Bernie Madoff's former mistress, Sheryl Weinstein, tells the AP that she plans to mail a copy of her disturbingly graphic new book to Madoff in prison. How thoughtful! "If the prison bubble has so far shielded him from realizing that the whole world is mocking his penis, that will end soon." [NYM/Daily Intel]
Steve Rattner has some company today: One more prominent Upper East Side financier and Democratic mega-fundraiser is now facing an embarrassing financial scandal. Hassan Nemazee, who served as the New York finance chairman for John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004 and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Hillary Clinton and, later, Barack Obama, was arrested on charges he "tricked" Citigroup into lending him as much as $74 million using phony documents. Nemazee was charged with one count of bank fraud and is expected to appear in federal court this afternoon. Although judging by some of Nemazee's shady political tactics over the years, it's possible that this wasn't first time he's forged a document or two. [Bloomberg]
Just when you were hoping that you'd be spared any more detail about Bernie Madoff's anatomy, comes, yes, more uncomfortable info about the fraudster's bedroom behavior courtesy of his former mistress, Sheryl Weinstein. Yesterday, we heard that Madoff's penis "would fit easily inside the opening of a single-serving honey jar that sits on a hotel room service breakfast tray." Today, Weinstein appeared on Good Morning America to tell Chris Cuomo that Madoff was a good kisser. ("Just what I wanted to know about him," responds Cuomo.) She also explains why she felt the need to write the humiliating memoir. She says she did it to "make things up" to her family. A simple "I'm sorry" greeting card wouldn't do? [Dealbreaker]
Bernie Madoff is not doing well. Not just because he's behind bars, where he'll remain for the rest of his life. But because he's suffering from pancreatic cancer and "doesn't have long to live," say several of his fellow inmates who spoke with the Post:
The names of Marc Dreier's victims were released by a judge yesterday. Three hedge funds—Elliot Associates, Fortress Investment Group, and Eric Mindich's Eton Park Management—were at the top of the list of investors who were defrauded by the imprisoned lawyer. But a bunch of fashion/retail companies were swindled, too, including Nike, Adidas, Diesel USA, Tommy Hilfiger, and COOGI Partners, the company that controls Fubu and Heatherette. Let it be said, however, that Hilfiger and Heatherette founder Richie Rich almost certainly had nothing to do with the homeless look Dreier was rocking in the days after he was arrested. Men who commit financial crimes just have a tendency to commit fashion ones, too, that's all. [Crain's]
Andrés Piedrahita may have canceled his summer cruise down the Dalmatian coast aboard his $22 million yacht, but other members of the family are still getting outside for some fun in the sun. A source tells us—and we've since confirmed—that Walter Noel, the founder of the Fairfield Greenwich Group, Piedrahita's father-in-law, and the man who "lost" $7 billion of his investors' money to Bernie Madoff's epic scam, is golfing once again. After taking a year-long hiatus, Noel returned to the Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton last week for the first time since August 2008. And he's been back two times since then. It's hard to blame him. Once he's indicted this fall, he probably won't have much time to practice his swing, now will he? You'll find Noel's score history—which indicates his golf game hasn't suffered much since he hit the links last summer—below.
Computer hackers and the perpetrators of securities fraud are having quite a moment, aren't they? This week, the man behind the largest computer hacking case in U.S. history, Albert Gonzalez, was taken into custody and he now finds himself in a (computer-less) jail cell in Brooklyn facing charges he made off with 135 million credit and debit card numbers. And we certainly don't have to tell you that 2009 as been a banner year for fraudsters armed with all any number of financial schemes designed to line their pockets and empty your own. But can you tell the difference between a computer hacker and fraudster just by looking at them? And could you differentiate a rogue techie and evil financial genius from a garden variety pedophile? It's harder than it looks! Below you'll find a sampling of mugshots of men who have been arrested for one of the three crimes. It's up to you to tell them apart. Good luck!
The Daily News haunted us all yesterday with info about Bernie Madoff's package, details contained in Sheryl Weinstein's new book about her lengthy affair with the convicted fraudster. If what the News printed wasn't quite enough for you and only left you wanting more, Bloomberg delivers with even more specifics today, including the revelation that "not only was it on the short side," but "it was small in circumference," too. If you give it a read, be aware that you may need to shower when you're done. [Bloomberg]
Eric Butler, one of the two former Credit Suisse brokers accused of masterminding a $1 billion securities fraud scheme, was convicted by a federal jury yesterday. (His partner-in-crime, Julian Tzolov, decided to head off to sunny Spain rather than face charges, but has since been caught.) It took jurors just three hours to come down with a verdict for Butler. So quick? "Prosecutors introduced photos of the high-living chums partying in Miami and Europe." Oh, yes, that must have helped. [NYDN, previously]
Who should feel more embarrassed about the story on the front page of the Daily News today? Bernie Madoff, who will have to go through life knowing that not only do people despise him for carrying out the biggest fraud in history, they all now know he has a small penis, too? Or Sheryl Weinstein, the author of the new tell-all, who squeezes in the fact that he "was not well-endowed," but says sex with him left her "on fire" nonetheless, and he was a pretty good kisser to boot? Maybe it's Weinstein's husband, Ronald, who lost all his money to Madoff and now gets to spend his penniless golden years with the woman who will be forever known as the one who dished about the size of Madoff's member? It's hard to say, isn't it? [NYDN]
More Madoff-related indictments may be on the way, reports Lucinda Franks, who's been covering the case for The Daily Beast (and who happens to be the wife of Manhattan District Attorney Bob Morgenthau). Prosecutors, she says, "are poised to make multiple indictments in the weeks after Labor Day," and "investigators have compiled additional evidence against members of Bernie Madoff's family, specifically his brother Peter Madoff, and his sons Andrew and Mark Madoff." So perhaps the Madoff boys won't get off after all. But it's awfully thoughtful of prosecutors to wait until after Labor Day to bring down an indictment, so the boys can enjoy the rest of their summer vacation, isn't it? [TDB]
As if it wasn't bad enough that Bernie Madoff investors were handing over their money to a con artist to manage, it seems they were also putting their trust in a drug-addicted gun freak, too. When Bernie Madoff's right-hand man Frank DiPascali pleaded guilty earlier this week to charges he helped engineer the $65 billion scheme and he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, the deal also guaranteed DiPascali that the feds wouldn't come after him for the "use of controlled substances prior to 1992" and "for possessing illegal firearms up until last Friday." Between this news and the revelation that Bernie had a 20-year affair that no one knew about, the made-for-TV Madoff movie is getting spicier by the day, isn't it? [NYP, WSJ]
If you were thinking the recent spate of Ponzi schemes has convinced investors to do a bit more due diligence before handing over their cash, think again: A group of a dozen hedge funds have filed a lawsuit against a California businessman named Todd Ault, who they accuse of taking the $4.2 million they gave him for a stock trading venture and instead investing it in a "swingers ranch" in the Catskills. We're thinking Ault's MySpace page should have been a tip off, but feel free to decide for yourself. [NYDN]
Bernie Madoff's right-hand man, Frank DiPascali, will joining his former boss behind bars in the near future. The former chief financial officer of Madoff's investment firm, DiPascali pleaded guilty this afternoon to all the counts against him, including securities fraud, falsifying records and international money laundering, as part of a deal with prosecutors. "Mr. DiPascali said at the plea hearing that the transactions were "all fake. It was all fictitious. It was wrong, and I knew it was wrong at the time." [WSJ]
Ruth Madoff's shopping sprees are going to be a lot less exciting from now on. A bankruptcy judge has ruled the wife of imprisoned fraudster Bernie Madoff cannot spend more than $100 on herself without first informing Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating her husband's investment business. On the plus side, this probably means the new JCPenney store in Herald Square just earned itself a new customer, so that's good news, right? [Bloomberg]
A couple of days ago, Vanity Fair contributing editor Vicky Ward reported that Andrés Piedrahita, Walter Noel's son-in-law and a senior exec at Fairfield Greenwich, recently took possession of a $30 million yacht, and has since been spotted cruising the Mediterranean. Piedrahita's response? He's just showing off the boat to potential buyers, silly.
