Not Quite a Bum, But She’s Pretty Bummed
All of a sudden, everyone is in a huff about poor old Ruth Madoff as featured in the June 14th issue of the New York Time’s Sunday Styles section. For a moment there it seemed like the Madoff debacle just disappeared. It is about time people started talking about it, maybe addressing the real issues–unfortunately all we get is how Ruth Madoff is the loneliest woman in New York (a stretch).  Many deranged people may feel sympathy for the wife of the $68 billion Ponzy schemer, Bernie Madoff. Why? Lets assess: the woman is banned from the upscale hair salon she frequented every two weeks for ten years, she is confined to four bedroom duplex, ousted from her favorite restaurants, had to cancel her gym membership, can only spend money on food, and is forced to wear her more modest clothing–oxford polo shirts and jeans–a change from her black fitted pants, gold jewelry, and thousand dollar crocodile ballerina flats.
But why are we talking about this story of riches to rags when the real issue is her role as accomplice to Mr. Madoff? She may be exempt from charges, but it is hard to think that she played dumb for so long, especially when her husband’s business was a massive billion dollar scam. Thousands of people are defaulting on house payments, losing their jobs, unable to pay for food, and Ruth cannot afford more crocodile slippers. Her image may be tarnished forever, her life presumably ruined, but she had a choice to stick with the deception or relieve herself long ago. Several people are responsible for the current financial crisis, people that choose explicit actions, made the wrong choices, and we are all suffering.
Sympathy should be traded for disgust, as the debutante turned pariah stood by her husband, knowing the dubious inner workings of his business.  Lets not forget, she was the director of her husband’s firm,  and they have been inseparable for 49 years–until now.
[...] “Please sir, I don’t want some more!†If refraining from reading all 141 pages of Bernie Madoff’s victims’ sob stories means we’re skimping on our FICRY duties, then so be it! We would rather be stabbed repeatedly in the neck than have to absorb the thousands of statements, like “I am 86, I have a broken knee, I have lung cancer and thanks to Madoff, I am now bankruptâ€. But if is your thing, feel free to page through it. Hey, if there weren’t a FICRY on, we might have even paid you to do it for us. For More on Madoff, Follow this link. For Related topics, check out our category “Illegal̶… [...]
[...] (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp has been paying millions in bonuses in order to lure talent and retain investment bankers the company views as vital, the New York Post reported, citing sources. Among those who are said to have received payouts are two former Merrill Lynch bankers, Fares Noujaim, recently appointed BofA’s vice chairman of investment banking, and Harry McMahon, the paper said. Both were offered guarantees not to leave, the paper said. Noujaim, a former Bear Stearns banker who joined Merrill last year, is said to have received about $15 million over two years, according to the paper… [...]