Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Mark Madoff, Oldest Son Of Bernie Madoff, Hangs Himself With Dog Leash In His SoHo Apartment
The eldest son of disgraced Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff hung himself Saturday with a dog leash on the second anniversary of his dad's arrest in the stunning $65 billion ripoff.
Mark Madoff, in desperate early morning e-mails to his wife, said he could no longer live with the curse put on the family by his disgraced dad, sources told the Daily News.
"At one point he said something like, 'You'll have a better life if I'm not around ... I love you ... Our son needs someone here,'" one source told the News.
Madoff, 46, was discovered hanging from a pipe inside the living room of his luxurious Mercer St. home in Soho around 7:30 a.m. by his father-in-law, who immediately called 911, the sources indicated.
Mark Madoff's 2-year-old son was asleep in another room, sources said, and his pet labradoodle was also in the home.
A despondent Madoff wrote his wife Stephanie that their family "would be better off without 'this' hanging over them all, forever," a second source said.
"He all but said he was going to kill himself - pointed enough for the wife to fear for his safety, and their child's safety."
Madoff's wife, who was out of town, was so upset that she called her father and sent him to the condo. The couple had two children, son Nicholas and older daughter Audrey.
The blood of the son was on the hands of his father, according to Mark Madoff's lawyer.
"Mark was an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime, who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo," said his attorney, Martin Flumenbaum.
"We are all deeply saddened by this shocking turn of events."
NYPD detectives stood outside the family home as an SUV from the medical examiner's office arrived Saturday morning.
A police source describing the crime scene said Mark Madoff wore khaki pants, a dark blue pullover and white socks when he took his life.
Madoff's body was brought out of the posh building, where the condo owners include Jon Bon Jovi, at 12:22 p.m.
Mark Madoff joined his father's crooked business in 1986 and is a defendant in numerous civil suits, but he faces no criminal charges.
A law enforcement source said Mark Madoff was becoming increasingly concerned that would change.
"The son knew he was in the cross hairs," the source said. "At first he thought he would somehow skate, but once \[the trustee recovering assets for investors\] detailed the family theft, he knew his time was limited."
One day before his body was discovered, Madoff stopped by the garage where he parked his 2008 black Land Rover to drop off a Christmas card and a $400 tip.
Mark Madoff Had It All Before Dad's Billion-Dollar Ponzi Scheme Was Exposed
Mark Madoff, the handsome prince of Bernie Madoff's ill-gotten kingdom, lived the sweet life before his father's $65 billion scam imploded.
During one three-month period in 2008, he racked up more than $77,000 chartering private jets to hopscotch around the country.
He vacationed at his $6.5 million, 3.3 acre retreat in Nantucket and a stately farmhouse in tony Greenwich, Conn. The seasoned fly fishermen also frequently planned outdoor excursions.
"Mark loved his lifestyle, loved the fact he could fly on a private jet or walk into Dunhill and spend $200 on an umbrella," a trader told Vanity Fair in 2009.
His family life seemed just as enviable.
The 46-year-old had been happily married since 2003 to his second wife, Stephanie, a stunning blonde who was a rising star in the fashion industry. The couple had two young children and raised them in an exclusive SoHo building that rocker Jon Bon Jovi also called home.
At the Madoff firm, where he was an executive known for his charming salesmanship, Mark Madoff loved working closely with his younger brother, Andrew, and his father.
"What makes it fun for all of us is to walk into the office in the morning and see the rest of your family sitting there. That's a good feeling to have," Mark Madoff said in an interview in 2000 with Wall Street & Technology.
But the high life vanished exactly two years ago Saturday, when he and his brother turned their father in to the feds.
After his dad's arrest, Mark Madoff and his family became pariahs, and many victims believed he was complicit in the Ponzi scheme.
He and his family suffered death threats. A fusillade of lawsuits - including a $200 million claim by Bernie Madoff's bankruptcy trustee - has also restricted his spending and movement of finances.
The Madoff stigma became so bad that even his wife turned her back on his family's name. Last February, she petitioned a Manhattan judge to change her last name to Morgan.
Friends said Mark Madoff buckled under the infamy, withdrawing socially, obsessing over news accounts and fearing the possibility he would be criminally charged one day.
The stress exacerbated a chronic stomach-pain condition and frayed his marriage, according to reports.
On Oct. 15, 2009, NYPD cops searched for Mark Madoff after his wife frantically called to say he went missing and feared for his safety. The couple had argued earlier in the evening, prompting her husband - who apparently suffered from depression - to take off on his Vespa.
The next morning he returned home, telling cops he had spent the night at a hotel and that he would seek help from his doctor at Weill Cornell Medical Center.
But people who knew Mark Madoff said his father's disgrace continued to engulf him, leading to his suicide on Saturday.
"The pressure was mounting. The Picard suit, the anniversary. He's been upset for two years," a source said. "He's been trying to move on with his life but he wasn't successful."
View Larger Map
Source: CNN, MSNBC, NY Daily News, Google Maps
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment