Harry Markopolos, Madoff Whistleblower, Feared for His Safety

nytimes.com:

The man who tried unsuccessfully for almost a decade to spur federal securities regulators to investigate Bernard L. Madoff did not initially disclose his own identity to regulators because he feared for his life, according to testimony he has apparently prepared for a Congressional hearing Wednesday morning.

The witness, Harry Markopolos, will testify that Mr. Madoff "was one of the most powerful men on Wall Street and in a position to easily end our careers or worse," and that his fund "posed great danger" to those who investigated it, based on a version of his remarks that emerged Tuesday evening.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[jazzz41]

09:29 AM on 02/06/2009

when you see madoff throw him a pair of shoes.

www.trueinformation.wordpress.com

[ellawensmom]

10:39 AM on 02/04/2009

I heart whistleblowers.

[lunchlady]

10:06 AM on 02/04/2009

People get "rubbed out" for a lot smaller stakes than $50 billion, plus all the legal repercussions for everyone involved. I bet dozens of people knew for a long time and did nothing out of greed and/or fear.

I hope every sleazeball involved in this scam and family member who profited from it gets their wallets stripped and spends some time in jail. They can start over as ex-cons when they get out. It really frosts me that they are all still living the high life so far. Due process seems to move slowly but I hope it overtakes them all ASAP. Orange jumpsuits for everyone, no manicures or salon visits for the ladies, prison cuisine, smelly mattresses.

[gi]

10:12 AM on 02/04/2009

lol

[mothertheresa]

10:04 AM on 02/04/2009

Madoff is only the tip of the iceberg. We need a thorough investigation and immunity for those coming forward. And the reason Madoff is still in this home is because the money he stole is paying his legal fees, and with money like that he may still get off through a loophole.... He's not just a while collar criminal though, he is responsible for forcing aged people out of their homes, for taking food and clothing from the poor and hungry by defrauding so many charities. He is responsible for putting workers in those charities on unemployment, which we will be paying for...

[AlexNYC]

09:56 AM on 02/04/2009

Harry you're a mench. Play iot safe and don't travel alone and don't fly in any private jets for the next few years. If an "accident" can happen to GOP IT Guru and experience pilot Mike Connell, something similar can happen to you.

[magibrotherhood]

09:40 AM on 02/04/2009

ORGANIZED CRIME----white-collar division.................they are soooooo gonna R.I.C.O. these dudes.

[MsRy]

09:04 AM on 02/04/2009

Harry Markopolos = American Hero

[1liberalconspirator]

09:58 AM on 02/04/2009

I agree he should get the credit that he is due.

[Curdleberg]

08:55 AM on 02/04/2009

great man, terrible hairpiece

[Bulbul]

09:10 AM on 02/04/2009

No way , is it ?

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

09:27 AM on 02/04/2009

It's not.

[DomainDiva]

08:44 AM on 02/04/2009

My concern now is that the government will make Harry the bad guy since he did not go to the FBI, Congress, Finra etc. and then blame the whole Madoff fiasco on him. Harry has made scores of government officials look inept and incompetant.

Harry is a good man. I hope he is treated well for the good that he tried to do for so many years.

Stranger things have happened.

[who38]

09:57 AM on 02/04/2009

I am glad that he is an independent investigator. Hope CALPERS and STRS use him. But you are right about the spin; no good deed goes unpunished.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

08:36 AM on 02/04/2009

I don't doubt it one bit. THAT is why Madoff should be in jail right now... so as not to endanger lives of those who outed his crimes. Think about others that may have TRIED to expose him..... and were never heard from or seen again.

I would start investigating anyone and everyone around him that died "unexpected" deaths.

[gorideabike]

08:26 AM on 02/04/2009

Imagine how much money would flow into wall street if potential investors did not know and believe the whole damn game was rigged from day one.

[TLV]

08:06 AM on 02/04/2009

I'm telling you all now....this leads back to 9/11. The securities companies had already been defrauding the investors for years and the evidence was deliberately buried on 9/11. The reason everything has gone to %hit now is because they never could recover what they lost and it brought the whole economy down. While they have been living like there's no tomorrow, they have wasted trillions of dollars. meanwhile, SEC looked the other way.

[Scoppertop]

08:10 AM on 02/04/2009

It didn't hurt that the SEC's 'fraud' records were destroyed when Building 7 imploded.

[ellawensmom]

10:37 AM on 02/04/2009

Were they really? I wondered why Bldg. 7 went down.

[1liberalconspirator]

09:59 AM on 02/04/2009

The SEC was denied money requested to enforce the laws. They were underfunded and understaffed.

[bellabeach]

07:39 AM on 02/04/2009

This man is a hero, it is nice to know there are people like him in the world!

[who38]

09:58 AM on 02/04/2009

Hope he makes a bundle writing a book. And that his statements result in an investigation at SEC.

[GenXLiberal]

06:10 AM on 02/04/2009

When will white collar criminals get the just punishment they deserve!?I think we should put them in a collesium with wild animals and charge it on payperview. Maybe that would help recoup the "lost"money. LOL. Seriously, there must be a way of getting some of this back. This can't just be dealt with like most white collar cases. The book, and I mean 50 billion of them, need to be thrown at these traitors.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

08:38 AM on 02/04/2009

When thieves are allowed to sell their million dollar homes to their wives for $100.... do you really think that are laws are designed to catch and punish these crooks?

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

09:28 AM on 02/04/2009

oooops, meant "our laws"... oh man, I need coffee.

[gi]

09:41 AM on 02/04/2009

So wheres the value to this home. This is a slap in our face here you have a million dollar home sold to his wife for $100 this is a disgrace this is a CRIME.

[slowlearner]

03:59 AM on 02/04/2009

If the authorities do not measure adequately the consequences of the financial rape that has taken place and let these crooks lightly off the hook, it does not take an Hollywood-imagination to envision some nasty social repercussions.
Some of the writers have commented on his fearing the for his safety, basically saying that he was a bit of a "drama queen". Really? How do they know? They are probably just like me, in the safety of their home, seating comfortably, typing away heavy-duty thoughts, while the storm rages outside... At least, Mr Markopolos did something concrete.

[ptarantino]

06:02 AM on 02/04/2009

Bottom line, Markopolus should be running the SEC.

[who38]

10:00 AM on 02/04/2009

Hear, hear. And Bloomberg should be giving him the keys to NYC. Why isn't he?

[DC]

07:31 AM on 02/04/2009

He had every reason to be concerned. The 50 billion ponzi scheme was clear as a bell to him. His report to the SEC was essentially ignored. That was a signal to him that if he became too loud he might not be ignored. Think about it and put youerself into his position. You would also be reasonably concered about your well-being.

This is not TV drama. There have been "suicides" for much less.