman of the International Securities
Clearing Corporation,
Chairman of the National Association
of Securities Dealers,
which was FINRA before
FINRA fucking existed.
Chairman of the SIA
Trading Committee.
- Okay, we understand your point, sir...
- No, I don't think you do.
Chairman of the National
Business Conduct Committee.
- Sir, we understand. - Member of the
SIA Federal Regulation Committee.
- Sir, that's enough. - Chairman of the
NASD Small Order Execution Committee.
I mean, you're asking me
how I didn't know.
Well, I'm asking you.
You're the FBI,
you're the SEC.
You investigated him before,
so I'm...
I'm asking you
how the fuck
did you not know?!
Sir, we are not
the focus here. You are.
You're saying that
you never stepped foot
on the 17th floor?
No.
And why not?
Sleigh bells ring
Are you listening?
In the lane
Snow is glistening
What happened on the morning
of December 11th, 2008?
Uh, I was in my office
and I got
a telephone call.
Who was on the phone?
It was, uh,
Bernie Madoff.
What did Bernie Madoff
say to you?
Yeah?
Frank, my brother,
is in the office...
- What?
- ... with the FBI.
What the fuck?
How old were you when
you first started working
for Bernie Madoff?
I was 19 years old.
In what capacity
had you known him?
Oh, well,
he was my boss.
What type of work had you
done for him over the years?
Uh, really anything
he asked me to.
Everything from, you know,
running errands
to running his investment
advisory department.
Did you know why the FBI
was at Peter Madoff's office?
Yes, I did.
And what did that
mean to you?
Uh, it meant that
I was going to jail.
Why did you think
you were going to jail?
Because I was well aware
of the nature of the operation.
And what was the
nature of the operation?
It was a fraud...
simply put.
I always thought
that Bernie
would be able
to make it good, you know?
He had money here, he had money there,
he moved stuff around.
There was always
a lot of moving parts.
Maybe I was
lying to myself.
I don't know,
but I... I thought he...
I thought
he could cover it.
What the hell is this?
Bernie's been arrested
for securities fraud.
The SEC's getting
a court order
to seize control
and shut us down.
Without an investigation?
What could they
possibly know?
Whatever Bernie told them.
Sir, who was
that gentleman?
He's...
uh, he works here.
- Where?
- Uh, on the 17th floor.
There's a 17th floor?
Annette, Bernie's been arrested
for securities fraud.
The SEC and the FBI
are upstairs right now.
What?
The hell does that mean?
We need your keycard, ma'am.
Come on,
come on, come on.
Please, please.
Come on, come on, come on.
Open it.
FBI! Everyone stop
what what you're doing!
FBI! I said stop what
you're doing right now.
Move away
from the computer!
Sir, FBI. Do not touch
that computer.
I said move away
from the computer!
Hey, Dan,
walk this group out.
The advisory was a completely
separate business,
a completely separate entity.
Never the two
should meet, ever,
and they didn't.
And I made it that way
on purpose, obviously.
What about your brother?
Peter's in trouble.
- Yes. - Because he trusted you.
He did what you told him to.
- He did. - And you told him
to do things that exposed him
to this criminal liability
he's facing right now.
How did you
justify that, Bernie?
How did you
sleep with that?
I guess the way
I could sleep with it
is that I knew that
Peter didn't know anything
even though
I had him do things
which he didn't realize
could've implicated
him in this...
in this, um...
crime.
Bernie was always
needling people.
He would find your weak spot
and he would poke at it.
I mean, that was Bernie and
he could be a real bastard.
But not like this.
I mean, not stealing
people's money.
I mean, at first,
I started thinking,
"My God, you know, did one of
the grandchildren get kidnapped?
Was the 10 million
ransom money?"
What 10 million?
The 10 million
that Ruth came in
and withdrew from
her Cohmad account
and transferred into
her Wachovia account.
I mean, I...
what do I know?
I mean, I'm always watching
crime stories, you know?
I fall asleep
every night to "SVU. "
And you're saying
on December 10th,
Ruth Madoff withdrew $10 million
from her Cohmad account
and transferred it
to a personal account?
Yes, but that
is not unusual.
I mean, think of it
like having an ATM
in your, you know...
your living room.
Except, you know, when things
are going on, you wonder.
Mommy's here!
Don't forget your ball.
We're gonna go to Connecticut
for a few days.
You know it might snow?
No mention
of his arrest yet.
- It's my mom.
- Don't answer.
You know what
Flumenbaum said...
no contact.
Don't screw around, Mark.
- Hi, Mom.
- Hi, Mark.
Honey, I'm, um...
I'm with your father
and in order to release
him on bond
they need four signatures.
It's a $10 million bond.
- What?
- Ugh, I know. Can you believe?
Anyway, can you
get down here?
Uh, I'll text you
the address.
Mom...
do you understand
what he's done?
No, honey, Mark,
I know you're angry,
but he's your father.
I'm not doing it.
End of discussion.
Mark.
I'll try Andy.
What do you mean
by misunderstanding?
We couldn't get
your sons to sign.
They wouldn't sign?
I'm sorry, Mr. Madoff.
The boys wouldn't
sign the bond?
I'm very sorry, sir.
Who... did you
talk to them or did...
No. Your wife was on the
phone with each of them.
Their mother did and they didn't...
they wouldn't...
Um...
Well, there's no money
involved in it.
So did they
understand that?
Yes.
Hmm, I don't know.
Marc, it's Daniel Horwitz.
We couldn't get
the four signatures,
but I can get you Ruth
and, um,
Peter Madoff's.
Okay, hold on.
Will you submit to, um,
home detention
with electronic monitoring
and surveillance,
homes in Manhattan, Montauk,
and Palm Beach will be pledged,
and yours and Ruth's passports
will be surrendered.
Are those terms
okay with you?
Um, yeah.
He says yes. Great.
- Okay. - "The Journal" just
went online with the story.
We have 20 minutes before the
press descends on this place.
Let's do this.
Mr. Madoff.
It's very strange
and troubling news
out of Wall Street tonight.
Former NASDAQ Stock Exchange
chairman Bernard Madoff
out on $10 million bond.
This man with a stellar reputation
seems to have
taken a whole lot
of very smart people
to the cleaners.
The man they trusted
the most with their money,
a NASDAQ chairman
18 years ago,
is now confessing
to authorities
he cheated them
of billions of dollars.
And there's a bunch
of big-time investors
wondering how a
guy named Madoff
made off with their money.
What's gonna happen, Bernie?
- I don't know.
- Are you gonna go to jail?
Probably.
For how long?
- I don't know, Ruth.
- For a long time or a little?
I don't know.
- What?
- I don't know.
Are they gonna take
the apartment away?
- I don't know.
- What about the houses?
What about the boys
and the grandkids?
- Ruth. Ruth, enough.
- Look I just wanna know if...
I'm sorry if I have
questions, Bernie.
I'm sorry if I'm
a little scared, okay?
It's just you always
keep me in the dark.
I keep you in the dark
to protect you.
Yeah, well, it doesn't
feel that way anymore.
I just wanna know
what's going on.
Please, Bernie, don't keep
me in the dark anymore.
Just tell me.
Tell me.
Tell you what, Ruth?
Just tell me,
I don't know...
what you did.
I met Ruth when
she was 13. I was 16.
A friend was having
a party in his basement
Something had happened
to the jukebox.
It got knocked around
when he was moving it,
so the only song it'd play
was "Sh-Boom" over and over.
She was this tiny,
little blonde
with enormous blue eyes.
Just gorgeous.
Very funny, too.
You remember that actress
Goldie Hawn?
- I do very well.
- Yeah, that was Ruth.
She'd wake up every morning
without a care in the world.
Very lively, very bubbly.
Popular, too.
- Were you popular?
- Oh, yeah.
I mean, I was a lifeguard
at the time.
Best job I ever had.
I mean, why just be some
regular schnook on the beach
when you can be
in a guard tower,
everyone
looking up at you?
- And you get paid.
- Did Ruth ever get jealous?
For the rest
of the summer,
she laid out right next to the...
the guard tower every day.
Sometimes I'd
whistle down at her
and she'd look up
and call me a dog.
But I liked
having her there.
It felt good.
I mean, we've basically
been together
every day since
the night we met.
It's our 51st
anniversary coming up.
Mm.
How do you think you were
able to keep it all separate?
For 16 years,
I kept this secret
from my wife,
my brother,
my sons.
How I was
able to do that
and maintain
any degree of sanity,
well, it's, uh...
that worries me
when I think about it.
Oh, oh, yes
I'm the great pretender
Ooh, ooh
Pretending
that I'm doing well
Ooh, ooh
My need is such
I pretend too much...
- Those are fresh?
- Yes, sir.
They are really fresh?
- Fresh this morning.
- Not freshly frozen?
- No, sir.
- Fresh, fresh, okay.
I'm the great pretender...
Check all the plates.
Make sure that none of them
are dirty, please.
I don't want anybody coming here
and eating on a dirty plate.
They pick up a napkin,
you pick up a napkin
and then you have dirt
under here like this.
This one. See?
Dirty plate.
Make sure
they're all clean.
What was your job title
at Bernard L. Madoff
Investment Securities?
Chief compliance officer.
I never had any financial
interest in the firm.
Bernie made it clear that there
was no prospect for partnership.
Boom, ba-doh,
ba-doo, ba-doodle-ay
Oh, life could be a dream
If I could take you
up in paradise up above
- If you would tell me...
- Eleanor.
So who's the more
handsome brother, him or me?
All right, we've all heard
this one, Casanova.
- Come on.
- In my opinion?
Be honest.
- Peter's way more
attractive. - Oh.
So you've got a thing for barrel-chested
bald men with big stomachs?
Screw you!
In fact, Bernie,
when I first met Peter,
I said to myself,
"My God, this man looks
just like Lee Majors. "
- Handsome.
- Thank you, Eleanor.
Yeah, that was
25 years ago.
Back then, even you
were attractive, Eleanor.
Stuff it, Bernie.
You know you got a thing for me.
Do not lie.
You're right, I do.
- Come here.
- You know I love you.
I gotta make the rounds.
Peter, do not let him
get to you, that one.
I'm used to it, believe me.
Sh-boom, sh-boom
Ya, da, da, da,
da, da, da, da, da, da
Sh-boom, sh-boom
Ya, da, da, da,
da, da, da, da, da, da
Sh-boom
- Sh-boom, sh-boom...
- The fuck you looking at?
Annette, you have
a fucking heart attack,
I'm not giving you
mouth-to-mouth.
Ya, da, da, da,
da, da, da, da, da, da...
Just so we're clear.
Ya, da, da, da, da, da,
da, da, da, da, sh-boom.
Behind you is not
the place to be.
Your accounts
at Madoff Securities
had a total of approximately
$50 million.
- Is that correct?
- Yeah, that's correct.
Did it strike you
as absurd
that someone with just
a high school education
should have
that kind of money?
No! I was very, very lucky.
Kind of like
winning the lottery?
Kind of like
winning the lottery.
Did it occur to you
because you had
this great account
and it was
worth so much,
there must be something
fraudulent there?
No. I never thought
of the word fraudulent.
In my experience,
and I mean this, there's only
four different types of pussy.
Okay?
I'm dead serious.
You got your... let me show you.
I just saw one.
All right, right there.
See there?
That's your
Honda Civic pussy.
Gets you
where you wanna go.
No shame
in this pussy at all.
Reliable.
You just, you know,
you're not gonna be
proud to be seen
riding around town
in it, am I right?
- Nothing against her.
- What's going on?
It's the world according
to Frankie over here.
Right there.
You see that there?
That's your
Buick Regal pussy.
Okay, a step up
from the Honda.
Uh, generally
they're cleaner, okay?
Roomier, you fit
more passengers in there.
I guess there's pros and
cons to that in a pussy.
You know,
lovely pussy.
Nobody's gonna mistake it
for a Benz, though. Am I right?
Am I right, Robert?
Okay, thank you.
God bless you.
I just want you to know,
despite everything you see,
Andrew is not from money.
- Oh, no, no.
- He's not from money.
I... I'm not...
I'm not...
I know you might think
he's a rich guy, but he's not.
We're from nothing.
My father was broke.
We're not rich people.
We're humble people.
- Okay.
- You understand?
Yes.
- Come here.
- Yeah. Oh.
Oh!
I'm gonna have to get out
the hose and spray him.
Next up,
my personal favorite.
I just saw one.
There. Now,
don't make it obvious.
Right there. That is your
Lincoln Continental pussy.
Beautiful.
Just... it's just right.
You know what I mean?
Like Goldilocks just right.
It's not too fancy,
it's not too plain.
It just...
it's just comfortable.
It just... it just fits.
No, no, it's like an old
pair of slippers
except instead of your foot,
you put your cock in it.
- Am I wrong?
- You have a daughter, right?
Yeah, Sophie.
She's wonderful.
I can't wait
for you to meet her.
And who's
the father again?
Um, uh, John,
my, my ex-partner
at Urban Angler.
And you two never married?
Um, no. No.
If I had had
a baby out of wedlock,
my father would have taken
me out back and shot me.
I'm not kidding,
he would've shot me.
No, no, stay with me
and hold all questions
till the end.
- Okay. - Right there,
you see that? Ugh.
There it...
read it and weep.
It's your
Mercedes-Benz pussy.
Right? Look at it.
I mean, it's beautiful.
It's just a feat
of vaginal engineering.
No, it handles just great.
It's sleek, it's tight,
it looks good, it feels good,
it smells good.
But a lot of upkeep.
Yeah?
Payments are murder and you
gotta wax it, you gotta polish it,
you gotta talk to it,
you gotta listen to it, eh?
And, most importantly,
you gotta remain
ever vigilant
that nobody
fucking jacks it, right?
You don't have to
worry about that
'cause you'll never get
near anything like that.
So don't worry about it.
Is it fair to say
that as a result
of all of these lies,
you got rich?
Well, I didn't get paid
per lie, ma'am.
As a product of the fraud
that was Madoff Securities,
you got rich, correct?
Yeah,
that's correct, yeah.
You built,
as you described,
a lavish home in Bridgewater,
New Jersey, correct?
- Well, define "lavish. "
- Sure.
- Uh, how many bedrooms
did it have? - Five.
- How many bathrooms?
- Seven.
- How many acres?
- Seven.
- Did it have a swimming pool?
- Yes, it did.
- Did it have a tennis court?
- It did not.
- Did it have a pond?
- Yes, it did.
So would you consider
seven acres,
seven bathrooms,
five bedrooms,
a swimming pool,
a pond, a lavish home?
I guess I might.
Reaching out
Touching me
Touching you
Sweet Caroline
Bah, bah, bah
Good times
never seemed so good
So good, so good,
so good
I've been inclined
Bah, bah, bah
To believe
they never would
- Oh, no, no...
- Whoo!
Come here.
Sweet Caroline
Bah, bah, bah
Good times
never seemed so good
So good, so good,
so good
- I've been inclined
- Sweet Caroline
Bah, bah, bah...
Hey, by the way, you know Stephanie
and I went last weekend
to see that house
in Nantucket?
- You know...
- You should try the lobster.
- Oh, no, no, it's okay.
- Oh, trust me on the lobster.
Try the lobster.
Hey!
- Dad, you know I got...
- Can you get my son
- a lobster, please?
- ... a weak stomach.
Would you get him
a lobster? Just...
Would you like me to
get you the lobster?
What are you asking him for?
Just get him a lobster.
- He'll thank us both later, okay?
- Seriously...
So, what's the price tag
on this house?
Uh, they got it at,
like, six and a half,
- but we'll talk them down.
- That's what they're asking for?
Yeah.
I mean, it's, like, special.
It's, like... it's got a pool
looks out over the ocean.
- It's unbelievable.
- Uh-huh.
But I figure we can
get them down a bit.
Now, wait.
That's the way
you bring the lobster?
Apologies, sir.
Why don't you
bring it back,
take off the claws,
open it up.
I mean, I pay enough
for this whole thing.
Don't you guys know
how to serve a lobster?
- Apologies. I'll be right back.
- Okay, just bring it back properly.
- I mean, what is this?
- You wanna come see it with me?
- We could go down next week and...
- I'll go see it.
We can work
on the price, too.
Yeah, six and a half,
maybe we can start at five.
- That would be nice. - We could
probably take a boat from Montauk.
- We can go out of the harbor...
- Good idea.
Okay, thanks.
So... don't eat that,
eat this.
- Don't eat...
- I don't like lobster, Dad.
I don't even know why we had that.
I guess your mother...
'Cause it's not good
on my stomach.
Hey, uh,
take this away,
will you, please?
Yes, sir.
- There you go.
- Apologies, sir.
Okay.
One thing he's good
at is apologizing.
You, you
You
You
You
You
You
Ah...
I guess I'm just wondering
what if something
happens to you?
We don't know the first thing
about the advisory.
- Frank will handle it.
- Come on, Dad.
With all due respect,
Frank's...
Frank's what?
Frank's an idiot.
You know, Frank
never went to college.
I heard Frank comparing women's
vaginas to automobiles
earlier today.
Whether Frank is refined enough
for your taste is irrelevant.
He's good at his job.
If something were
to happen to me,
he'd fill you guys in on all the
details you need to know.
And what if Frank
decides to screw you?
I mean, I don't even know how
much you're worth. Is it a billion?
Two billion?
Three?
What if there's three
and he says there's two
and takes a billion and rides
off into the sunset?
Calm down, calm down. Everything is
written down in a safe deposit box.
If something were
to happen to me,
you consult with our lawyers,
and they'll handle it.
They'll fill you in
on everything.
Everything, huh?
- That's right, everything.
- Everything? You know, good luck.
This conversation is impossible.
- I don't understand why you
can't understand... - Impossible!
...what I just said to you.
You know, why is it that whenever
this conversation comes up,
you find a way to wriggle out
of giving me an answer?
It comes up
because you bring it up.
No, because I'm...
we're trying to plan.
Well, if you don't bring it up,
it won't come up.
You know, I'm just trying
to get a basic sense...
You don't have to get
a sense of anything, Mark.
- You don't have to get a sense of anything.
- Why is that too much to ask?
- I've told you this is something
I don't talk about. - Dad. Dad!
Listen to me.
I don't understand!
Listen, what is wrong?
Are you a fucking idiot?
Are you a fucking idiot?!
I mean, answer me!
- I don't understand!
- No, you don't understand!
You don't have to
fucking understand!
You're asking me about
taking over the advisory
and yet you can't even follow
a simple fucking instruction
to shut the fuck up!
You don't understand.
You don't understand.
Leave it alone.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
- Good night.
- I love you, Dad.
Love you.
Good night.
Hey, nonny, ding, dong,
a - lang, a - lang, a - lang
Boom, ba-doh,
ba-doo, ba-doodle-ay
Oh, life could be a dream
If I could take you
up in paradise up above
If you would tell me I'm
the only one that you love
Life could be a dream,
sweetheart
Hello, hello, again, sh-boom
and hopin' we'll meet again
- Oh, life could be a dream
- Sh-boom
If only all my precious
plans would come true...
People here always ask me
how come I never ran.
But the truth is
it didn't even occur to me.
I guess it's because
I never thought
of what I was doing
was stealing.
Well, it was a $65 billion
Ponzi scheme.
People lost their life savings,
they lost their homes.
Their lives
were destroyed.
You didn't think
of that as stealing?
People felt safe
with you.
- Yeah, but these were...
- And yet,
you were
betraying them all.
Well, but these people,
you know,
they had a little greed
in them, too.
There was a little bit
of, you know...
look, you know, and they
didn't wanna look too hard.
They looked
just far enough.
- So they're accomplices
in some way, too. - Bernie.
Accomplices because
they trusted you?
Accomplices because you
were so trustworthy,
you seemed
so trustworthy.
Yeah, but there's a lack
of honesty on their behalf,
an unwillingness to take responsibility
for their behavior.
- Your investors?
- Yes.
It takes a lot of chutzpah
for you of all people
to say that.
You know...
now that I think of it,
my greatest failure...
or maybe it's my
greatest weakness...
is I've always wanted
to please people.
And that's...
that's one that can
get you into trouble.
I've been here
all fucking morning!
- I wanna go upstairs. - Sir, nobody's
going upstairs right now.
I wanna see
somebody in charge.
- Right now, I'm in charge.
- Who are you protecting?!
And you need to
back up right now.
- We're talking about my fucking
life savings! - I told you right now!
- Do you understand?
- You need to back up right now, sir.
- Hello, Madoff.
- I'm in the fucking lobby.
I wanna come up.
Sir, I am not able
to give you permission
to come up here right now.
Where is
my fucking money?!
You have to call
the advisory arm.
- I can give you their number.
- Fuck you, you fucking thief!
Oh, my God.
Unusual circumstances
did not exist for Bernie.
Take 9-11.
When those towers got hit,
everybody in the whole
entire office
was gathered
around the TV.
Who was crying?
Who was hysterical?
Not Bernie.
He kept his head down
and he continued to work.
And it is not like
he did not
know anybody
in those buildings.
As with every event
of personal devastation,
they remember
exactly where they were
and what they were doing
when they learned
they were ruined.
The grayish white paper
rolled out of Mary Thomajan's
fax machine.
The fax was from
the small feeder fund
she had trusted
for 18 years
telling her
that all her money
had been invested
with Madoff,
who had been arrested.
She later recalled,
"In the 50 seconds it
took to read that fax,
I went from being
a multimillionaire
to having my life savings
wiped out
and life as I knew it
altered forever.
Robert Halio's son called him
at his retirement home
in Boca Raton
with the news.
It's all gone, Dad.
I don't...
I don't know what to do.
95% of his wealth
had been entrusted to Madoff
and was now gone.
Mr. De la Villehuchet
had written his brother
a letter that said,
"If you ruin your friends,
your clients,
you have to face
the consequences.
He then positioned
a trash basket
to protect the carpet
and slit his wrist
with a box cutter.
Tim Murray, a property
manager in Minnesota,
was traveling and nearly
drove off the road...
...Fort Lauderdale...
- Richard Freedman...
- David Iselin...
Time to pay the piper, Bernie.
Presumably...
Presumably with the life savings
of another piper.
Just...
This was the worst
pyramid scheme
since the actual pyramids.
- Ruth loves to go to the
California Pizza Kitchen. - Yeah.
And they say that her
favorite dish there
is the veal scallo-Ponzi.
Listen, I have something to tell
you that's really important.
I have your money!
I can get it to you.
Okay, I guess
you're not there.
They can see right in.
- They can see right in.
- What?
We... we don't have
any curtains.
They can see right in.
Hold on,
let me call you back.
- Catherine, it's gonna be fine.
- No, they're gonna be looking in
with their long lenses
and we'll be trapped.
They're gonna get bored
just standing around.
I'm not the story.
We've gotta get curtains
right now.
Shit.
Hi, how are you?
I'm all right.
You?
I've been better.
I'll bet.
- Mommy, Mommy.
- What?
- Is that Ruth Madoff?
- Jessica, not another word.
It's okay.
No, none of it is.
There she is.
- Hi, Sarah.
- Oh, hi.
Is Gisele here?
I was wondering
if she might be able
to fit me in today.
I haven't had my hair colored
in God knows how long.
- Um, I think she's...
- You know, don't worry.
- I'll find her.
- Uh...
I've been coming here
for 15 years, Pierre.
I understand.
We have too many clients
who have lost their money
because of your husband.
But I don't trust
anyone else.
I'm very sorry,
but I can't afford
to risk my reputation.
What about
a house call?
I can pay extra.
- I'm sorry...
- Pierre.
but I have to ask you
to leave now.
I'm sorry, Ruth.
- Shit.
- Ruth!
- What are you doing?
- Nothing!
What are you doing?
- Looking for something?
- My lighter.
Well, aren't there matches
in the drawer?
- No.
- No? What do you mean?
- There's always matches in the drawer.
- Well, we're out.
Where'd you last see it?
If I knew
where I last saw it,
I wouldn't be looking
for it, Bernie.
I'm such an idiot.
How did I get
to be this age
without doing anything
on my own?
What are you
talking about?
I... I didn't
do anything, Bernie.
I never did one thing
on my own.
I... I don't have a career,
I don't have a name,
I don't... I don't have
any friends of my own.
The only thing I have
are regrets.
That's all I got
to show for myself.
- Regret after regret.
- Ruth, do we have to go into this now?
I got a lot on my mind.
I'm going away and who knows
if I'm going to come back.
- Why would you say that?
- I'm not saying for certain...
- No, Ike said that you'd be able to...
- Forget I mentioned it.
You can't do that.
I'm not ready.
I... I'm not ready
to be alone.
You're all I have.
The boys don't speak to me.
No one speaks to me.
I'll...
I'll go crazy, Bernie.
I'll... I'll go crazy
all alone.
I'll go crazy, Bernie, I will.
Hi.
Leave a message
after the tone.
Bernie!
Bernie, you there?
Bernie?
Come on, pick up.
I know you're hiding
that 50 billion somewhere,
you piece-of-shit
cocksucker.
I hope you enjoy getting
your ass raped every night,
'cause you're going
away for a long time.
Hasta la vista,
you kike motherfucker.
What are you doing?
I can't live like this.
Slogging through,
being miserable
to no good end.
What's the point?
You know,
I was thinking earlier...
this... this isn't
even about me.
This country needs a villain,
someone to send
to the gallows
so everyone can feel okay about
living under a rigged system.
I don't give
a rat's ass, Bernie.
Well, it'll be better
once I go.
What's with the jewelry?
It's the only thing
the court didn't freeze.
I'm gonna wrap it all up,
give it to family,
and then kill myself.
Why would you
kill yourself?
Because I'm tired
of being hated.
I don't even understand it.
I... you got yourself
into trouble.
You couldn't get out.
What do I have to do with it?
Why does the world
hate me?
They all think I'm some kind
of a mastermind.
Take it as a
compliment, Ruth.
They say all these
horrible things about me.
They say I...
I was your bookkeeper.
- They say...
- You weren't my bookkeeper.
I did maintain the records
the first year.
That was in 1960.
It was just you and me.
I mean, but you weren't
even a real bookkeeper.
No, but I'm just saying don't
make it seem like I didn't pitch in
because I even
came back, remember?
- Yeah, but then we hired a real bookkeeper.
- And I helped with payroll.
- We hired a real bookkeeper.
- Right, so why are they making it seem
like I... like I'm involved
with all this stuff?
Because they're out
for blood, honey.
That's why.
They just wanna...
But anybody in the know knows
you weren't the mastermind.
- That's nonsense.
- Oh, well, thanks.
I already
wanna kill myself.
Are you trying
to make me feel worse?
No, but I...
You, uh...
you'd commit suicide?
With what?
I don't know. I haven't figured
that part out yet.
Something nice.
Maybe Ambien.
How much Ambien
do we have?
Enough to open
a fucking pharmacy.
What about these?
Klonopin?
Same thing.
Just put it in here.
Do have yourself
a merry little Christmas.
It's a great song and you'll be
hearing Judy Garland sing it...
Can't we just have quiet?
I can't fall asleep
unless I watch something.
You just took
a whole fucking bottle
of Ambien, Bernie.
Sleep's not gonna be
your problem.
My mind races.
Fine.
Our last night on Earth
will be you, me,
and Judy Garland.
- How romantic.
- Let's not get started, Ruth.
We had a good life,
didn't we?
Yeah...
until you ruined it.
Have yourself
A merry
little Christmas
Let your heart
be light
Next year,
all our troubles
Will be out of sight...
Have yourself...
Pop-pop!
- Pop-pop!
- Make the yuletide gay
Next year,
all our troubles
Will be miles away...
- Once again...
- Hello?
- As in olden days...
- Pop-pop!
- Hello?
- Happy golden days
Of yore
- Faithful friends...
- Mark, Andy.
I'm glad you came.
I have so much
I wanna tell you.
So much I wanna tell you.
I never...
I never wanted any...
I never wanted
either of you
to... to...
to, you know...
I just never wanted
either of you to...
it just...
sometimes
things in life happen
that you don't even...
You know, there's a lot that
I never really wanted to...
to tell you.
Uh,
I'm glad...
I'm glad you're here.
Once again
As in olden days
- Happy golden...
- Good evening.
It is a day that will be
in bold print
in history books.
Black Monday,
October 19th, 1987,
when the stock market
went into a free fall,
losing more in one day
than it did on
Black Tuesday in 1929.
Fucking rigged.
How to fuck the little guy.
I wonder if I can count on you.
Of course.
Pop-pop!
- Can I count on you?
- Pop-pop!
We took a big hit today.
Lost over a billion
and change.
You know how with a split-strike
conversion strategy
the stock options
offset losses?
It's like insurance.
A fucking meltdown like this,
would have been a nice strategy.
If only we had it in place
- before the fucking...
- No ifs.
No ifs.
And we tell no one.
We tell no one.
Pop-pop!
Basically, we're picking winners
of yesterday's horse races?
Yeah, so if anyone double-checks
our trades, we got it all there.
- All winners.
- Fine.
Make sure the books show
that the London office
is clearing the trades
so no one upstairs in market-making
is involved.
Not my brother,
not the boys, no one.
- Understand?
- Yeah, of course, of course, yeah.
No one.
Erwin's last words to me,
the last thing
he said was,
"Bernie will take care
of everything. "
He's gone and I don't
know what to do.
It's gonna be okay.
You can take all of Erwin's
other accounts...
his savings, life insurance,
everything...
and you can put it all
in his account here.
God bless you, Bernie.
Pop-pop!
- Pop-pop!
- Daniel!
- Pop-pop?
- Yeah?
Are you gonna die in jail?
Somehow...
Ruth. Ruth.
Ruth,
I need more pills.
Ruth.
Have you no shame?
Hello?
Have you no shame?
No remorse?
Have you no conscience?
You steal from widows,
you steal
from charities,
you steal from Elie Wiesel,
a Holocaust survivor.
You prey
on your own people.
You steal
from your own people.
Have you no shame!?
- Huh?
- Well, we're still here.
Mr. Markopolos,
it's all yours.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My team and I tried our best
to get the SEC to investigate
and shut down
the Madoff Ponzi scheme
with repeated and credible
warnings to the SEC
that started in May 2000.
- We knew that...
- Ruth.
What?
You wanna watch this
Harry guy's testimony?
Who?
Harry... I don't know,
I can't pronounce it.
What's he testifying about?
Me.
...over a nine-year
time span.
If a $50-billion
Ponzi scheme
doesn't make
the SEC's priority list,
then I wanna know
who sets their priorities.
What made you think that
Bernie Madoff was a fraud?
The key tip-off... and it took
me about five minutes
to figure out that
he was a fraud...
I'm gonna give you a hand
signal and I'm gonna show you
what his performance
return line looked like.
It went in only
one direction... up.
It never had variation
like the market does
like this, but then I did...
- Who is this guy?
- He tried to warn the SEC about me.
- And what happened?
- They ignored his warnings.
- So what's the point?
- What do mean what's the point?
Well, what's the point
of all this?
Well, he's saying
that basically,
he handed the SEC
the evidence
and they didn't
follow up on it.
Oh, so a government agency
is incompetent.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah, and that's news?
No, look, I've been
saying that for years.
and I have
firsthand knowledge.
This fucking cocksucker walks
in and out of the building
with this jacket on.
What the fuck
is wrong with him?
Bern, the guy's asking
for our DTC account number.
What are we gonna do?
I mean, all my years
dealing with the SEC,
I've never seen
this enforcement.
Who the fuck does this
guy think he is?
Boss, if we don't
give the guy the number,
it's gonna be obvious that
we're hiding something.
Yeah, but the way he just
fucking walks in here like that,
no fucking suit or nothing.
- No, I know.
- What kind of fucking arrogance?
The jacket's annoying,
but, Bern, please focus.
If we do give it to him,
uh, one call to the DTC
and that's it.
Game over.
We're just here
for a routine exam.
We haven't done one
in 10 years.
- You were just here.
- Uh, we... we weren't.
- DC Inspections was.
- We don't talk to DC.
So, tell me
about this article.
Yeah, I was very
bothered by this.
I mean, why would
they make me look fat?
Excuse me?
I mean,
look at my face.
Look at my cheeks.
I look like a fucking porpoise.
Well, um, yes, but I'm referring
to the allegations.
What about it? Lori Richards
has all this information.
I sent it to her in a file.
They have it.
As I told you, we're a
very large organization.
- We don't talk to each other.
- You don't talk to DC?
No.
It... it's, uh...
This is the problem
with the SEC.
I've been saying this
for years.
I mean, you have to have
better communication.
How are you supposed
to be able to do your job
with a fraction
of the information?
Well, we're trying to get
all of the information.
Well, don't you think you should
start by talking to DC?
I mean, I got...
my whole office here
is wondering
what's happening.
You come in
with that jacket,
it embarrasses the hell
out of all of us.
And this?
It's a fucking cartoon.
It's an old article.
It's four years old.
And you're asking me questions
about an old article
with a silly cartoon?
And you haven't spoken to DC.
Are we, um... are we waiting
on your lawyers?
I never have lawyers
in the office
when I'm talking to regulators
for two reasons.
One, I'm not doing
anything wrong.
Two, I know the rules
better than most
because I drafted
a majority of them.
And we haven't
met before,
but we have very strong
relationships.
And I was on the short list
for SEC director.
Yes, we...
we know that.
If you need anything at all,
I'll be in my office.
There's no such thing
as an inconvenience.
- Thanks.
- I'm here.
Oh, um,
by the way, are these securities
with the DTC?
- Of course. - We're gonna
need your account number
just so we can
verify the assets.
Oh, Bern, you're
fucking killing me.
Great, thank you.
Do you mind if you take
that jacket off
before you go
out there?
- Oh, um...
- Just...
Sure.
One call.
All the SEC had to do
was make one call
and they would've seen
that everything was fake,
that there was
nothing there.
But they never called.
You just gambled
that they wouldn't call?
It was more than a gamble.
It was...
it was a leap of faith,
if you will.
You wait,
knowing what they will find
if they make that call.
I can't imagine
what that was like.
It was... it was
excruciatingly difficult.
At some point,
you figured...
I figured that they
didn't do it.
They just didn't
follow up on it.
If you didn't plan
on killing yourself
or going into hiding,
how did you think
it would end?
Well, it was
almost like, uh...
it sounds horrible
to say it now...
but I just wanted the whole
world to come to an end.
When 9-11 happened,
I thought this was
the only way out.
The world would come
to an end, I'd be dead,
and everybody
would be gone.
But, I mean,
I could've kept it going.
I could've
covered everything.
Even after the fall of '08,
I had enough commitments of
cash that would've come in.
So I could've,
you know... I, I...
I just got tired.
I knew by Thanksgiving
I was gonna give it up.
I was gonna stop.
Financial turmoil in the US.
Wall Street in crisis mode.
Wall Street on red alert.
Bear Stearns has
effectively gone under.
The largest bankruptcy
in US history.
- Unprecedented. - This is really
shaking the foundation of Wall Street.
A lot of money
and a lot of jobs.
America's economy is facing
unprecedented challenges.
All of this taking
a devastating toll on stocks.
Single biggest
point drop ever.
I'm sorry to bother you.
I just got another call
you're gonna fucking love.
- Yeah, go ahead.
- Bank Medici's
pulling out
450 million, Bern.
Stanley Chais has been draining
us all goddamn year,
and this is on top
of Fairfield's withdrawals.
I delivered for these fucking
people for fucking decades
and now they're all running
for the fucking hills.
Bern, we can't keep getting
hit with these redemptions.
We gotta find
a way to conserve.
I think we should
lower the returns.
Are you kidding?
That'll cause a bigger panic.
They'll all pull out, the greedy fucks.
We can't do that.
Well, we gotta
do something.
We're treading water like
a fucking paraplegic here.
- I was just saying...
- Hold on, let me get rid of this idiot.
...the joke on the street is that
Bernie's like the Jewish T-bill.
- Very funny. I'm on the phone.
I'm on the phone. - He's that safe.
I'm on the phone.
I'll introduce you guys later.
He's gonna love you.
See if you can rattle
Fairfield's cage.
In the meantime,
I've got a few ideas.
- Fairfield?
- Yeah.
All right.
- Uh-huh. Nice, nice.
- Not in a bathing suit.
Me neither.
- Hey.
- Hey, kid.
I heard you're
the one who hustled
those penny stocks in that shitty
office you had downtown.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's me.
Can you believe I've known
this man for 50 years?
Carl, listen,
I wanna tell you something.
Not now.
There are some real opportunities
in the market right now
and I wanna make you
aware of them.
- Not now, Bernie.
- I know, I know.
- Not now. - I know.
I wouldn't tell you about them
unless they were really,
really important, okay?
I don't want you mad
at me you missed out.
All right.
How much do you
want me to put in?
- On top of the 300 million
I already have with you? - Yes.
The market in shambles?
It's plummeting, but now is
the time to take advantage.
- I'm so exposed... - That's exactly
why I'm proposing this to you.
...I'm afraid I'll be arrested
for public indecency.
Oh, I'm not doing it
with everybody.
- It's just a few people.
- All right, all right. Enough.
- Okay, and you are family.
- I'll tell you.
Listen,
I'll think about it.
- Okay.
- Okay?
But don't take too long.
In all seriousness,
don't take too long.
Please don't take too long.
- Carl...
- I said it. I will think about it.
- Period.
- I live you, I respect that.
Thank you very much.
Fucking rich people.
Parasites.
You're in a mood.
I gotta take this.
Well, I just
got off the phone
with that cocksucker
at Kingate.
He's pulling out 260 million.
Do these fucking people
not understand
how a fucking
split-strike works?
- Do they not understand?
- Hold on, I got Fairfield calling me back.
Hold on.
Yeah?
Hey, Rick Jarvis.
We met at the club a few
months back with Solomon.
Well, look, while I got
your attention,
I just exited this private equity
venture with a five X return.
I'm looking to put that money
to work right away this quarter.
Well, unfortunately,
that's not possible.
I haven't told you
how much.
- Well, it really doesn't matter.
- $100 million.
I'm sorry, but the fund
is fully subscribed
for the quarter.
- Even in this market?
- My clients know not to worry.
I know how to avoid
the pitfalls.
Okay, I want in
this quarter, all right?
Whatever restrictions
you wanna put on it,
you know, I'll park this money
with you for a long time.
It's not about the money.
It's about pushing clients aside.
I can't do that.
I have to sacrifice someone,
a loyal client to me,
in order to accommodate you.
Unless it's really,
really worth it...
I am talking
about giving you
$100 million.
That's, uh,
not gonna do it.
So what's it
gonna take?
I have to do
what's ethical.
- I can't let you jump the line.
- I'll go 150 if you let me.
- Love to help you,
but I can't. - 175.
Fully subscribed.
- 200.
- I wish I could.
I'm just thinking
if I... no.
225?
250.
$300 million.
How far do we gotta go?
Just tell me.
If you go above four,
we might have something.
400.
I can do that.
We got a deal.
I gotta take
this phone call.
Yeah?
I don't know who the fuck
I was just talking with,
but if this guy checks out, we just
picked up a good piece of change.
Well, the shit is definitely
hitting the fucking fan.
I got Fairfield-Greenwich
on the line.
- You want me to patch you in?
- Go ahead.
Hey, Bernie.
We catching you at a bad time?
You tell me. I got a back spasm
that's fucking killing me.
- Bernie. Bernie.
- What's going on?
- Can I just get one minute?
- Not...
Just one minute
to introduce you.
- I can't talk.
- Just one minute!
- Yeah?
- Look, Bern,
you're basically the only fund
that hasn't gotten hammered.
You're the one place
clients can turn to for liquidity
without taking
huge losses.
It's the winner's curse.
What... what, am I
supposed to be flattered
that you just cashed out
a billion and a half dollars?
You gotta put a stop
to these redemptions
because if you don't, just know
there's plenty of money out there
that would love
to take your place.
- Is that a threat?
- You can take it any way you like.
Look at you all dressed up
and no place to die.
- Hello, Jeffry. - Come on, Bernie,
there's no need for stress.
I haven't made
many withdrawals.
Although, that's probably something
we should discuss, hmm?
I did wanna tell you that there
are some real opportunities
in the market right now
if you're interested, Jeffry.
- Hmm.
- What do you think?
- We should be talking...
- Mrs. Madoff!
- Mr. Picower.
- Your husband doesn't look well.
You should
attend to him, hmm?
You okay?
What's wrong
with him, Picower?
He's one strange,
sicko fuck.
Oh, by the way,
my sister,
she's worried
about the economy
and she was thinking
about investing
the rest of her
savings with you.
- Would that be okay?
- Yeah, sure.
Walter, I'm not a fucking money
market fund, do you understand?
If you don't stop
these withdrawals
and replace the money
before the end of the month,
then I'm gonna
cut you off!
I'm gonna close the whole
fucking Fairfield account!
Yes!
Do you hear me?!
Oh, shit.
What the...?
- I hated that. No, I didn't!
- You loved it.
- You came out of there, you said...
don't lie. - Oh, I did not!
- You're such a liar.
- You're a liar.
Sweetheart, is that
a little bit too rare?
This is good.
- Everything all right?
- Yeah.
Did you wheel your luggage
into the bedroom?
- Why? - Did you wheel your
luggage into the bedroom?
Well, I certainly didn't bring
it in through the window.
But you smudged the
wall by the door.
You scuffed it
with your roller bag.
Well, string me up
and feed me to the dogs.
I'm sorry I scuffed
a wall, Bernie.
Emily, was just asking
about Wall Street, Dad.
Yeah, how is
Wall Street, Papa?
She's working
on her MBA.
Dad, future head
of Madoff Securities.
That's right.
Watch out, guys.
I asked how's
Wall Street, Papa?
Wall Street is good.
Dad says things
are bad at Wall Street.
Well, Dad told you that,
but things are fine.
Why are they bad?
What did I just say?
I asked a question.
Why is it bad?
I told you
they're not bad.
Why don't you
just eat?
Well, if it's not bad,
why do they call it a meltdown?
- Why don't you tell me?
- How am I supposed to know?
- That's why I'm asking you.
- Do you read "Barron's," huh?
Do you read the
"Wall Street Journal"?
- Why don't you tell me?
- I just asked a question.
You are my granddaughter
and you're an eight-year-old
and you shouldn't be
asking me questions like that.
- I don't feel like talking
about Wall Street. - Hey, Dad.
- I don't feel like... be talking
about Wall Street. - Dad.
- I'm here having dinner with
my family. - That's enough.
Bernie, what's wrong with you?
She's just curious.
Because she doesn't know
what the hell she's talking about.
She's eight years old.
I gotta get grilled by this kid.
- Why are you being so mean?
- I got so many other goddamn things
I'm worried about
on Wall Street
and this kid's asking me
about how Wall Street is!
- Shut up and eat your food!
- Dad!
It's okay, sweetheart.
Bernie, stop it!
What's wrong with you?
Now you're playing
the good guy.
- Honey, it's okay, it's okay.
- Taking her side.
- She's just curious.
- Now I can't eat.
- It's okay, it's okay.
- She's an eight-year-old kid.
What's the matter
with you?
You're just too smart.
It's okay.
I wanna know why
you're acting this way.
The fucking market
is a bloodbath.
- Ah! God damn it.
- Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Take it ea... Dad.
Fucking thing.
What's going on?
Are you all right?
I started these
blood pressure pills.
Makes me dizzy.
- Maybe you should take
a couple days off. - No, I can't.
I have to be at the office
first thing in the morning.
- Founder of Home Depot.
- Reschedule.
- You know...
- This fucking thing.
If you ever trusted me
to help you
with the advisory,
you know, I could handle
this kind of thing for you.
It's my business,
not yours.
Well, what happens
when you're gone?
- I'm not having this discussion
with you. - It's a legitimate question.
- I'm not having this discussion
with you. - What is it, Dad?
Tell me.
What is it?
Is it that I'm not cut out?
- Are you not listening?
- Just be honest with me.
- Just tell me. - Do you not see
what I have to deal with,
the shit that I have to go
through on a daily basis?
No, that's why...
that's my point.
The fucking shit that
they put me through?
That they're trying
to fuck me all the time?
Steal from me?
Do you think you can do that?
Do you think you
can deal with that?
- Yes, I can. - I don't think
you can deal with it.
Bullshit.
I don't think so.
You can't stomach that stuff.
That's not in you.
Andy, maybe,
but not you.
What?
Wait, what are you saying?
Are you saying that Andy...
what are you saying?
Andy's better
at his job than I am?
- Mark. - I go to that fucking
office every single day.
I do the same thing
that he does.
I gave you
a fucking business to run.
Are you not happy
with that?
Was that not good
enough for you?
It is definitely good
enough for me, Dad.
- I'm just trying...
- Well, then shut the fuck up
and give me
a little fucking gratitude.
Say, "I'm... thanks, Dad. "
Can't you do that?
What, do you think the whole
fucking world owes you something?
The whole fucking world
owes you nothing.
You gotta work for it, and I always
say this with your mother.
This is the problem with
having money, an education.
Nothing is earned.
You want something,
you gotta fucking work for it.
What, you don't
think I have?
For you, it was
installing sprinklers.
For me, it was digging ditches
on a construction crew.
I never would have started Home Depot
if I hadn't had that experience.
Ken, I wanna be respectful
of your time,
so I'm gonna
get right to it.
I'm starting a new
highly exclusive fund.
It's gonna have
just five investors.
Same split-strike
conversion strategy
that's performed
so consistently.
But, frankly,
this fund's gonna have
even higher returns.
The only thing
is that it relies
on the market volatility
that we're seeing now,
so I gotta put the money
together right away.
Your current fund's been running
for a while, hasn't it?
It has.
Decades.
Double digit returns
every year.
And you're promising even better
returns for the new fund?
It's a unique
opportunity, Ken.
Uh-huh.
So I'm asking myself
only one question.
What if I'm a longtime
client of yours
and, uh,
how would I feel
getting shafted
for new customers?
There are other people
that I do other funds with,
but I don't wanna include them
in this because they're not...
- Whoa, whoa, wait a second.
- they're not the ones...
Okay, just a second.
I'm a little confused.
You got this fund,
you got that fund,
you got people who are long-term
customers and you're not gonna...
Those people are already
taken care of.
We have... we have
other funds with them.
Bernie, I don't... I don't know
what you're trying to say.
- Well...
- I'm confused.
The new fund is getting money
before the other people?
- That's not what I'm saying.
- That's exactly what you're saying.
I'm not saying that.
They are taken care of.
I have other arrangements
with them.
Something
is not kosher here.
- Something.
- No, it's all kosher.
I think it's not kosher.
I think it's total bullshit.
That's what I think.
It's hitting me
the wrong way.
Something is wrong here.
I think you're full of shit,
that's what I think.
I'm getting the hell out of here.
Is that guy in?
You're kidding me.
All right, well,
between Medici, Kingate,
and the fucking Spaniards,
that's minus
1.5 billion right there.
Thanks to Fairfield,
we're down 980 in November
and we're looking at at least
minus 580 in December, Bern.
We write that fucking check,
it's gonna bounce.
We got 300 million left.
What do you wanna do?
Hey, Carl,
this is great news.
I just want you to know
it's great news.
- All right, take care.
- Okay, of course, of course.
- Great. Okay, talk soon.
- That's it.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
He's in for 250.
All right.
That's not nothin'.
No, but it's not enough.
No, it's definitely
not enough.
What about that schmuck
from Palm Beach?
Oh, no, no, no,
it was, like,
20 fucking questions
with that guy.
He wanted to know
why our controller
was based in Bermuda.
Why our auditor
was a one-man operation
working out of a strip mall
in upstate New York.
It was a whole fucking
thing with that guy.
It's not an easy conversation.
I've already laid
the groundwork for this.
You're hardly
in the office anymore.
I think what I say is that...
Andrew, sweetheart,
you don't have to sell
him on a decision
that you're making
for yourself.
- This is about you.
- I know, I know.
It's just hard because I know
he's gonna be disappointed.
Well, I'm not.
I am very proud of you.
Thanks.
Okay, I'll see you
when I get home.
I love you.
Dad?
You okay?
What's wrong?
Oh, fucking back spasms.
It's all seized up.
This is the only position
that doesn't kill.
I'm sorry.
Can I get you something?
I already took
a bunch of pills.
- What's up?
- Uh, nothing.
- We can talk later.
- Look, what do you need?
No, forget it.
Well, fucking spit it out.
Well, I wanna talk to you
about a few things.
Then spit it out.
Come on.
Well... well, look...
I'm thinking about taking office
space somewhere else.
You're thinking about
leaving the business?
I'm ready to strike
out on my own.
And here I was worried about
the business I handed you.
Look, I have professional
goals of my own.
And I'd like to run my
own company someday
and it's obviously not happening
here anytime soon.
You're pretty
fucking selfish, Andrew.
You got some fucking nerve.
I've worked here forever
and I'm still not a partner.
It's your name on the doors,
as you love to say.
You obviously can't see how
selfish you're being right now.
Let me ask you something,
do you know what kind of offers
I've gotten
to sell this firm?
- Do you?
- No, I don't.
The last one was from Goldman
for a billion dollars.
What?
Why didn't you take it?
Because
I didn't wanna take it.
I need it like I need
a fucking hole in the head.
And the main reason
I didn't take it
is because of you boys,
that's why.
Because one day,
I want this to be yours
with your name
on the door.
I mean, why else
would you think I'd do it?
You're welcome.
- You're welcome.
- Yeah, I heard you.
Bernie, how far...
does your wife know?
Bernie,
does your wife know?
People familiar with the case
tell CBS News
federal investigators
are ripping apart
20 years of fraud
inside Madoff's firm,
moving beyond Bernie,
looking at sons
Andrew and Mark
who directed
trading activities,
and brother Peter,
the company's
chief compliance officer.
None have been charged
with any wrongdoing.
So, now as
Bernie Madoff prepares
- for what may be his last
night of comfort in... - Hey.
What is it?
I don't know, maybe
it's a waste of time,
but I thought that I
would try to write.
Write what?
I don't know, a book.
Ah, it sounds stupid.
No, it doesn't
sound stupid.
It may not be any good,
but I... I, um...
this is just the opening.
Do you wanna hear it?
Yeah, I'd love to hear it.
"Up until December 10th, 2008,
I spent the
entirety of my life
in awe of my father.
I judged every accomplishment,
every failure, professionally
or personally,
against the life he lived.
His approval
meant everything,
maybe too much,
and for as long
as I can remember,
I worked as hard as I
could to make him proud.
And then one day,
I found out that my father
was not the man I thought.
He was a criminal,
a man I didn't respect.
And yet this man,
my father,
is the same man who taught
me right from wrong,
taught me to be fair
and decent and honest,
taught me about the importance
of character,
what it means
to be a husband,
and, most importantly,
how to be a father.
I am the son
of Bernie Madoff.
I used to think that I could
never escape that.
Now I'm certain I won't.
Why is it so hard
to believe
that those closest to him
wouldn't see him as a criminal?
Why is it so hard
to believe that his son
would think his father
could do no wrong?
When I look at my
youngest son, Nick,
I fear the day when
he's old enough to ask
what his grandfather was like.
What kind of man was he?
If I tell him he was evil,
how can I explain
that I'm"...
..."that I"...
It's good, Mark.
It's really good.
Yeah, I...
I don't know.
So, is it a plea deal?
No.
He's just pleading guilty.
So, he's just
gonna plead guilty
to all the charges
and that's it?
It looks that way.
- So there will be
no trial? - No.
Have you read what
they're saying about us?
Every fucking day they're
calling for our head...
every paper, every blog.
How are those people
gonna know we're innocent
if there's no trial?
How?!
- How? - The sooner
he is locked up...
- Bullshit.
- This will be over.
It's gonna fucking linger.
The questions, the suspicions,
the fucking paparazzi
camped out...
Are they not charging
him with conspiracy?
No, he won't plead guilty
to conspiracy.
Mr. Madoff, are you
going to plead guilty?
They should charge him
anyway and force a trial.
If they took Dad to trial,
what would happen?
Just think about it, Mark.
You're talking
about putting the richest
and most powerful people
in the world up on that stand.
You're talking
about JP Morgan,
Chase, HSBC, Swiss Banks.
You're talking about the world's
financial system on trial.
Now, I'm not
a conspiracy theorist,
but trust me,
that will never happen.
Ever.
So, no...
there won't be a trial.
The public won't
know the truth.
And we'll be left
to fend for ourselves.
I don't understand, Mark.
Do you want a trial?
No.
Well, what do you want?
I want my life back.
We're not here.
Leave a message.
Mom again.
Hi, it's me again.
Your mother.
I don't know
why I'm calling.
I feel like such a moron
leaving
all these messages,
begging you.
I don't know.
I miss you.
I miss Stephanie,
I miss Audrey.
I haven't even
seen little Nick.
I haven't even seen
my grandson.
What am I supposed
to do, Mark?
I'm stuck.
I'm so sorry.
I'm sorry for what he did.
I don't know
what he was thinking.
I can't even fathom it.
I just don't understand
why you're so angry at me.
I know you want me
to leave him,
but I can't
just abandon him.
How am I supposed to
just walk out
of a 50-year marriage?
He's my lifetime.
He's my whole,
entire memory.
I don't know anything else.
I've never been
on my own.
I'm not as brave
as you two.
Call me.
How do you now plead
to count one...
the charge
of securities fraud,
guilty or not guilty?
Guilty.
How do you plead
to count two...
the charge of investment
advisory fraud,
guilty or not guilty?
Guilty.
How do you now plead
to count three...
the charge of mail fraud?
guilty or not guilty?
Guilty.
- How do you now plead
to count four? - Guilty.
- How do you now plead
to count five? - Guilty.
- How do you now plead
to count six? - Guilty.
- How do you now plead
to count seven? - Guilty.
- How do you now plead
to count eight? - Guilty.
- How do you now plead
to count nine? - Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
As Mr. Madoff
has pled guilty,
he is no longer entitled to the
presumption of innocence.
In light of his age,
he has incentive to flee.
He has the means to flee
and thus,
bail is revoked
and the defendant
is remanded.
Your Honor, would Your Honor
consider, respectfully,
a stay so that
we might appeal...
Your request
for a stay is denied.
Mr. Madoff, I will
see you at sentencing.
- Sorry, Bernie.
- We are adjourned.
If you are
visiting an inmate
in the maximum
security wing,
form a single-file line
to your right.
Stop here.
Keys.
Turn around.
Open your legs.
In the cell next to me,
they got this terrorist.
Some sheikh.
I can't remember his name.
But that's my neighbor.
Go figure.
I don't understand
why they put you
in maximum security.
Did you finish packing
up the apartment?
There's not much left
to pack.
They're taking
everything.
They even said to me,
"We're gonna need your underwear
and nightgowns. "
- Who said that?
- US Marshals.
What would they want
your underwear for?
They're gonna sell it.
They're gonna auction it off.
It's unbelievable.
Nothing is off-limits
to these people.
I don't even like
to think about it.
It's so spooky.
Have you spoken
to the boys?
No one speaks to me
except my sister.
Joan even offered to let me
come stay with her in Boca.
- Well, she's your sister.
- Yeah, I know,
but considering she and Bob
lost everything they had...
It was all with you.
I mean,
it meant a lot to me.
Yeah, that was unfortunate.
That's why I was hoping to
have those few extra days
to make sure everyone
was taken care of.
I just feel like
such a total putz.
I... I mean, when you don't
know what's going on,
you don't even know
what to say.
I mean, how am I supposed to explain
the Cohmad withdrawals?
You asked me
to transfer money
from one account
to another.
I do it and a few hours later,
you tell me
it's all a Ponzi scheme.
All these questions
and I don't have
any answers, Bernie.
Even if you had told me,
I'm not sure I would've
turned you in.
I don't know what
that says about me.
That's the tragedy of it.
Mr. Madoff, are you scared
you're gonna lose your home?
Mr. Madoff, what do you have
to say to all of the people...
- Please go away.
- What the hell is wrong with you?!
- Please leave us alone.
- Can you put the camera down?
Do you feel guilty?
Do you feel remorseful?
You feeling
like you're scared?
Do you feel
any responsibility?
What the hell
is wrong with you?!
What kind of person
chases a family?
You don't have any right
to touch my personal...
- I could sue you for shoving me.
- Oh, fuck you! Get in line.
Do you enjoy this?
Do you enjoy...
I don't get it, Mark.
- I don't get it.
- What's there to get?
Your first instinct was to abandon us.
I don't get that.
- I was waiting for you here...
- You left his stroller
in the middle
of the street, Mark.
- It was on the sidewalk.
- It doesn't matter.
You just left me to
deal with everything.
Do you understand
how unfair that is?
This is about me.
They want me.
- This isn't about you.
- No, this is about all of us.
I... I am sick and tired
of you acting like it's not.
- You know... - So what do you
want, Steph? You want a divorce?
Just some acknowledgement.
Financial swindler Bernie Madoff
is awaiting sentencing
at the Manhattan Correctional
Facility as investigators dig in
to see if those who were
closest to Madoff...
Great.
This is unbelievable.
...what has been called
the largest Ponzi scheme ever.
As we know, Bernie Madoff
has continued to maintain
that he and only he
perpetuated this crime.
But it's clear the
money trail is not real.
Every day,
Mark sends you articles,
things he's read,
things that pissed him off.
It's not fair.
It's not fair to you
and it's not fair to me.
I agree.
He's stuck.
He keeps going in circles
reading blog after blog.
It's unhealthy.
But what do you want me
to do, Catherine?
Create a little distance.
Well, that'd be easier if he wasn't
the only family member I have left.
Mark and Andrew Madoff's
attorneys
say they are guilty
of no crimes,
but authorities and victims
are having trouble swallowing...
Andrew fucking Madoff.
How have you been, Reed?
Well, after your father
fucked us all over,
things have been
fucking fantastic.
Yeah, lots of
job interviews.
No one willing
to hire me, of course.
Working at BLM for seven years,
I guess I'm tainted.
Well, I know it's been tough
on all of us,
but you're a solid trader.
You'll find a job
in no time.
Yeah, I get
a lot of questions.
Yeah, especially about you,
you and Mark.
"So the sons knew, right?
They were in on it.
They had to be, right?"
Reed, when I found out,
it was like my head exploded.
- I just...
- Shh, you hear that?
- What?
- It's the world's tiniest violin
playing the world's
saddest fucking song.
I understand
you're upset...
Yeah, well,
how about making it right?
'Cause I was looking
at a $450,000 bonus.
A lot of traders
were owed bonuses, Reed.
You weren't the only one.
We all got screwed.
I thought you were
all about family.
Well, what the fuck am I?
Am I not family, Andy?
Come on,
where's the fucking money?
What'd you do
with the money?
We all know you stole it.
Of course you took it.
You're a criminal!
I got fucked over, too!
By my own father!
My own father fucked me over!
Yeah, is that your whore?
I see you, whore!
- Hey! You...
- Hey!
Hey!
Stop it!
Andy, get in the car.
Hey!
Jesus, get in the car.
Jesus.
- Asshole. Hey!
- Here's your fucking latke,
- knish or whatever,
you fuck. - Hey!
Fuck you!
I know you're in on it!
Ugh.
The question is
where did all the money go?
Irving Picard,
the court-appointed trustee,
the liquidator,
is searching for the billions
that disappeared
and trying to recover
as much as possible
from Madoff's
remaining assets.
Of all the people
that should've known,
his brother and his sons,
who worked under
the same roof with him,
should've known.
- One would think so, yes.
- Did they know?
My belief is, yes,
they knew.
Clearly, they would have to
have known what was going on
- given their own personal transactions...
- Oh, we should've known?
We worked
for market making.
He worked for IA.
- How would we have known?
- If they turn out to be untouchable,
criminally, do you intend
to bankrupt them civilly?
Whether or not they
have a criminal problem,
we will pursue them
as far as we can pursue them.
And if that leads
to bankrupting them,
then that's
what will happen.
The man sitting
in this courtroom robbed me.
He discarded me
like roadkill.
What can we possibly
say good about Madoff
when he sank so low
as to steal from Elie Wiesel
as if Wiesel hasn't already
suffered enough in his lifetime.
My wife and I
are not millionaires.
We worked hard
for all our lives
and he took
our entire life savings.
Mr. Madoff not only defrauded
thousands of investors,
he mastered the art of manipulating
our government.
The money Madoff stole
from my family
had been set aside
to take care of my brother
because he's gonna need medical
assistance for the rest of his life.
If he's attempting
to protect his family,
he should not be given
the opportunity
because we, his victims,
did not have
the same opportunity
to protect our families.
You have left your family
with a legacy of shame.
You have a marriage
made in hell,
and that is where
you are going to return.
I only hope his prison
sentence is long enough
that his jail cell
becomes his coffin.
May God spare you no mercy.
I am responsible
for a great deal
of suffering and pain.
I understand that.
I live in a tormented state
now knowing of all
the pain and suffering
that I have created.
That's something
I will live with
for the rest of my life.
People have accused me
of being silent
and not being sympathetic.
That is not true.
I apologize to my victims.
I will turn and face you.
I'm sorry.
I know that doesn't help.
Your Honor...
thank you
for listening.
The message must be sent
that Mr. Madoff's crimes
were extraordinarily evil.
This kind of irresponsible
manipulation of the system
takes a staggering
human toll.
Mr. Madoff will get
what he deserves
and will be punished
according to
his moral culpabilities.
Mr. Madoff, please stand.
It is the judgment
of this court
that the defendant,
Bernard L. Madoff,
shall be and hereby
is sentenced
to a term of imprisonment
of 150 years.
- What about our money, Bernie?!
- Yes!
Where's our money?!
As a technical matter,
the sentence must be
expressed in months.
150 years is equivalent
to 1,800 months.
We are adjourned.
We're standing outside of the
Federal Correctional Complex
in Butner, North Carolina,
where Bernie Madoff
just arrived minutes ago.
We saw Mr. Madoff
arrive on a bus
with a group
of other inmates
where he will serve
his 150-year prison sentence.
Officials have said
he will be watched carefully
to ensure he is not
a danger to himself
as he faces
the long years ahead.
Hmm.
Visiting hours at the
prison are very liberal,
and people close to the
Madoffs say his wife Ruth
may well move to North Carolina
to be close to her husband.
Oh, fuck you, you asshole.
I'm in Florida.
...very much in love
just like Bonnie was
to Clyde, Charlie.
Bonnie robbed banks.
Bonnie killed people.
- And I'm Bonnie?
- ... by going to our blog
"The World Newser"
at abcnews.com.
How am I Bonnie?
Bonnie was a killer.
Bonnie killed people.
And I'm Bonnie?
For 16 years,
I kept this secret
from my wife,
from my brother,
my sons.
How I was able to do that
and maintain
any degree of sanity,
well, that... that worries me
when I think about it.
You already mentioned that.
Yeah, I did.
But while we're
on the subject,
you say you wanted
to protect your family.
Right.
But just an example,
what would have
happened
if at some point
before the crisis of '08,
you'd been hit by a bus,
you'd drop dead?
Mark and Andrew
would've become the owners
of a firm that was
still in the middle
of perpetrating the biggest
Ponzi scheme in history.
Except the advisory was a
completely separate business,
one in which they had
no involvement, so...
But with you dead
and Frank probably willing
to swear to anything
to save himself,
seems to me
the odds are
that as owners
as lifelong executives,
they'd have gone to jail.
Your sons would be sitting
there where you are.
No, well,
I protected them.
You couldn't have protected
them if you were dead, Bernie.
So who would've
been held responsible?
I would've been.
They would've been, Bernie.
They would've
been held responsible,
which means
one of two things is true.
Either they actually
were guilty
and accepted the risks
or you were willing
to let your sons go to jail
for the crime
you committed.
Which is it, Bernie?
I do like jousting with you.
I'm not jousting
with you, Bernie.
- Yeah, well...
- I'm not jousting with you.
It seems to me like...
like you're refusing
to recognize that hazard
you created
for your family.
Not just the day
you were arrested,
but the hazard
that they lived under,
unknowing, for,
well, however long
you were operating
this fraud.
Eventually,
they would be exonerated.
- Period. - How could you
have been so certain of that,
that you were
willing to risk it?
Because they were
never involved, ever,
and there's no way it's ever
gonna be proven otherwise.
So it doesn't matter.
It's a terrible thing
that they're going through,
but they never
would have been convicted
because they couldn't
be convicted.
Because they didn't
do anything.
Neither did my wife.
Nothing. Zero.
- But you know what you've done...
- I know what I've done.
- ... has shattered your family.
- I take full responsibility for that
and it'll... it'll kill me
for the rest of my life.
But...
Over the course of the
summer and fall of 2009,
the government auctioned
off Madoff's property.
The beach house in Montauk...
$9 million.
The penthouse in Manhattan...
$8 million.
The Palm Beach house...
available for $7.25 million.
The Mercedes-Benz station wagon,
yachts and power boats,
Mets jacket, a hodgepodge
of personal items...
By the fall of 2009,
Picard had
separately collected
roughly 1.5 billion
from the firm's brokerage
and bank accounts,
asset sales,
and a few out-of-court settlements.
We filed suit against
Ruth Madoff for 44 million.
We have filed
a clawback suit
against Mark
and Andrew Madoff
for the return
of $127.5 million.
You can be in charge
of the castle.
You can be in charge
of the dresses.
- I get the dresses, right?
- Isn't that wig hysterical?
That's great.
Could you watch her
for a minute?
Mark, any time we try
to move on with our life,
Bernie just finds a way
to drag us back down.
- I'm sick of it.
- I'm sorry.
I tell you, you get angry.
I don't tell you, you get angry.
What am I supposed to do?
I don't know.
It's just...
Oh, what the fuck
is wrong with this guy?
Suing our four-year-old
daughter?
- It's insane.
- I know, I'm sorry.
I just... I hate
that every time
I start to feel normal again,
something bad happens.
Have you checked
your text messages?
No.
Oh, my God, he's so cute.
I love you.
I love you, too.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Hey, Marty,
I sent you the article.
Did you get it?
Anyway, please give me
a call back.
Hey, man, it's me.
What, are you away
or something,
'cause I called you earlier
today and you didn't answer.
I left a message for Marty
and he's not there either.
Like, nobody ever seems
to be around.
Everybody's out of town
or something.
I'm leaving you
another message.
I know I keep leaving
you messages, Andrew.
I can't even reach Stephanie.
I can't reach anybody!
I'm seriously gonna lose it.
I really am.
I'm, like, trapped in here.
Guess what.
It's me again.
I don't know
if you're away with Cath...
are you away
with Catherine?
I mean, where are
you guys, anyway?
Have you gone fishing?
It's just, like, ever since
she's been in your life,
I can't fucking
reach you anymore.
I can't ever talk to you.
You're just, like,
always fucking on some holiday!
Okay, ahem,
I just left you, like,
a 20-minute message
and I got cut off.
Andy, Marty,
I don't even know who
I'm leaving messages for.
I'm just leaving messages now,
you know what I mean?
We're supposed to just sit
around and, like, you know,
with our dicks in our hands,
doing nothing?
You know, I've been at this
for two years.
Two years.
Two years!
I can't keep going on this way!
I have to make a statement.
I gotta make
a big statement!
I can't go on like this.
We're not here.
Leave a message.
Mark, are you there?
Mark, pick up.
Your call has been forwarded
to an automatic
voice message system.
At the tone,
please record your message.
Mark,
I just tried the house.
Uh... uh, call me.
Come in.
Mom.
What's wrong?
I just got these
messages from Mark.
Uh, I tried
calling the house,
but he's...
he's not picking up.
All right, yeah, I just...
I just pulled up.
I'm going inside.
I'll call you back.
All right.
Mark?
Hey!
Hey, Nicky.
What are you doing, huh?
Wanna come with Papa?
We're gonna go outside.
You wanna go outs...
Okay, uh.
Grouper!
Gotta get your blanky.
Grouper, come back.
Hey, Nicky, with Papa
we're gonna play peek-a-boo.
Grouper, come!
Grouper!
Grouper! Grouper, come!
Come on, that's a good boy.
That's a good boy.
Look at...
Grouper, good.
We're just
gonna go outside.
Hello?
It's Marty.
Mark's dead.
Stephanie!
- He... he hung himself.
- He's dead.
Has anybody
called my mother?
I have to call my mother.
Andy?
It's so good to hear
your voice, sweetheart.
I wrote Bernie a letter
a week after
Mark killed himself.
And I never sent it to him
because they
monitor his mail
and I thought
they would never, ever
give him
a letter like this.
Well, here, you can say it on TV.
He's probably watching.
Well, what I wrote
to him was,
"Bernie, while I will not
send you pictures
of your grandchildren,
there is one picture
I do want you to see.
That last picture
of your son Mark.
You owe it to his widow,
his children,
his brother, his mother.
So, here is what I wish
for you, Bernie.
Every time
you sit down to eat,
as you pick up
your plastic fork,
I want you to see
your son's corpse
hanging from the rafter
directly over your table
right on front of you,
Bernie,
so at every meal,
you see your son Mark...
his white sweat socks
are swaying
ever so gently
at your eye level
immediately above
your food dish.
And as you look up, Bernie,
you see...
you see your firstborn
son hanging there,
his head at a
left leaning angle
looking down at you,
asking how could you
do that to your son
who up until two years
before his death
had given you
the greatest gift...
his unconditional love
for his father. "
Well, I hope
he heard that.
- I hope he heard that.
- Well, he gets free television,
so why shouldn't
he hear it?
Why isn't he in a hole
where he belongs?
He says that he is
happier in prison
- than he was before.
- Free meals!
- He feels safe in prison.
- His victims
are eating their dinner
out of cat food cans.
Then he says, "The average person
thinks I robbed widows and orphans.
I made wealthy people wealthier. "
That is not true.
Mark... he wrote a note.
The note said,
"Bernie,
this is what happens
when you destroy
your sons
- by your life of deceit. "
- Mm-hmm.
- "Fuck you, Bernie. "
- Mm-hmm.
- That was Mark's suicide note.
- Right.
I can't keep coming here.
I want a relationship
with Andy
and he won't see me
if I keep coming here.
I can't have it both ways.
No, I understand.
And I can't talk
to you anymore.
You can't write to me
or call me.
It'll be too hard.
Ruth, all I want
is what's best
for you
and for the boys.
Boy, Bernie.
Boy.
You were my lifeguard.
I thought you were gonna
protect me forever.
Best job I ever had.
I never had to
save anybody.
I don't know
if it will ever
be any different
than it feels now.
I don't think
after losing a child
things ever get better.
I don't see much
of a future for me.
And I don't really care
if I have one.
The future's hard.
Yeah, I was sorry to see
that "People Magazine"
used that photo of you and
Mark when he was a boy.
I can never
forgive you, Bernie.
And yet
I'm not angry at you.
I don't know why.
It's a combination
of feeling numb
and it seeming
fruitless.
I don't remember how much
I got paid as a lifeguard,
but it was never
about the money.
In 2013,
I invited Andrew to speak
at a writing seminar
I conducted at Princeton
under the general theme
of writing about con artists.
Andy had just started
chemotherapy
for the reoccurrence
of lymphoma.
The topic I asked him
to think about for the class
was how the media
had covered his father's case
and how that
affected his life.
I've always wondered,
why didn't you go on TV
and state your case?
Why didn't you
defend yourself?
Well, one of the reasons
I've always
felt uncomfortable
about the prospect of going
on TV and telling my story
is that I don't know if I'm that
sympathetic a character.
And at the end
of the day,
I lived a life of great
wealth and privilege.
I traveled the world.
I wanted for nothing.
All of that
was subsidized
by my father's victims.
It's hard to, um,
tell our story...
Mark's,
my mother's, myself...
when there are
so many other stories.
My brother
killed himself.
My mother lost the
only man she ever loved,
turned out to be
a complete fraud.
But, you know,
there were just three of us.
There are thousands
of victims.
And, uh...
Any other questions?
Yes.
The father-son
relationship
is such an important factor
in anyone's life.
There must be some part of
that relationship with your father
that still exists.
Even after all this,
can you see some point
where you could visit him
or talk to him again?
My father is dead to me.
On September 3rd, 2014,
Andrew Madoff died
from mantle cell lymphoma.
Hi, this is Ruth.
Leave a message
after the tone.
Hi, Ruth,
I just wanted to...
I know I said I wouldn't call,
but I just, um...
um, okay.
Hi, this is Ruth.
Leave a message
after the tone.
We're sorry.
You have reached a number
that is no longer in service.
If you feel that you have
reached this recording in error,
please check
the number and...
Hey, I was online today
and I'm reading some
of the old coverage of me
and I came across
this article.
Frankly,
it was just ridiculous.
What was the article?
The "New York Times" interviewed
this guy, a forensic psychologist
who worked
on the Ted Bundy case.
And this guy, Joe Blow,
whom I've never met,
never talked to,
don't know from Adam,
never seen in my whole entire life
was going on and on
about the similarities
between Ted Bundy
and myself.
Ah, I can see how that comparison
would be troubling, but...
Well, there is
no comparison.
I mean, how can you
compare me to someone
who decapitated women and
kept their heads as mementos?
I mean, that's the behavior of a truly,
truly evil human being.
I mean, what comparison is there,
ever, possibly in that?
And yet the "New York Times,"
"the newspaper of record,"
"all the news
that's fit to print"
never had anyone say this is a
preposterous piece of writing,
especially for
the business section.
Well, why do you think
they made that comparison?
- You know, when I turned myself in...
- Your sons turned you in.
No, no,
but I turned myself in.
It was a matter of a few days,
so I was gonna do it.
So anyway,
when I turned myself in...
it was the height of the whole
anti-Wall Street hysteria
and they needed a villain,
they needed a face
for the whole mess
they created.
That face became me,
so that's...
I don't know, I just...
I don't even wanna
think about it.
Think about what?
Well, he killed people,
innocent people.
And in my case,
I told people, everyone,
"Don't put more than half
your money with me.
You never know.
Who the hell knows?
I mean, one day,
I could just go crazy. "
But the reality is
people are greedy.
Hmm, the reality is that not
even your warning was true
and you took
their money anyway.
Let me ask you a question.
Do you think
I'm a sociopath?
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