Good article about Madoff in Politico called: Bernie Madoff speaks: Politics, remorse and Wall Street
Here are a few juicy tidbits:
- Madoff described in detail the “never ending” fund raising solicitations from politicians, and was harshly critical of President Barack Obama, even though he said he voted for him in 2008. The politician he said he admires the most is Sen. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat.
- He warned that he is sure there are other “bad players like myself” getting away with another massive Ponzi scheme. And he offered one piece of advice to investors: Stay away from the stock market.
- Madoff and his wife Ruth made several hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations since the 1990s, according to Federal Election Commission records. The recipients were mostly Democrats, and the roster included Sen. Chuck Schumer, ex-New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, Rep. Joseph Crowley, Sen. Jeff Merkley and Hillary Clinton during her Senate bid.
- Madoff said Schumer, whom he described as a “personable guy,” would ask him for money a couple of times a year. “They would come up [to Madoff’s office] just to say hello and collect the money,” he said. Approached in a Senate hallway last week, Schumer seemed willing to talk to a reporter — until the subject of Madoff came up. “I’m not commenting,” the New York Democrat said as he walked away. “I am not commenting.”
- Even though he’s donated to Clinton, Madoff doesn’t think she would make a good president. “I certainly wasn’t impressed with her as secretary of state,” he says. “Our foreign policy is a mess.” Madoff voted for Obama in 2008, but now says he is “terribly disappointed” in the president and would not have voted for him a second time. “His policies are too socialist.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/bernie-madoff-interview-104838.html#ixzz2wWMySMQt
Honesty now….really?
Reading this, I’m quite curious when Madoff will succumb to “food poisoning” or “random prison violence.”
Kind of lines up with how the rich get preferential treatment from the IRS. In return for political donations was the first thing that came to mind.
How do you spell corruption?
wouldn’t be surprised if we read about madoff’s death soon.
While I tend to agree with Madoff’s assessments of Obama and Clinton, I would be EXTREMELY wary of anyone he approves of.
In the interview, Madoff argued that JPMorgan for years had access to not only his financial information, but those of some of his biggest clients, such as the late real estate investor Norman Levy.
“They saw a disconnect between information I was providing and what Levy provided,” Madoff said. “They chose to turn a blind eye because Levy was too big of a client, as well.”
According to Madoff, there were “constant” confrontations with senior JPMorgan executives over a period of about 10 years. Madoff claims that the bank ultimately never cut ties with him because he brought in too much profit for the bank.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/bernie-madoff-jpmorgan-104887.html#ixzz2wdy0215L