Mark Madoff Funeral: Author Says Ruth Madoff Claims Husband's Ponzi Scheme Drove Son To Suicide

Bernie Madoff's wife blames her husband's Ponzi scheme for their son's suicide, according to biographer Jerry Oppenheimer.

Ruth Madoff is, "totally disgusted with [Bernie] and blames him for her son's death," Oppenheimer tells the New York Post. "She thinks this is the end of the family."

Oppenheimer also says, "family members don't think [Bernie's] going to survive this."

The Post is also reporting that Bernie Madoff may not be allowed to attend his son's funeral. "If Madoff is granted permission," The Post writes, "he'd be escorted by federal marshals, paid for by his family."

Mark Madoff, who was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on Saturday, had not spoken to his mother or father for two years. The Madoff son hanged himself in his apartment while his two year old was in the other room. It is reported that he was struggling to find work and pay bills prior to his death.

Comments

[Mondayboy]

08:53 PM on 12/20/2010

and she never knew about it. great!! either this woman is incredibly thick or she is the perfect liar.

[smpj]

12:15 PM on 12/16/2010

Isn't this what we all were thinking?

[pauldeba]

08:33 PM on 12/14/2010

The "They must have known" argument is illogical and tired. If you run this type of scheme, the last thing you would do is tell anyone. Blackmail and extortion will come pretty quickly after and you can't trust ayone with this information hanging over your head for a very long time. The Madoff family ran in circles where everyone is a millionaire, very few of those in their social circle were criminals. I think they were unlikely to have know, they would have cracked far sooner.

[Patrick Shaw]

07:03 AM on 12/15/2010

Sorry mate...1 or 2 people have already plead guilty to aiding and abetting Bernie Madoff's scheme that were employees of the company and several more have been arrested and are awaiting trial. Most likely they are talking.

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-18/justice/new.york.madoff.arrests_1_annette-bongiorno-bernard-madoff-madoff-employees?_s=PM:CRIME

So employees KNEW and aided what was going on and if employees knew then family who were also employees knew and aided what was going on. It was not that big of a company personnel wise.

[repugnicansfearme]

03:10 PM on 12/14/2010

Kelly Ripa is all set for her big Hollywood break to play Mrs Madoff. Or, they could use the kid who wanted the BB gun in Christmas Story. It's sad that Madoff got a million year sentence for stealing from rich folks. What happens to Wall Street, Enron, mortgage companies, etc? Nada, zilch.

[morristhewise]

01:49 PM on 12/14/2010

It is hell for the Madoff family as they are constantly being bombarded by the media, but the millions of vicious comments by Jew haters adds fire to that hell. John Gotti and his family got more respect, luckily they were not Jewish.

[World Citizen]

01:24 AM on 12/14/2010

bizarre. one article says the he took in over $66 million as an executive working for his father.

[Rosaleen]

12:16 AM on 12/14/2010

Ugh...this world is so awful. Why do people do these things? It never ends well.

[Cindy Bloom]

11:16 PM on 12/13/2010

Well, duh

[Lauteur Calme]

10:14 PM on 12/13/2010

It's amazing the S.E.C. and the U.S. government investigators missed this colossal fake and con. I I believe the tip of the iceberg is Madoff, and a group of astonishing names around the world who kept his scheme going will soon be revealed!

[Last chance]

10:37 PM on 12/13/2010

they didn`t miss it...they were in on it.

[roninroshi]

11:40 PM on 12/13/2010

They were to busy lining their pockets...

[SnapShots]

10:41 PM on 12/13/2010

It's entirely possible she wasn't.

[JoeMomma]

11:01 PM on 12/13/2010

It's entirely possible the planet is flat. Okay, maybe not.

[p456]

09:56 PM on 12/13/2010

Greed is something we need to eradicate from our mental process if at all possible.

[Waiting for Something]

11:39 PM on 12/13/2010

I'm afraid it's as old as mankind.

[mamababa]

09:33 AM on 12/14/2010

Yes it is. The difference is that American culture has chosen to celebrate it.

[WeCanDoMore]

11:51 PM on 12/13/2010

Greed is good= GOP Mantra

[monroele]

09:50 PM on 12/13/2010

There is a time to blame and there is a time to feel for a fellow human being. The son must have been very, very depressed if he killed himself despite the fact that he had children.

We do not know if he was involved or not, I can just see that he lost all hope.

[JoeMomma]

11:01 PM on 12/13/2010

And now is the time to blame.

[Alexander DeWolf]

12:27 AM on 12/14/2010

No.
Now is the time to step back, re-evaluate our lives and re-focus on what is important. Realize what happens when you focus your life on work and/or money and not on other people (i.e. family). What we do does affect everyone around us, like it or not. When making decisions on what to do we must consider the impact on others, whether it's family or co-workers or even strangers on the street.

[ArchAngel]

08:42 PM on 12/13/2010

They used to have Sanitariums where people could call a time out to life and literally check out for a while until they felt better. The emphasis was on rest and nature.

[rhymney]

11:32 PM on 12/13/2010

Good idea but this guy was in the legal meatgrinder and the lawyers weren't going to give him a time out.

[Mgmstl]

08:26 PM on 12/13/2010

Look what Bernie Madoff did was reprehensible, and for what he did he does deserve prison time, however they haven't charged his wife or sons in any matter relating to the ponzi scheme. Some of these comments are classless. Apparently the sons weren't involved in it, what their personal knowledge was I can't say, but if they were involved they would have been facing charges. I really do feel sorry for the family, this is going to tear what's left of them apart, especially at the holidays.

[rhymney]

11:37 PM on 12/13/2010

You may be right but I've read that authorities are (or were) still considering charge him and others. Further the trustee for the investors filed suit against him and just about anyone who knew Bernie Madoff. Under 2 years of that kind of pressure, you lose perspective. I would feel much worse for him and his family except I've read he was one of Bernie's investors and took millions out his account (which really belonged to investors who got in after him).

[ecotorium]

04:51 PM on 12/14/2010

just bc they weren't charged (or at least not yet) does NOT mean they didnt know or arent also guilty

[mamababa]

08:14 PM on 12/13/2010

Poor Bernie Madoff- he tries his best to provide for his family, and he can't catch a break.