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Madoff, Who Wants Outta Jail, Worth $823-826 Million
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 14, 2009
Modified Mar 14, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 14, 2009
Modified Mar 14, 2009
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Yesterday, it was revealed that inmate No. 61727-054 Metropolitan Correctional Center—a.k.a. Bernard Madoff—was worth around $823-826 million. His lawyers filed an appeal to get Madoff out of jail and listed his assets.
Most of the Ponzi schemer's money, about $700 million worth, is from his "investment firm," Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, which is being liquidated. The Wall Street Journal reports, "rest is a list of the type of baubles any wealthy man is likely to collect, including: a mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., estimated at $11 million; half-interest in a BLM Air Charter aircraft valued at $12 million; and a Steinway piano valued at $39,000. Many of those assets, including all but one of the four houses, were held in his wife's name."
The NY Times adds, "The Madoffs incurred expenses of $346,757 a month for insurance premiums, maintenance charges and boat storage. Monthly charges for a housekeeper at their Manhattan apartment ran about $2,860 while a boat captain for Mr. Madoff’s yacht was paid $5,250 a month." Uh, we hope that yacht is being sold. You can read the list here (PDF); notably, $140,000/month is being spent on security at the penthouse apartment and $100,000/month on legal fees.
Amusingly, his lawyers argue that Madoff should be free because of some white collar crime precedents: "Convicted executives from the biggest names in recent corporate scandals"—like WorldCom's Bernard Ebbers and Enron's Kenneth Lay —"were not subjected to detention immediately following their convictions." On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin had decided Madoff should be jailed after pleading guilty because, given Madoff's age (70) and looming sentence (150 years), Chin felt he was at risk for flight.
Arguments about appealing Madoff's jail sentence will be heard this week, which means Madoff will get to feast on the MCC's fine fare for a little while. According to the Post, Madoff "munched on a microwaved meal of frozen chicken patties and canned string beans delivered to his cell in a Styrofoam container." And as suspected, Madoff is in isolation, not general population; he's in an area called "the box." A lawyer explained, "If a guy is forced to wear a bulletproof vest to court, it's unlikely that they'll let him wander around with the rest of the prisoners."
Tagged
appeal
Bernard Madoff
guilty
jail
madoff
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ponzi scheme
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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