Ruth Madoff Evicted: U.S. Marshals Order Her Out Of Upper East Side Apartment

NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday took possession of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan penthouse in a move that forced his wife to move elsewhere.

U.S. Marshal Joseph Guccione said the marshals arrived at the property at noon with a court order permitting them to take custody of the apartment and to make anyone living there move out.

Guccione said Madoff's wife Ruth had been advised in advance of the marshals' plans and was leaving the residence and surrendering all personal property.

"She will be leaving," he said. "Restitution for the victims is the government's top priority."

Typically, the marshals service changes all locks and secures a property when it seizes a location.

The 71-year-old Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in March to charges that his investment advisory business was a multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme that wiped out thousands of investors and ruined charities.

Authorities said Madoff had carried out the fraud for at least two decades before confessing to his sons in December that his investment business was a fraud and that he had lost as much as $50 billion.

Last week, Ruth Madoff agreed to give up all of her possessions in return for a promise that federal prosecutors would not go after $2.5 million she can keep. The money, though, is not protected from civil legal actions that might be pursued by a court-appointed trustee liquidating Madoff's assets or by investor lawsuits.

Ruth Madoff broke her silence Monday when she said in a statement that her husband "stunned us all with his confession and is responsible for this terrible situation in which so many now find themselves."

Get HuffPost Business On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[SoozeNYC]

Right or wrong, 2.5 million is chump change compared to this latest assault on common sense and decency:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/01/wall-street-pay-approache_n_224494.html

[NevaforLeadership]

Hey, SoozeNYC,

Why not join those who make the money -- legally. America is a free country. We are all free to make as much money as possible. Nothing immoral, indecent or illegal about that. Always remember that money is always moving from one person's hands to another's, including from a rich person's hand to a not-so-rich person's hand.

Working at the heart of the financial industry is one of the most exciting places to work, because it is the hub and centre of everything we are ALL about.

[totaldisbelief]

now she can go live with her sons until they get stripped of their ill-gotten gains.

[SILVANUS]

I say make the slug go work at WalMart.

[brooklyncitizen]

thankfully we don't have WalMart n NYC.

[NoblesseOblige]

Indeed. You are truly lucky.

[katedog]

Yeah, but there's a Kmart.

[sammyscout]

DId she deny the good life. $64 million in christmas gift shopping??
Its a package deal

[NevaforLeadership]

A scenario for you sammyscout.

You are married to a very wealthy spouse, who makes enough money that you can buy anything you want. As almost all of us would, you take advantage of those benefits and live a life most others would envy.

Then one day there is a knock on your door. The sheriffs are there. Your husband has been arrested for running a long-term ponzi scheme and bilking thousands out of their hard-earned savings.

You are shocked. You have enjoyed all these luxuries for all these years and had no idea they had been stolen.

What would you do? Specifically what would you do in the face of all your friends and America vilifying you without any evidence or knowledge of the facts? Doesn't that have the ring of a witch hunt to it?

Just interested.

[Meditating]

I am always appalled at how judgmental, without any evidence, the American public is. There is no evidence to date confirming that this woman was part of her husband's scheme. Most of those same people quick to condemn her certainly dream about and envy her wealth on a regular basis. To them, wealth is a personal pursuit yet it is a character flaw if enjoyed by others. Sadly, it is the ultimate value for most. Certainly, it was the driving force behind Mr. Madoff's actions.

In this country, it seems that every one, with the possible exception of our new gods - the celebrity, is guilty until proven innocent. That says a great deal more about us than any of the yet unfounded allegations say about Ms. Madoff.

There is something very wrong, on many levels, with people who love to throw stones and delight in the demise of others. I suspect it is nothing more than a form of "entertainment" which prevents us from examining our own conduct on a daily basis.

[helonias]

But Jesus would

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

(Lk 12:15) "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possession­s."

Matthew 6:19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

[brooklyncitizen]

"I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly­."
John 10:10

[itsallperspective]

If Jesus were around today, do you think he'd play the lottery?

[NevaforLeadership]

Actually, Jesus never said any such thing. The bible was written and edited to suit varied agendas hundreds of years after Jesus died (if in fact he ever lived at all).

[Steve T]

Metidating, agree with you 100%

[dems08]

How did she get her dough?

[brooklyncitizen]

americans are peeevish

[itsallperspective]

Nah . . . just a bit cheeky, my little Brooklyn-ite.

[NevaforLeadership]

Thank you, Meditating. One more decent and intelligent post.

We are seeing a very sad commentary on the values of middle America.

[BunnyFooFoo]

You can't take it with you!

[dcnola]

I honestly feel sorry for Ruth Madoff, and her current situation. She is being penalized because of the crimes of her husband. Just because a person is married to a criminal does not make thema criminal by default. My own mother is a housewife, and I can guarantee that she does not know what my father does at his office all day. A lot of these "victems" are making claims based on returns on their original investments. By doing this, they have inflated the amount of their actual losses. Madoff's investors should only be able to recoup the money which they actually invested. They should not be entitled to the larger than average returns which they thought Madoff was magically producing. Honestly, I feel more sorry for Ruth Madoff than I do any of Bernie's investors. Its understandable for a wife not to think that her husband is doing something wrong. However, Madoff's investors never questioned or understood his strategy. They simply dumped their money with him and kept quiet because they thought they were raking it in. Madoff's investors were blinded by greed, so in fact they share part of the blame.

[totaldisbelief]

but Ruthie was inthe office a bunch and is sharp enough to know what was going on....or did you not catch the interview with Mr. Madoff's secretary?

[SoozeNYC]

For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer... I've never been married, but isn't that how those sacred vows read?

dcnola, you and leeeanethethird should really get together to go give poor little Ruth the support she needs. And you can both do some necessary venting while you're holding her hand.

BTW, the fact that your mother is a housewife while your father is at his office is a critical difference: Ruth's office [was] right next to her husband's, and she was in it most days (if nothing else, she apparently felt a need to stay intensely close to him to protect her marriage from his roving eye for other women). Whatever else you want to call Ruth Madoff, "stay-at-home wife" ain't gonna fly...

[NevaforLeadership]

Thank you denola!!

There are very few who want to hear or admit the truth: the truth about the responsibility of the victims in this whole mess.

They invested their money without question or research, quick to part with it, not because Madoff was the most respected fund manager, but because the word was that he consistently earned far-better­-than-mark­et returns. Those returns should have been a huge red flag to anyone who had done just the minimum of research.

Their foolishness is equally as astonishing, as Ruth Madoff''s failure to question how her husband made so much money. It's a pretty good guess that, had she questioned him, he would either have not been forthcoming, or she would have been out the door.

Her foolishness does not make her guilty, other than to have lived off the avails of criminal activity without knowing it.

[reachsean]

Poor Ruthie,
she had to leave that nice Apt. I bet you that she knew everything that her husband was doing . But good news is that Madoff got only 150 years and he will be out when he is 230 years old !!!

What is this 150 years jail sentences? Why the hell they do not say , "life time ". Does he or they really think that he will be alive at 230 ... a rehabilitated man with new skill !!!

[deepfreezevideo]

Gosh, I think I could make a fresh start with 2.5 mil...

[AntiSheep13]

That's not even going to be enough to pay off the attorneys in which she'll need for the future civil lawsuits.

[dems08]

boo hoo

[smark]

Give me a break! Like she had NO IDEA what was going on??? She needs to be in jail just like her husband! She sure enjoyed spending all the billions stolen from the investors!!!

[OneTop]

Yes, she lived off the proceeds of crime for many, many years.

She knew exactly what was going on and never batted an eye.

Why her or any of the Madoff family are left with a dime defies logic at this point in time.

[Vandy Vo]

i wonder where ruth is going to live after the apartment gets evicted?

[alanevil]

In a bigger place than you have, I'd bet.

[NevaforLeadership]

Love people who keep up with the news. The apartment has already been seized. Ruth left before it was seized.

Hopefully, she has gone somewhere where no one can find her. I don't particularly feel sorry for her, but I hate to see her maliciously vilified by those who haven't a shred of evidence against her.

[helonias]

"Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God…Woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation"; and,"Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."; and, "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys." (Luke 6:20, 24; Matt. 19:23-24; Luke 12:33)

[OkieIntellectual]

Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered. He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
Luke 22:35-38

[pfc1369]

Why quote gibberish by "Jesus."

Why not try thinking, instead.

It's looooong overdue.

[dems08]

where is ask you?

where to sell my cloak?

craigslist?

newspaper classifieds?

garage sale?

you've brought up more questions than you answered!

[plaidsportcoat]

DOES ERIC SWANSON still work for the SEC? Who does he work for now??? He married Ruthie's niece and told all lawyers who notified him of Madoff irregularities to go work on something else and ignore it. He is as big a crook as Madoff himself!!

[Tkevan]

Try again. Swanson started seeing the niece after the SEC started looking at Madoff. He was also just one of the team working on the investigation in 2003, not a "suppervisor" who could direct others on the team what to work on.

[katedog]

See you the subway, Ruth!

[dems08]

maybe she can play an instrument!

the kazoo?

[leeannethethird]

Ruth deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Its more likely she didn't know anything about his business than that she did. Guys are not likely to be honest with their wives or talk shop with them.

You can't condemn someone for for conspicuous consumption.

Whatever she knew or was asked to sign she's living a tragedy not of her own making, and I wish her the best recovery possible.

Furthermore, I thought Elie Weisel's statements about what should be done to Madoff were hateful. Hasn't he made all his money lecturing us against hate?

[katedog]

NO ONE has condemned the Madeoffs for conspicuous consumption. No one. It's the robbing from others to support conspicuous consumption that's got us all condemning.

As for Ruth, why are you painting her as some dumb housewife? Give her credit.

[hal41605]

"you can't condemn someone for conspicuous consumption"

o really? with more than a billion people in this world without reliable access to food and clean water? just watch me.

[timetorevolt]

I would agree if she was a stay at home wife but she wasn't. She was involved with everyday operation of his business. Very few women, unless dumber than a box of rocks, would not have been curious enough to examine how they earned billions. Plus, he never invested one dime in the market during all that time...Rut­h Madoff just can't be that dumb...

[helonias]

You can't condemn someone for for conspicuous consumption?

But Jesus would

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

(Lk 12:15) "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possession­s."

Matthew 6:19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

[Steve T]

I do agree that all the stuff they had was obscene. However, what "normal" consumption is for us might be conspicuous for someone else. If you bought a $1000 LCD TV then damn you for you just spent many times what most poor people in Africa make in a year (less than $1/day). Just because she spent money like a complete idiot does not mean we should throw the book at her (unless, as someone suggested, it is proven she was directly involved in the scam)

[mazzotti]

They say behind every successful man is a strong women... That being said I am sure many members of this family and numerous high-ranking officials and brokers knew exactly what was going on! My take is there are more Madoff Family style prosecutions to come!