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(WIND WHISTLING)
(GATE RATTLING)
(DOOR OPENS)
DIANA: My name is Diana Henriques.
As an investigative reporter for the New York Times,
/ had been covering the Bernie Madoff scandal
from the day it began.
After months of requests and correspondence,
/ was ﬁnally able to sit down and interview Bernie Madoff
on August 24th, 2010.
Until today,
his only visitor, apart from lawyers,
has been his wife.
He has not answered any independent questions about his crime,
except when standing in a courtroom responding to a judge.
(DOOR BUZZES)
Oh those occasions,
he seemed stiﬁi almost rehearsed.
But in our conversation,
he seemed relaxed, unfailingly candid,
earnest, and trustworthy.
That is his talent and his curse.
That is what enabled him
to pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme on record.
$65 billion.
Bernard L. Madoff.
Inmate number 61727054.
(DOOR CLOSES)
(NEWS JINGLE PLAYS)
REPORTER: In overseas trading today,
the Nikkei was down over 8%, with Australia ’s benchmark not far behind.
The crisis shows no sign of ending
as Dow Futures are down this morning on Wall Street
and Main Street continues to ﬁnd itself in the crosshairs
-of the largest meltdown... -Shit.
...since the Great Depression.
Investors and banks are holding onto their cash
until more certainty can be flushed into ﬁnancial markets.
Let's go now to Bob Summers
with a story on yet another city going under from the mortgage crisis.
REPORTER: I'm in Fresno, California, where if you look around...
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
Just let me lead it Off.
It's completely fucking crazy.
We can't back down on this one, Andy.
ANDREW: We‘re not gonna back down. We're gonna hold firm.
What, no good mornings, no hellos?
Dad?
What‘s going on?
You're giving out $175 mil in bonuses?
-I am. -In December?
We've had a very strong year.
The year's not over. We don't know where we're gonna land.
(SIGHS) lwanna reward people.
I want them to feel good about the work they've done here.
There's a reason that the bonuses go out in February,
especially in this climate.
You're not hearing me. (BREATHING HEAVILY)
It's important that people can take care of their families.
ANDREW: Isn't it better to play it safe?
Hang on to any windfall just in case?
I'm paying out the bonuses now.
MARK: But that's crazy. It doesn't make any sense.
-Peter. -Bernie, come on.
This isn't a fucking debate.
I'm paying out the bonuses now. I'm taking care of everybody.
ANDREW: Dad, are you all right?
What's going on with you?
I'm okay.
ANDREW: Okay, you're sure?
PETER: Bernie, just tell them.
ANDREW: Tell us what?
What is it, Dad? What's going on?
What is it, Dad?
(SIGHS)
I have to talk to you.
ANDREW: You can. You know you can.
I know.
Fucking fishbowl here.
Fucking fishbowl.
ANDREW: Huh?
(STUTTERS) Everybody can see everything in here.
How come we never got fucking blinds?
(PHONE RINGS)
RUTH: Hello? BERNIE: Hello, Ruth.
RUTH: Hi. BERNIE: The boys and l are heading home.
RUTH: Why?
BERNIE: [have to talk to you all.
RUTH: Oh. Okay.
BERNIE: Yeah, we'll be home soon. RUTH: All right.
(VEHICLES HONKING)
Is it your health?
(SIGHS) No.
(ELEVATOR WHIRRING)
(BEEPING)
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
Let's go in the study downstairs.
(DOOR CLOSES)
BERNIE: There’s no way to... to say it.
None of it is real.
It's all one big fucking lie.
-MARK: What is? -The advisory.
(STUTTERS) It's a fraud.
There are no investments.
(CHUCKLES) What are you talking about? Of course there are investments.
I made them up.
They're on every statement.
-(STUTTERS) I made them up. -|'ve seen the trades.
BERNIE: They're fake.
(CLICKS TONGUE) It's all fake.
Basically, just a big Ponzi scheme.
What's a Ponzi scheme?
I took money from some people
and I gave it to others and I never...
There's nothing left.
(STAMMERS) There's supposed to be $50 billion.
There's absolutely nothing. It's all gone.
I spoke to Peter. ltold him I'm gonna turn myself in next week.
(SCOFFS) How could you do this?
-| just couldn't stop... -MARK: Bullshit.
It got bigger and bigger and itjust wouldn't stop.
Bullshit.
-I didn't mean for it to get like this. -MARK: No, no, no.
You can't do this. I'm your son.
Dad. Dad, how could you do this?
BERNIE: I'm gonna set you guys up.
Yeah. (STUTTERS) It's all gonna be okay.
There's still a few hundred million left.
I'm gonna... I'm gonna make sure that you guys are all taken care of,
the rest of the family, some loyal employees.
It's all gonna be good. ljust need a week.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
ANDREW: Set us up with what?
With stolen money?
MARK: He's a criminal.
He's gonna spend his life in jail.
ANDREW: Dad, how could you do this? MARK: You're not my father.
(SIGHS)
I explained to them that it wasn‘t malicious.
That when I started this problem, or this crime,
that it was something that I thought I would be able to work my way out of.
But that became impossible.
The harder I tried, the deeper I dug myself into a hole.
But it comes down to one thing.
I refused to accept the fact,
could not accept the fact, that for once in my life I had failed.
I couldn't... I couldn't admit that failure.
And what was that failure?
(CLICKS TONGUE)
Shortly thereafter, I...
(SIGHS) I think I went back to the office. Uh...
Andy was there. I saw Andy.
Did you two speak?
He did mention that...
That he, uh... (CLICKS TONGUE)
He and Mark were consulting with a lawyer.
BERNIE: Well, as it turned out, he went to see Martin London,
much-honored lawyer, retired.
DIANA: He's Mark's father-in-law. BERNIE: Yes.
DIANA: He'd invested a substantial amount of money with you, right?
BERNIE: Well, more than some, less than others.
Jesus fucking Christ.
$50 million?
$50 billion, with a "B."
Jesus fucking Christ.
All right, I'm in Hartford. I'll be there at 3:00 pm.
You have to understand, the money management business
was operating from a small office.
-Yeah, the office is on a separate floor. -The 17th floor.
-lt's always seemed successful. -A ton of clients, I think.
-Hedge funds. -He'd even turn people away sometimes.
But all the trades...
Yeah, the trades go through European counterparties.
That's why he has the London office.
And then upstairs, on the 19th floor, is market-making.
-Which is where we work. -These are not my immediate concerns.
But if he plans to spend the week
distributing his ill-gotten gains
amongst his relatives, employees, his friends,
then this is not over.
This is a crime in progress.
So what are you saying? We have to turn him in?
You don't turn him in, you're an accomplice.
(PHONE RINGING)
Yeah?
Okay, it's all fine.
Yep.
(HANGS UP)
RUTH: Who is it?
BERNIE: The FBI is here.
I know why you're here.
Well, we're here to find out if there's an innocent explanation.
(DOOR CLOSES)
There is no innocent explanation.
Is there someplace we can talk privately?
In there.
AGENT: He said he'd been operating a Ponzi scheme since the 1970s.
He was so matter-of-fact about it.
He wasn't nervous, he wasn't afraid.
He was just very casual.
Well, sir, he claims to have acted alone.
Yes, sir.
I'll bring him in.
(SIGHS)
Hi, it's Ruth. Are the boys there?
They're not there.
He won't be coming in today.
Sir, you're gonna have to remove your belt, your Shoelaces, your tie and anyjewelry.
BERNIE: This? AGENT: Yep.
Credit card, cash, anything in your pockets, sir.
Turn around, please, sir.
Hands behind your back.
Palms together.
(HANDCUFFS CLINKING)
Put that stuff away.
And call Ike Sorkin.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(TIRES SCREECH)
INVESTIGATOR: What happened on the night of December 9, 2008?
PETER: My brother told me
that his, uh, investment advisory business was a Ponzi scheme.
INVESTIGATOR: And what was your reaction to hearing that Mr. Madoff
was operating a Ponzi scheme?
Well, l was in total Shock.
INVESTIGATOR: In your ﬁrst interview with the government,
you stated that you idolized your brother.
-Is that correct? -PETER: Yes, and that’s correct.
INVESTIGATOR: Why did you idolize your brother?
PETER: Well, because he was brilliant.
Everywhere you go, people talked about Bernie.
He was a true pioneer.
Everyone in the industry,
including the highest-ranking ofﬁcials at the SEC,
believed that my brother was
one of the most honorable and, uh, and successful traders of our time.
Uh, nobody believed that more than I did.
(STUTTERING) Uh, | revered him.
I trusted him implicitly.
(LINE TRILLING)
-|KE: (OVER PHONE) Sorkin. -lke, it's Bernie.
Uh, I'm down at FBI headquarters, handcuffed to a wall.
IKE: Bernie, don't say another word.
AGENT: We arrested him this morning.
ANDREW: Was he okay?
I put the cuffs on him myself.
He went quietly, as though he expected us.
To be honest,
he looked relieved.
You did the right thing, son.
(BEEPING)
-(CAMERA CLICKING) -MAN: Turn to the right.
(STAMMERS) Yeah, the FBI just processed him
and they transferred him over to Pearl Street.
Yeah, we‘re heading in right now.
So you were making money off of the trades.
There were no trades.
-What do you mean there were no trades? -I made them up.
-Weren't there statements? -Every month. They were fake.
Purchase dates, they were fake. Shares, they were fake.
Options, they were fake. Returns, they were fake.
So when was the last trade you executed?
Fifteen years ago.
Who else knew?
I acted alone.
INVESTIGATOR: When did he tell you he started this Ponzi scheme?
He didn‘t.
INVESTIGATOR: And the entire time he was running it, you had no idea?
No, Ididn't.
CACIOPPI: And what was your role at the firm?
ANDREW: I ran the firm's NASDAQ desk in the late '905,
added the rest of the market-making desk in 2001,
and, uh, moved to the proprietary trading desk in 2003...
CACIOPPI: You're not answering my question.
What exactly is your role at the firm?
ANDREW: I‘m only in the office a few days a week.
I've been building a separate business called Madoff Energy...
Sir, what is your exact title at BLM?
Director of Proprietary Trading
and Co-director of Trading.
INVESTIGATOR: And where did the money for these loans come from?
The loans that allowed you to buy your loft in Soho,
your house in Greenwich, your house in Nantucket.
I assume from the money he made through investments.
INVESTIGATOR: On the private advisory side?
Yes.
-|NVEST|GATOR: On the 17th floor? -Yes.
And you never asked what went on on the 17th floor?
(SCOFFS) Of course I did.
INVESTIGATOR: You did?
Yes.
-But... (CLEARS THROAT) -But what?
(SIGHS) He would always say,
"You run your business and I'll run my business."
INVESTIGATOR: And you never thought to
follow up on those questions?
-You don't understand... -You're right, I don't.
I don't understand
how you could work in the same office as your father
for 20 years and suspect nothing.
Nothing?
Who are some of your father's clients?
ANDREW: I'm not privy to all of them,
but, uh, Jeffry Picower was a big one.
Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz of the Mets.
HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland,
some family friends, Marty.
But he wouldn't talk about who or what he did for them.
Our money was with him as well.
INVESTIGATOR: So you were never suspicious of your father?
Never?
Do you not understand who he was?
I think we're all beginning to understand exactly who your father is, Mr. Madoff.
He wasn't just my father.
You know, he was fucking idolized.
We're talking about a man who created the modern market as we know it.
He created NASDAQ.
-He's Chairman of NASDAQ. -(|NVESTIGATOR CLEARS THROAT)
He's Chairman of the National Securities Clearing Corporation,
Chairman of the International Securities Clearing Corporation,
Chairman of the National Association of Securities Dealers,
which was FINRA before FINRA fucking existed.
Chairman of the SIA Trading Committee...
-Okay, we understand your point, sir... -MARK: No, I don't think you do.
Chairman of the National Business Conduct Committee.
Sir, we understand.
Member of the SIA Federal Regulation Committee.
-Sir, that's enough. -Chairman of the NASD
Small Order Execution Committee.
I mean, you're asking me how I didn't know.
Well, I'm asking you.
You're the FBI, you're the SEC.
(STAMMERS) You investigated him before, so I'm asking you!
How the fuck did you not know?
Sir, we are not the focus here. You are.
You're saying that you never stepped foot on the 17th floor?
No.
And why not?
AGENT: What happened on the morning of December 11th, 2008?
FRANK: Uh, lwas in my ofﬁce and, uh, Igot a telephone call.
AGENT: Who was on the phone?
-FRANK: It was, uh, Bernie Madoff. -(PHONE RINGS)
AGENT: What did Bernie Madoff say to you?
Yeah?
FRANK: "Frank, my brother is in the ofﬁce... "
-What? -"...With the FBI. "
What the fuck?
AGENT: How old were you when you first started working for Bernie Madoff?
I was 19 years old.
AGENT: In what capacity had you known him?
Oh, well, he was my boss.
What type Of work had you done for him over the years?
Uh, really, anything he asked me to.
Everything from, you know, running errands
to, uh, running his investment advisory department.
Did you know why the FBI was at Peter MadofI‘s Office?
(CHUCKLES)
Yes, I did.
And what did that mean to you?
Uh, it meant that I was going to jail.
AGENT: Why did you think you were going to jail?
FRANK: Because I was well aware of the nature of the operation.
AGENT: And what was the nature of the operation?
It was a fraud,
simply put.
(DOOR CLOSES)
FRANK: I always thought that Bernie would be able to make it good, you know?
He had money here, he had money there, he moved stuff around.
There was always a lot of moving parts.
Maybe I was lying to myself
I don't know, but I... I thought he...
I thought he could cover it.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
What the hell is this?
Bernie's been arrested for securities fraud.
The SEC's getting a court order to seize control and shut us down.
Without an investigation? What could they possibly know?
Whatever Bernie told them.
Sir, who was that gentleman?
He's... Uh, he works here.
Where?
(STUTTERS) Uh, on the 17th floor.
There's a 17th floor?
(KEYPAD BEEPING)
Annette, Bernie's been arrested for securities fraud.
The SEC and the FBI are upstairs right now.
What?
The hell does that mean?
We need your keycard, ma'am.
Come on, come on, come on. Please, please, God. Come on, come on.
(EXHALES)
-(BEEPING) -AGENT: Open it.
FBI! Everyone stop what you're doing!
FBI! I said stop what you're doing right now.
Move away from the computer!
Sir, FBI. Do not touch that computer.
I said, move away from the computer!
-MAN: Hey, Dan, walk this group out. -(SIGHS)
BERNIE: The advisory was a completely separate business,
a completely separate entity.
Never the two should meet, ever, and they didn't.
And I made it that way on purpose, obviously.
DIANA: What about your brother?
-Peter's in trouble. -BERNIE: Yes.
DIANA: Because he trusted you.
-He did what you told him to. -Yes, he did.
And you told him to do things that exposed him
to this criminal liability he's facing right now.
How did you justify that, Bernie?
How did you sleep with that?
I guess the way I could sleep with it is that I knew that Peter didn't know anything,
even though I had him do things
which he didn't realize could've implicated him in this...
In this... (SIGHS)
(CLICKS TONGUE)
crime.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
ELEANOR: Bernie was always needling people.
He would find your weak spot and he would poke at it.
I mean, that was Bernie and he could be a real bastard.
But not like this.
I mean, not stealing people's money.
I mean, at first, I started thinking,
"My God, you know, did one of the grandchildren get kidnapped?
"Was the $10 million ransom money?"
What $10 million?
The $10 million that Ruth came in
and withdrew from her Cohmad account
and transferred into her Wachovia account.
I mean, I... (STAMMERS) What do I know?
I mean, I‘m always watching crime stories, you know?
(STUTTERS) I fall asleep every night to SVU.
And you're saying on December 10th,
Ruth Madoff withdrew $10 million from her Cohmad account
and transferred it to a personal account?
Yes, but that is not unusual.
I mean, think of it like having an ATM in your, you know, your living room.
Except, you know, when things are going on, you wonder.
-(MOUSE CLICKS) -(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
GIRL: Mommy's here!
-(SHOUTS) -STEPHAN|E: Don't forget your ball.
We're gonna go to Connecticut for a few days.
You know it might snow?
No mention of his arrest yet.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
-lt's my mom. -Don't answer.
You know what Flumenbaum said.
(STAMMERS) No contact. Don't screw around, Mark.
(MUSIC BOX TINKLING)
-Hi, Mom. -Hi, Mark.
-(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS) -Honey, I'm, um, with your father
and in order to release him on bond,
they need four Signatures.
It's a $10 million bond.
-What? -Ugh.
lknow. Can you believe?
Anyway, can you get down here? (STUTTERS) I‘ll text you the address.
Mom,
do you understand what he's done?
No, honey, Mark, I know you're angry, but he's your father.
I'm not doing it. End of discussion.
Mark.
I'll try Andy.
What do you mean by misunderstanding?
We couldn't get your sons to sign.
They wouldn't Sign?
WOMAN: I'm sorry, Mr. Madoff.
(STUTTERS) The boys wouldn't Sign the bond?
I'm very sorry, sir.
(STAMMERING) Who... Did you talk to them or did...
No. Your wife was on the phone with each of them.
Their mother did and they didn't... They wouldn't...
Um...
(STAMMERING) Well, there's no money involved in it.
So did they understand that?
Yes.
Hmm. I don't know.
Marc, it's Daniel Honrvitz.
We couldn't get the four signatures,
but I can get you Ruth and, um, Peter Madoff‘s.
Okay, hold on.
Will you submit to, um, home detention with electronic monitoring and surveillance?
Homes in Manhattan, Montauk, and Palm Beach will be pledged,
and yours and Ruth's passports will be surrendered.
-Are those terms okay with you? -Um...
Yeah.
-He says yes. Great. -(CELL PHONE BUZZES)
Okay.
WOMAN: Um, The Journal just went online with the story.
We have 20 minutes before the press descends on this place.
DAN: Let's do this.
(ZIP TIE ZIPPING)
-MAN: Mr. Madoff. -(CAMERAS CLICKING)
REPORTER: It's very strange and troubling news out of Wall Street tonight.
Former NASDAQ Stock Exchange Chairman Bernard Madoff
out on $10 million bond.
This man with a stellar reputation
seems to have taken a whole lot of very smart people to the cleaners.
The man they trusted the most with their money,
a NASDAQ Chairman 18 years ago,
is now confessing to authorities he cheated them of billions of dollars.
And there's a bunch of big-time investors wondering
how a guy named Madoff made off with their money.
(RUTH SIGHS)
What's gonna happen, Bernie?
-I don't know. -Are you gonna go to jail?
Probably.
For how long?
-I don't know, Ruth. -For a longtime or a little?
I don't know.
-What? -I don't know.
Are they gonna take the apartment away?
-I don't know. -What about the houses?
What about the boys and the grandkids?
-Ruth. Ruth, enough. -Look, ljust wanna know if...
I'm sorry if I have questions, Bernie.
I'm sorry if I'm a little scared, okay?
It's just you always keep me in the dark.
I keep you in the dark to protect you.
Yeah, well, it doesn't feel that way anymore.
ljust wanna know what's going on.
Please, Bernie, don't keep me in the dark anymore.
Just tell me.
Tell me.
Tell you what, Ruth?
(CRYING)
Just tell me, I don't know...
What you did.
(SNIFFLES)
BERNIE: lmet Ruth when she was 13. lwas 16.
A friend was having a party in his basement.
Something had happened to the jukebox.
It got knocked around when he was moving it,
so the only song it'd play was Sh-Boom over and over.
She was this tiny, little blonde
with enormous blue eyes.
Just gorgeous.
Very funny, too.
You remember that actress Goldie Hawn?
DIANA: I do, very well. BERNIE: Yeah, that was Ruth.
She'd wake up every morning without a care in the world.
Very lively, very bubbly.
Popular, too.
Were you popular?
Oh, yeah. I mean, lwas a lifeguard at the time.
Best job I ever had.
I mean, whyjust be some regular schnook on the beach
when you can be in a guard tower, everyone looking up at you?
-And you get paid. -Did Ruth ever getjealous?
BERNIE: For the rest of the summer,
she laid out right next to the guard tower every day.
Sometimes I'd whistle down at her and she'd look up and call me a dog.
But I liked having her there. It felt good.
I mean, we've basically been together every day since the night we met.
It's our 51st anniversary coming up.
Mmm. How do you think you were able to keep it all separate?
(CLICKS TONGUE) For 16 years, I kept this secret from my wife, my brother,
my sons.
(BERNIE SIGHS)
How I was able to do that and maintain any degree of sanity,
well, it's, uh...
That worries me when I think about it.
(THE GREAT PRETENDER PLAYING)
-Those are fresh? -YeS, sir.
They are really fresh?
-Fresh this morning. -Not freshly frozen?
-NO, Sir. Fresh, fresh. -Okay.
Check all the plates.
Make sure that none of them are dirty, please.
I don't want anybody coming here and eating on a dirty plate.
They pick up a napkin,
you pick up a napkin and then you have dirt under there like this.
-This one. See? Dirty plate. -(CLATTERS)
Make sure they're all clean.
INVESTIGATOR: What was your job title
at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities?
Chief Compliance Officer.
I never had any financial interest in the firm.
Uh, Bernie made it clear that, uh, there was no prospect for partnership.
(SH-BOOM PLAYING)
Eleanor.
So who's the more handsome brother, him or me?
All right, we've all heard this one, Casanova. Come on.
ELEANOR: In my opinion?
Be honest.
-Peter's way more attractive. -Oh.
So you've got a thing for barrel-chested bald men with big stomachs?
-Screw you! -(ELEANOR LAUGHS)
ELEANOR: In fact, Bernie,
when Ifirst met Peter, I said to myself,
"My God, this man looks just like Lee Majors."
-Handsome. -Thank you, Eleanor.
Yeah, that was 25 years ago.
Back then, even you were attractive, Eleanor.
ELEANOR: Stuff it, Bernie.
You know you got a thing for me. Do not lie.
You're right, I do. Come here.
ELEANOR: You know! love you.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
I gotta make the rounds.
ELEANOR: Peter, do not let him get to you, that one.
I'm used to it, believe me.
(SH-BOOM CONTINUES PLAYING)
The fuck you looking at?
Annette, you have a fucking heart attack, I'm not giving you mouth-to-mouth.
Just so we're clear.
Behind you is not the place to be.
INVESTIGATOR: Your accounts at Madoff Securities
had a total of approximately $50 million.
-|s that correct? -Yeah, that's correct.
Did it strike you as absurd
that someone with just a high school education
should have that kind of money?
NO! I was very, very lucky.
Kind Of like winning the lottery?
(CHUCKLES) Kind of like winning the lottery.
Did it occur to you
because you had this great account and it was worth so much,
there must be something fraudulent there?
No. I never thought of the word "fraudulent."
In my experience, and I mean this, there's only four different types of pussy.
Okay? I'm dead serious.
You got your... Let me show you. I just saw one.
All right, right there. See there?
That's your Honda Civic pussy.
Gets you where you wanna go. No Shame in this pussy at all.
-(LAUGHTER) -Reliable. You just, you know,
you're not gonna be proud to be seen riding around town in it, am I right?
-Nothing against her. -What's going on?
It's the world according to Frankie over here.
FRANK: Right there. You see that there?
That's your Buick Regal pussy.
Okay? A step up from the Honda.
Uh, generally, they're cleaner, okay?
Roomier, you fit more passengers in there.
I guess there's pros and cons to that in a pussy.
You know, lovely pussy.
Nobody's gonna mistake it for a Benz, though, am I right?
Am I right, Robert?
Okay, thank you. God bless you.
ljust want you to know, despite everything you see,
Andrew is not from money.
-Oh. No, no. -He's not from money.
(STAMMERS) I'm not... I'm not...
I know you might think he's a rich guy, but he's not.
-We're from nothing. My father was broke. -(CHUCKLES)
We're not rich people. We're humble people.
-Okay. -You understand?
Yes.
-Come here. -Oh. (CHUCKLES)
I'm gonna have to get out the hose
-and Spray him. -(LAUGHS)
Next Up, my personal favorite. ljust saw one.
There. Now, don't make it obvious.
Right there. That iS your Lincoln Continental pussy.
Beautiful. Just... It's just right.
You know what I mean? Like Goldilocks, just right.
It's not too fancy, it's not too plain.
-Itjust... It's just comfortable. Itjust fits. -(LAUGHTER)
No, no, it's like an Old pair of slippers
except instead of your foot, you put your cock in it.
-Am I wrong? -(LAUGHTER)
You have a daughter, right?
Yeah, Sophie. She's wonderful.
I... I can't wait for you to meet her.
And who's the father again?
Um... Uh, John, my ex—partner at Urban Angler.
And you two never married?
Um, no. No.
If I had had a baby out of wedlock,
my father would have taken me out back and shot me.
(ALL LAUGH)
I'm not kidding, he would've Shot me.
No, no, stay with me and hold all questions till the end.
-Okay. -Right there, you see that? Ugh.
There it... Read it and weep. It's your Mercedes-Benz pussy.
Right? Look at it. I mean, it's beautiful.
-lt's just a feat of vaginal engineering. -(ALL CHUCKLE)
NO, it handles just great.
It's sleek, it's tight, it looks good, it feels good, it smells good.
But a lot of Upkeep. Yeah?
Payments are murder and you gotta wax it, you gotta polish it,
-you gotta talk to it, you gotta listen to it. -(ALL LAUGH)
And, most importantly, you gotta remain ever-vigilant
that nobody fucking jacks it, right?
You don't have to worry about that 'cause you'll never get near anything like that.
(ALL LAUGH)
So don't worry about it.
INVESTIGATOR: Is it fair to say that as a result of all of these lies, you got rich?
Well, Ididn‘t get paid per lie, ma'am.
As a product of the fraud that was Madoff Securities,
you got rich, correct?
Yeah, that's correct, yeah.
INVESTIGATOR: You built, as you described,
a lavish home in Bridgewater, New Jersey, correct?
-We|l, define "lavish." -Sure.
-Uh, how many bedrooms did it have? -Five.
-How many bathrooms? -Seven.
-How many acres? -Seven.
-Did it have a swimming pool? -Yes, it did.
-Did it have a tennis court? -lt did not.
-Did it have a pond? -YeS, it did.
So would you consider
seven acres, seven bathrooms, five bedrooms, a swimming pool,
a pond, a lavish home?
(CLICKS TONGUE) I guess I might.
(SWEET CAROLINE PLAYING)
WOMAN: Whoo!
(GIGGLING)
(SINGING SWEET CAROLINE)
Come here.
(ALL SINGING SWEET CAROLINE)
Hey, by the way, you know,
Stephanie and I went last weekend to see that house in Nantucket.
-You know... -You Should try the lobster.
-Oh, no, no, it's okay. -Trust me on the lobster.
Try the lobster. Hey.
Dad, you know I got...
-Can you get my son a lobster, please? -I got a weak stomach.
Would you get him a lobster? Just...
Would you like me to get you the lobster?
What are you asking him for? Just get him a lobster.
-He'll thank us both later, okay? -Seriously...
MARK: Uh, they got it at, like, six and a half,
-but we'll talk them down. -BERN|E: That's what they're asking for?
Yeah.
I mean, it's, like, special. It's, like...
It's got a pool, looks out over the ocean.
-lt's unbelievable. -BERN|E: Uh-huh.
But I figure we can get them down a bit.
Now, wait. That's the way you bring the lobster?
Apologies, sir.
Why don‘t you bring it back, take off the claws, open it up.
I mean, I pay enough for this whole thing. Don't you guys know how to serve a lobster?
-Apologies. I'll be right back. -Okay, just bring it back properly.
I mean, what is this?
MARK: You wanna come see it with me?
-We could go down next week and... -BERNIE: I'll go see it.
-We can work on the price, too. -Yeah.
-Six and a half, maybe we can start at five. -RUTH: That would be nice.
MARK: We could probably take a boat from Montauk.
-We can go out of the harbor... -Good idea.
Okay, thanks.
So, don't eat that, eat this. Don't eat...
I don't like lobster, Dad.
BERNIE: I don't even know why we had that. I guess your mother...
MARK: 'Cause it's not good on my stomach.
Hey, Uh...
Take this away, will you, please?
-Yes, sir. -(MUTTERING)
-There you go. -WA|TER: Apologies, sir.
BERNIE: Okay.
One thing he's good at is apologizing.
(SIGHS)
MARK: I guess I'm just wondering, what if something happens to you?
We don't know the first thing about the advisory.
-Frank will handle it. -ANDREW: Come on, Dad.
With all due respect, Frank‘s, Uh...
Frank's what?
Frank‘s an idiot.
You know, Frank never went to college.
I heard Frank comparing women's vaginas to automobiles
earlier today.
Whether Frank is refined enough for your taste is irrelevant.
He's good at his job.
If something were to happen to me,
he'd fill you guys in on all the details you need to know.
And what if Frank decides to screw you?
I mean, I don't even know how much you're worth.
Is it a billion?
$2 billion? Three?
What if there's three and he says there's two
and takes a billion and rides off into the sunset?
Calm down, calm down.
Everything is written down in a safe deposit box.
If something were to happen to me,
you consult with our lawyers, and they'll handle it.
They'll fill you in on everything.
Everything, huh?
-That'S right, everything. -Everything?
You know, good luck. This conversation is impossible. Impossible!
BERNIE: I don't understand why you can't understand what I just said to you.
You know, why is it that whenever this conversation comes up,
you find a way to wriggle out of giving me an answer?
It comes up because you bring it up.
No, because we're trying to plan.
Well, ifyou don't bring it up, it won't come up.
You know, I'm just trying to get a basic sense...
You don't have to get a sense of anything, Mark.
-You don't have to get a sense of anything. -Why is that too much to ask?
-|'ve told you. -Dad.
-This is something I don‘t talk about. -Dad!
-Listen to me. I don‘t understand! -(STAMMERS) Are you...
Listen, what is wrong? Are you a fucking idiot?
Are you a fucking idiot? I mean, answer me!
-I don't understand! -No, you don't understand!
You don't have to fucking understand!
You're asking me about taking over the advisory
and yet you can't even follow a Simple fucking instruction
to Shut the fuck up!
You don't understand.
Leave it alone.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
-Good night. -I love you, Dad.
Love you. Good night.
(SH-BOOM PLAYING)
BERNIE: People here always ask me how come / never ran.
But the truth is it didn’t even occur to me.
I guess it's because I never thought of what I was doing was stealing.
DIANA: Well, it was a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.
People lost their life savings, they lost their homes.
Their lives were destroyed.
You didn't think of that as stealing?
People felt safe with you.
-Yeah, but these were... -And yet,
you were betraying them all.
Well, but these people, you know, they had a little greed in them, too.
There was a little bit of, you know...
Look, you know, and they didn't wanna look too hard.
They looked just far enough.
-So they're accomplices in some way, too. -Bernie...
Accomplices because they trusted you?
Accomplices because you were so trustworthy,
you seemed so trustworthy.
Yeah, but there's a lack of honesty on their behalf,
an unwillingness to take responsibility for their behavior.
-Your investors? -Yes.
It takes a lot of chutzpah for you, of all people, to say that.
You know... (CLICKS TONGUE)
Now that I think of it... (SIGHS)
My greatest failure, or maybe it's my greatest weakness,
iS I've always wanted to please people.
And that's...
That's one that can get you into trouble.
I've been here all fucking morning! I wanna go upstairs.
Sir, nobody's going upstairs right now.
I wanna see somebody in charge.
OFFICER: Right now, I'm in charge. MAN: Who are you protecting?
OFFICER: And you need to back up right now.
We're talking about my fucking life savings!
I told you right now!
-Do you understand? Do you understand? -You need to back up right now, Sir.
(LINE TRILLING)
(PHONE RINGING)
ELEANOR: Hello, Madoff.
MAN: I’m in the fucking lobby. I wanna come up.
Sir, I am not able to give you permission to come up here right now.
Where is my fucking money?
You have to call the advisory arm. I can give you their number.
Fuck you, you fucking thief!
Oh, my God.
ELEANOR: Unusual circumstances did not exist for Bernie.
Take 9/11.
When those towers got hit,
everybody in the whole entire office
was gathered around the TV.
Who was crying? Who was hysterical?
Not Bernie.
He kept his head down and he continued to work.
And it is not like he did not know anybody in those buildings.
DIANA: As with every event of personal devastation,
they remember exactly where they were and what they were doing
when they learned they were ruined.
(FAX MACHINE CLICKS AND WHIRS)
DIANA: The grayish-white paper rolled out of Mary Thomajan’s fax machine.
The fax was from the small feeder fund she had trusted for 18 years,
telling her that all her money had been invested with Madoff,
who had been arrested.
She later recalled,
"In the 50 seconds it took to read that fax,
"I went from being a multimillionaire
"to having my life savings wiped out
"and life as / knew it altered forever."
Robert Halio’s son called him at his retirement home
-in Boca Raton with the news. -(CELL PHONE RINGS)
MAN: It’s all gone, Dad.
I don't... I don't know what to do.
DIANA: 95% of his wealth had been entrusted to Madoff
and was now gone.
Mr. de la Villehuchet had written his brother a letter that said,
"If you ruin your friends, your clients,
"you have to face the consequences. "
He then positioned a trash basket to protect the carpet
and slit his wrist with a box cutter.
Tim Murray, a property manager in Minnesota, was traveling and nearly drove off the road...
-Fort Lauderdale... -(OVERLAPPING VOICES)
-Richard Friedman... -Da vid Iselin. ..
(OVERLAPPING VOICES)
STEPHEN COLBERT: Time to pay the piper, Bernie.
-Presumably. .. -(AUDIENCE CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)
Presumably with the life savings of another piper.
-Just... -(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
This was the worst pyramid scheme since the actual pyramids.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
Ruth loves to go to the California Pizza Kitchen.
And they say that her favorite dish there is the, uh, veal scallo-Ponzi.
-(AUD|ENCE LAUGHS) -(DRUMS PLAY)
Listen, I have something to tell you that’s really important.
[have your money! I can get it to you.
-Okay, Iguess you're not there. -(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
They can see right in.
-They can see right in. -What?
(STAMMERS) We don't have any curtains.
They can see right in.
ANDREW: Hold on, let me call you back.
Catherine, it's gonna be fine.
CATHERINE: No, they're gonna be looking in with their long lenses and we'll be trapped.
They're gonna get bored just standing around.
I'm not the story.
We've gotta get curtains right now.
(SIGHS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(ELEVATOR WHIRRING)
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
Shit.
(DOORS OPEN)
(DOORS CLOSE)
Hi, how are you?
I'm all right.
You?
I've been better.
-|'|| bet. -(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
-Mommy, Mommy. -What?
-|s that Ruth Madoff? -Jessica, not another word.
It's okay.
No, none of it is.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
-MAN: There she is. -(ALL CLAMORING)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
-Hi, Sarah. -Oh. Hi.
Is Gisele here? I was wondering if she might be able to fit me in today.
I haven't had my hair colored in God knows how long.
-Um, I think she‘s... -No, don't worry. I'll find her.
Uh...
RUTH: I’ve been coming here for 15 years, Pierre.
PIERRE: lunderstand.
We have too many clients
who have lost their money because of your husband.
But I don't trust anyone else.
(STAMMERS) I'm very sorry, but I can't afford to risk my reputation.
What about a house call? I can pay extra.
-l'm sorry... -Pierre.
...but I have to ask you to leave now.
I'm sorry, Ruth.
-Shit. -BERN|E: Ruth!
-What are you doing? -RUTH: Nothing!
-(CLATTERING) -What are you doing? Looking for something?
My lighter.
-We|l, aren't there matches in the drawer? -No.
No? What do you mean? There's always matches in the drawer.
Well, we're out.
Where'd you last see it?
If I knew where I last saw it, Iwouldn't be looking for it, Bernie.
(SIGHS)
I'm such an idiot.
How did I get to be this age without doing anything on my own?
What are you talking about?
(STUTTERS) I didn't do anything, Bernie.
I never did one thing on my own.
I don't have a career, I don't have a name, I don't have any friends of my own.
(SIGHS) The only thing I have are regrets.
That's all I got to show for myself.
Regret after regret.
Ruth, do we have to go into this now?
I got a lot on my mind.
I'm going away and who knows if I'm going to come back.
Why would you say that?
(STAMMERING) I'm not saying for certain...
-No, Ike said that you'd be able to... -Forget I mentioned it.
You can't do that.
I'm not ready. (STUTTERS) I'm not ready to be alone. You're all I have.
The boys don't speak to me. No one speaks to me. I'll...
I'll go crazy, Bernie. (STAMMERS)
I'll go crazy all alone.
I'll go crazy, Bernie, Iwill.
(BEEPING)
(PHONE RINGING)
(MACHINE BEEPS)
RUTH: (OVER VOICEMAIL) Hi. Leave a message after the tone.
-(MACHINE BEEPS) -MAN: Bernie! Bernie, you there?
Bernie? Come on, pick up.
I know you're hiding that $50 billion somewhere,
you piece-of—shit cocksucker.
I hope you enjoy getting your ass raped every night,
'cause you're going away for a long time.
Hasta la vista, you kike motherfucker.
-(RECEIVER CLICKS) -(MACH|NE BEEPS)
(JEWELRY JINGLING)
What are you doing?
I can't live like this.
Slogging through, being miserable to no good end.
What‘s the point?
You know, lwas thinking earlier, this isn't even about me.
This country needs a villain, someone to send to the gallows,
SO everyone can feel okay about living under a rigged system.
I don't give a rat's ass, Bernie.
Well, it'll be better once I go.
What's with the jewelry?
It's the only thing the court didn't freeze.
I'm gonna wrap it all up, give it to family,
and then kill myself.
Why would you kill yourself?
Because I'm tired of being hated.
I don't even understand it.
I... (SCOFFS)
You got yourself into trouble. You couldn't get out.
What do I have to do with it? Why does the world hate me?
They all think I'm some kind Of a mastermind.
Take it as a compliment, Ruth.
They say all these horrible things about me.
They say I was your bookkeeper.
-They say... -You weren't my bookkeeper.
I did maintain the records the first year.
That was in 1960. It wasjust you and me.
I mean, but you weren't even a real bookkeeper.
No, but I'm just saying don't make it seem like I didn't pitch in
because I even came back, remember?
Yeah, but then we hired a real bookkeeper.
-And I helped with payroll. -We hired a real bookkeeper.
(STAMMERS) Right, so why are they making it seem like I'm involved with all this stuff?
Because they're out for blood, honey.
That's why. They just wanna...
But anybody in the know knows you weren't the mastermind.
That's nonsense.
Well, thanks. I already wanna kill myself. Are you trying to make me feel worse?
No, but I, |... (SIGHS)
You, uh...
(STUTTERS) You'd commit suicide?
With what?
I don't know. I haven't figured that part out yet.
Something nice. Maybe Ambien.
How much Ambien do we have?
Enough to open a fucking pharmacy.
What about these? Klonopin?
Same thing. Just put it in here.
Do Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
It's a great song and you'll be hearing Judy Garland sing it...
RUTH: Can't we just have quiet?
I can't fall asleep unless I watch something.
You just took a whole fucking bottle of Ambien, Bernie.
Sleep's not gonna be your problem.
My mind races.
Fine.
Our last night on Earth will be you, me and Judy Garland.
How romantic.
-Let'S not get started, Ruth. -Hmm.
We had a good life, didn't we?
Hmm. Yeah.
Until you ruined it.
(HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS PLAYING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
BOY: Pop-pop!
Pop-pop!
(SONG CONTINUES PLAYING)
(RU N NING FOOTSTEPS)
BERNIE: Hello?
BOY: Pop-pop!
BERNIE: Hello?
Mark, Andy.
Uh...
I'm glad you came.
I have so much I wanna tell you.
So much I wanna tell you.
I never... I never wanted any...
I never wanted either of you to...
To, you know...
I just never wanted either of you to...
Itjust...
Sometimes things in life happen that you don't even...
You know, there's a lot that I never really wanted to tell you.
Uh...
I'm glad... I'm glad you're here.
(SONG CONTINUES PLAYING)
Good evening.
It is a day that will be in bold print in history books.
Black Monday, October 19th, 1987,
when the stock market went into a free fall,
losing more in one day than it did on Black Tuesday in 1929.
(STATIC)
Fucking rigged.
How to fuck the little guy.
I wonder if I can count on you.
FRANK: Of course.
BOY: (ECHOING) Pop-pop!
BERNIE: Can I count on you? BOY: Pop-pop!
BERNIE: We took a big hit today.
Lost over a billion and change.
You know how with a split-strike conversion strategy
the stock options offset losses?
FRANK: It's like insurance.
A fucking meltdown like this would have been a nice strategy.
If only we had it in place
-before the fucking... -No ifs.
No ifs.
And we tell no one.
We tell no one.
BOY: Pop-pop!
FRANK: Basically, we ’re picking winners of yesterday's horse races?
Yeah, so if anyone double-checks our trades, we got it all there.
-Al| winners. -FRANK: Fine.
BERNIE: Make sure the books show that the London ofﬁce is clearing the trades
SO no one upstairs in market-making iS involved.
Not my brother, not the boys, no one.
Understand?
Yeah, of course, of course, yeah.
BERNIE: No one.
WOMAN: En/vin's last words to me, the last thing he said was,
"Bernie will take care Of everything."
He's gone and I don't know what to do.
BERNIE: It'S gonna be okay.
You can take all of Enivin's other accounts,
his savings, life insurance, everything, and you can put it all in his account here.
God bless you, Bernie.
(RU N NING FOOTSTEPS)
BOY: Pop-pop!
-Pop-pop! -Daniel!
-Pop-pop? -Yeah?
Are you gonna die in jail?
(SONG CONTINUES)
BERNIE: Ruth. Ruth.
Ruth, I need more pills.
Ruth.
MAN: Have you no shame?
Hello?
MAN: Have you no shame?
No remorse?
Have you no conscience?
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
MAN: You steal from widows, you steal from charities,
you steal from Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor.
You prey on your own people.
You steal from your own people.
-Have you no shame? -(GUNSHOTS)
(GASPS)
-BERNIE: Huh? -Well, we're still here.
MAN: Mr. Markopolos, it’s all yours.
MARKOPOLOS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My team and I tried our best to get the SEC to investigate
and shut down the Madoff Ponzi scheme
with repeated and credible warnings to the SEC that started in May 2000.
-We knew then that we had provided... -Ruth.
-...enough red ﬂags... -What?
You wanna watch this Harry guy‘s testimony?
Who?
Harry... I don't know, I can‘t pronounce it.
RUTH: What's he testifying about?
Me.
...over a nine-year time span.
If a $50 billion Ponzi scheme doesn't make the SE C's priority list,
then I wanna know who sets their priorities.
What made you think that Bernie Madoff was a fraud?
The key tip-off,
and it took me about ﬁve minutes to ﬁgure out that he was a fraud,
I'm gonna give you a hand signal and I’m gonna show you
what his performance return line looked like.
It went in only one direction, up.
It never had variation like the market does.
Like this, but then I did...
-Who is this guy? -BERN|E: He tried to warn the SEC about me.
-And what happened? -They ignored his warnings.
-So what's the point? -What do mean, what's the point?
Well, what's the point of all this?
Well, he's saying that basically, he handed the SEC the evidence
and they didn't follow up on it.
Oh. So a government agency is incompetent.
-Mmm-hmm. -Yeah, and that's news?
No, look, I've been saying that for years, and I have firsthand knowledge.
ThiS fucking cocksucker walks in and out of the building
with this jacket on.
What the fuck is wrong with him?
Bern, the guy's asking for our DTC account number.
What are we gonna do?
I mean, all my years dealing with the SEC, I've never seen this "enforcement."
Who the fuck does this guy think he is?
Boss, if we don't give the guy the number,
it's gonna be obvious that we're hiding something.
Yeah, but the way he just fucking walks in here like that,
no fucking suit or nothing.
-NO, I know. -What kind of fucking arrogance?
The jacket's annoying, but, Bern, please focus.
If we do give it to him, uh, one call to the DTC and that's it.
Game over.
We're just here for a routine exam. We haven't done one in 10 years.
-DC Inspections was. -Uh, we don't talk to DC.
So, uh, tell me about this article.
Yeah, I was very bothered by this.
I mean, why would they make me look fat?
MAN: Excuse me?
I mean, look at my face.
Look at my cheeks. I look like a fucking porpoise.
Well, um, yes, but I'm referring to the allegations.
What about it? Lori Richards has all this information.
I sent it to her in a file. They have it.
As I told you, we're a very large organization. We don't talk to each other.
You don't talk to DC?
(STAMMERS) No. It's, uh...
BERNIE: This is the problem with the SEC. I've been saying this for years.
I mean, you have to have better communication.
How are you supposed to be able to do yourjob
with a fraction of the information?
Well, we're trying to get all of the information.
Well, don't you think you should start by talking to DC?
I mean, my whole Office here is wondering what's happening.
You come in with that jacket, it embarrasses the hell out of all of us.
And this? It's a fucking cartoon.
It's an old article. It's four years old.
And you're asking me questions about an old article with a silly cartoon?
And you haven't spoken to DC.
Are we, um, are we waiting on your lawyers?
I never have lawyers in the office
when I'm talking to regulators for two reasons.
One, I'm not doing anything wrong.
Two, I know the rules better than most because I drafted a majority of them.
And we haven't met before, but I have very strong relationships.
And I was on the short list for SEC Director.
Yes, we know that.
If you need anything at all, I'll be in my office.
There's no such thing as an inconvenience.
-Thanks. -|'m here.
Oh, um...
(STUTTERS) By the way, are these securities with the DTC?
Of course.
We're gonna need your account number just so we can verify the assets.
Oh, Bern, you're fucking killing me.
646.
MAN: 646. Great, thank you.
Do you mind if you take thatjacket off before you go out there?
-Oh, um... -Just...
Sure.
BERNIE: One call.
All the SEC had to do was make one call
and they would've seen that everything was fake,
that there was nothing there.
But they never called.
DIANA: You just gambled that they wouldn't call?
BERNIE: It was more than a gamble. It was...
It was a leap of faith, if you will.
DIANA: You wait, knowing what they will ﬁnd if they make that call.
I can't imagine what that was like.
It was... It was excruciatingly difficult.
At some point, you figured...
-I figured that they didn't do it. -Hmm.
Theyjust didn't follow up on it.
(SIGHS)
If you didn't plan on killing yourself or going into hiding,
how did you think it would end?
Well, it was almost like, uh...
It sounds horrible to say it now
but I just wanted the whole world to come to an end.
When 9/11 happened, I thought this was the only way out.
The world would come to an end, I'd be dead, and everybody would be gone.
Uh, but, I mean, Icould've kept it going. I could've covered everything.
Even after the fall Of ‘08,
I had enough commitments of cash that would've come in.
So I could've, you know... (STUTTERS)
I just got tired.
(SIGHS) I knew by Thanksgiving I was gonna give it up.
I was gonna stop.
RE PO RTE R 1 : Financial turmoil in the U. S.
Wall Street in crisis mode.
REPORTER 2: Wall Street on red alert.
REPORTER 3: Bear Stearns has effectively gone under.
REPORTER: The largest bankruptcy in U. S. history.
REPORTER 4: Unprecedented.
REPORTER 5: This is really shaking the foundation of Wall Street.
A lot of money and a lot ofjobs.
America‘s economy is facing unprecedented challenges.
REPORTER: All of this taking a devastating toll on stocks.
Single biggest point drop ever.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
FRANK: I'm sorry to bother you.
I just got another call you're gonna fucking love.
BERNIE: Yeah, go ahead.
Bank Medici's pulling out $450 million, Bern.
Stanley Chais has been draining us all goddamn year,
and this is on top of Fairﬁeld's withdrawals.
I delivered for these fucking people for fucking decades
and now they‘re all running for the fucking hills.
Bern, we can 't keep getting hit with these redemptions.
We gotta find a way to conserve.
I think we should lower the returns.
Are you kidding? That'll cause a bigger panic.
They'll all pull out, the greedy fucks. We can't do that.
Well, we gotta do something.
We're treading water like a fucking paraplegic here.
-MAN: lwasjust saying... -Hold on, let me get rid of this idiot.
...the joke on the street is that Bernie's like the Jewish T-bill.
Very funny. I'm on the phone.
-|'m on the phone. -He's that safe.
I'm on the phone.
I'll introduce you guys later.
He's gonna love you.
See if you can rattle Fairfield's cage.
In the meantime, I've got a few ideas.
FRANK: Fairfield? BERNIE: Yeah.
All right.
RUTH: Uh-huh. Nice, nice. MAN: Not in a bathing suit.
(LAUGHS)
Me neither.
-Hey. -Hey, kid.
Aren‘t you the one who hustled those penny stocks
-in that shitty office you had downtown? -(CH UCKLES)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's me.
Can you believe I've known this man for 50 years?
Carl, listen, lwanna tell you something.
Not now.
There are some real opportunities in the market right now
and I wanna make you aware of them.
-Not now, Bernie. -I know, I know.
-Not now. -I know.
I wouldn't tell you about them
unless they were really, really important, okay?
-I don't want you mad at me you missed out. -All right.
-How much do you want me to put in? -$250.
On top of the $300 million I already have with you?
Yes.
The market in shambles?
It's plummeting, but now is the time to take advantage.
-I'll tell you what, I'm so exposed... -That's exactly why I'm proposing this to you.
...I'm afraid I'll be arrested for public indecency.
-(CHUCKLES) -I'm not doing it with everybody.
-|t's just a few people. -All right, all right. Enough.
-Okay, and you are family. -I'll tell you.
Listen, I'll think about it.
-Okay. -Okay?
But don‘t take too long.
In all seriousness, don't take too long. Please don't take too long.
-Carl... -I said it. I will think about it.
-Period. -I love you, I respect that.
Thank you very much.
-Fucking rich people. Parasites. -You're in a mood.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
I gotta take this.
FRANK: Well, I just got off the phone with that cocksucker at Kingate.
He's pulling out $260 million.
Do these fucking people not understand how a fucking split-strike works?
-Do they not understand? -Hold on.
I got Fairfield calling me back. Hold on.
Yeah?
Hey. Uh, Rick Jarvis.
We met at the club a few months back with Solomon.
Well, look, while I got your attention,
ljust exited this private equity venture with a 5X return.
I'm looking to put that money to work right away this quarter.
Well, unfortunately, that's not possible.
I haven't told you how much.
-Well, it really doesn't matter. -(CHUCKLES) $100 million.
(SIGHS) I'm sorry, but the fund is fully subscribed for the quarter.
-Even in this market? -My clients know not to worry.
I know how to avoid the pitfalls.
Okay, lwant in this quarter, all right?
Whatever restrictions you wanna put on it,
you know, I'll park this money with you for a long time.
It's not about the money. It's about pushing clients aside.
I can't do that. I have to sacrifice someone,
a loyal client to me, in order to accommodate you.
Unless it's really, really worth it...
lam talking about giving you $100 million.
That's, uh, not gonna do it.
So what's it gonna take?
I have to do what's ethical.
-I can't let you jump the line. -|'|| go $150 if you let me.
-Love to help you, but I can't. -$175.
Fully subscribed.
-$200. -I wish I could.
I'm just thinking if I... No.
$225?
$250.
$275.
$300 million.
How far do we gotta go? Just tell me.
If you go above four, we might have something.
$400.
I can do that.
We got a deal.
(CELL PHONE RINGS)
I gotta take this phone call.
Yeah?
I don't know who the fuck I was just talking with,
but if this guy checks out, wejust picked up a good piece of change.
Well, the shit is definitely hitting the fucking fan.
I got Fairfield Greenwich on the line.
-You want me to patch you in? -Go ahead.
MAN 1: Hey, Bernie. We catching you at a bad time?
You tell me. I got a back spasm that's fucking killing me.
-MAN 2: Bernie. Bernie. -What's going on?
-Can I just get one minute? -Not...
-Just one minute to introduce you. -I can't...
-I can't talk. -Just one minute!
-Yeah? -MAN 1: Look, Bern,
you’re basically the only fund that hasn't gotten hammered.
You're the one place clients can turn to for liquidity
without taking huge losses.
(CH UCKLES) It's the winner’s curse.
What... What, am I supposed to be flattered
that you just cashed out a billion and a half dollars?
You gotta put a stop to these redemptions
because if you don't, just know there's plenty of money out there
that would love to take your place.
-/s that a threat? -You can take it any way you like.
Look at you, all dressed up and no place to die.
-Hello, Jeffry. -Come on, Bernie, there's no need for stress.
I haven't made many withdrawals.
Although, that's probably something we should discuss. Hmm?
I did wanna tell you that there are some real opportunities
in the market right now if you're interested, Jeffry.
What do you think?
-We should be talking... -Mrs. Madoff!
-Mr. Picower. -Your husband doesn't look well.
You should attend to him. Hmm?
You okay?
What's wrong with him, Picower? He's one strange, sicko fuck.
Oh, by the way, my sister, she's worried about the economy
and she was thinking about investing the rest of her savings with you.
-Would that be okay? -Yeah, sure.
Walter, I'm not a fucking money market fund, do you understand?
If you don't stop these withdrawals
and replace the money before the end of the month,
then I'm gonna cut you off!
I'm gonna close the whole fucking Fairfield account!
Yes!
Do you hear me?
-(MUFFLED CONVERSATIONS) -(D|SH ES CLATTERING)
Shit. What the...
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
RUTH: I hated that. MARK: You loved it.
RUTH: No, I didn't! MARK: You came out of there,
-you said you loved it. Don't lie. -RUTH: Oh, did not!
RUTH: You're such a liar. MARK: You‘re a liar.
RUTH: Sweetheart, is that a little bit too rare?
EMILY: This is good.
-Everything all right? -BERN|E: Yeah.
Did you wheel your luggage into the bedroom?
RUTH: Why?
BERNIE: Did you wheel your luggage into the bedroom?
Well, I certainly didn't bring it in through the window.
But you smudged the wall by the door. You scuffed it with your roller bag.
Well, string me up and feed me to the dogs. (CHUCKLES)
I'm sorry I scuffed a wall, Bernie.
ANDREW: Emily was just asking about Wall Street, Dad.
Yeah, how's Wall Street, Papa?
She's working on her MBA.
Dad, future head of Madoff Securities.
RUTH: That's right. Watch out, guys.
I asked how's Wall Street, Papa?
Wall Street is good.
Dad says things are bad at Wall Street.
Well, Dad told you that, but things are fine.
EMILY: Why are they bad?
What did ljust say?
I told you they're not bad.
Why don't you just eat?
Well, if it's not bad, why do they call it a meltdown?
-Why don't you tell me? -EMILY: How am I supposed to know?
-Do you read Barron's? Huh? -That's why I'm asking you.
Do you read the Wall Street Journal?
-Why don't you tell me? -| just asked a question.
BERNIE: You are my granddaughter and you're an eight-year—old,
and you shouldn't be asking me questions like that.
-I don't feel like talking about Wall Street. -ANDREW: Hey, Dad.
-I don't feel like talking about Wall Street. -Dad.
-I'm here having dinner with my family. -That's enough.
RUTH: Bernie, what's wrong with you?
-She's just curious. -EMILY: Why are you being so mean?
Because she doesn't know what the hell she's talking about.
She's eight years old. I gotta get grilled by this kid.
-Why are you being so mean? -BERNIE: When I've got so many other
goddamn things I'm worried about on Wall Street
and this kid's asking me about how Wall Street is.
-Shut up and eat your food! -ANDREW: Dad!
It's okay, sweetheart. Bernie, stop it! What's wrong with you?
-Now you're playing the good guy. -(EMILY CRYING)
-RUTH: Honey, it's okay, it's okay. -Taking her side.
-Now I can't eat. -She's just curious.
-lt's okay, it's okay. -She's an eight-year-old kid.
What's the matter with you?
RUTH: You're just too smart.
It's okay.
I wanna know why you're acting this way.
The fucking market is a bloodbath.
(GROANS)
-Hey, hey, hey. -God damn it.
Take it... Dad.
Fucking thing.
What's going on? Are you all right?
(STAMMERS) I started these blood pressure pills.
Makes me dizzy.
-Maybe you should take a couple days off. -No, I can't.
I have to be at the office first thing in the morning.
-Founder of Home Depot. -Reschedule.
-You know... -This fucking thing.
If you ever trusted me to help you with the advisory,
you know, I could handle this kind of thing for you.
It's my business, not yours.
Well, what happens when you're gone?
-I'm not having this discussion with you. -|t's a legitimate question.
-I'm not having this discussion with you. -What is it, Dad?
Tell me. What is it?
Is it that I'm not cut out?
-(STAMMERS) Are you not listening? -Just be honest with me.
-Just tell me. -Do you not see what I have to deal with,
the shit that I have to go through on a daily basis?
No, that's why... That's my point. (CHUCKLES)
The fucking shit that they put me through?
That they're trying to fuck me all the time?
Steal from me? Do you think you can do that?
-Do you think you can deal with that? -Yes, I can.
I don't think you can deal with it. Bullshit. I don't think so.
You can't stomach that stuff. That's not in you.
Andy maybe, but not you.
What?
Wait, what are you saying? Are you saying that Andy...
What are you saying? Andy's better at his job than I am?
-Mark. -| go to that fucking office every single day.
I do the same thing that he does.
I gave you a fucking business to run. Are you not happy with that?
-Was that not good enough for you? -It is definitely good enough for me, Dad.
-|'m just trying... -Well, then shut the fuck up
and give me a little fucking gratitude.
Say, "I'm... Thanks, Dad." Can't you do that?
What do you think? The whole fucking world owes you something?
The whole fucking world owes you nothing.
You gotta work for it, and I always say this with your mother.
This is the problem with having money, an education.
Nothing is earned.
You want something, you gotta fucking work for it.
What, you don't think I have?
For you, it was installing sprinklers.
For me, it was digging ditches on a construction crew.
I never would have started Home Depot if I hadn't had that experience.
Ken, lwanna be respectful of your time, so I'm gonna get right to it.
I'm starting a new, highly-exclusive fund. It's gonna have just five investors.
Same split-strike conversion strategy that's performed so consistently.
But, frankly, this fund's gonna have even higher returns.
The only thing is that it relies on the market volatility that we're seeing now,
so I gotta put the money together right away.
Your current fund's been running for a while, hasn't it?
It has. Decades. Double-digit returns every year.
And you‘re promising even better returns for the new fund?
-lt's a unique opportunity, Ken. -Uh-huh.
So I'm asking myself only one question.
What if I'm a longtime client of yours,
and, uh, how would Ifeel getting shafted for new customers?
There are other people that I do other funds with,
but I don't wanna include them in this because they're not...
-Well, wait a second. -(STUTTERS) They're not the ones...
Okay, just a second. (STUTTERS) I'm a little confused.
You got this fund, you got that fund...
You got people who are long-term customers and you're not gonna...
Those people are already taken care of.
We have... We have other funds with them.
Bernie, I don‘t... I don't know what you're trying to say.
-Wel|... -|'m confused.
The new fund is getting money before the other people?
No, no. Ken, that‘s not what I'm saying.
No, that's exactly what you‘re saying.
NO, I'm not saying that. They are taken care of.
I have other arrangements with them.
Something is not kosher here.
-Something. -No, it's all kosher.
I think it's not kosher. I think it's total bullshit.
That's what I think.
It's hitting me the wrong way. Something is wrong here.
I think you're full of shit, that's what I think.
I'm getting the hell out of here.
Is that guy in?
You're kidding me.
All right, well, uh, between Medici, Kingate, and, uh, the fucking Spaniards,
that's minus $1.5 billion right there.
Uh, thanks to Fairfield, we're down $980 in November
and, Uh, we're looking at at least minus $580 in December, Bern.
(INHALES DEEPLY) We write that fucking check, it's gonna bounce.
We got $300 million left.
What do you wanna do?
Hey, Carl, this is great news.
I just want you to know it's great news.
-CARL: All right, take care. -Okay, of course, of course.
-Great. Okay, talk soon. -That’s it. All right?
-Thank you. -Okay.
He's in for $250.
All right. That's not nothin'.
-No, but it's not enough. -No, it's definitely not enough.
What about that schmuck from Palm Beach?
NO, no, no, it was, like, 20 fucking questions with that guy.
He wanted to know why our comptroller was based in Bermuda,
why our auditor was a one-man operation
working out of a strip mall in upstate New York.
It was a whole fucking thing with that guy.
ANDREW: It's not an easy conversation.
CATH E R! N E: I've already laid the groundwork for this.
You’re hardly in the ofﬁce anymore.
I think what I say is that...
Andrew, sweetheart, you don't have to sell him on a decision
that you're making for yourself.
-This is about you. -I know, I know.
It's just hard because I know he's gonna be disappointed.
Well, I'm not.
I am very proud of you.
Thanks.
Okay, I'll see you when I get home.
[love you.
ANDREW: Dad?
You okay? What‘s wrong?
Oh, fucking back spasm. It's all seized up. This is the only position that doesn't kill.
-|'m sorry. Can I get you something? -I already took a bunch of pills.
-What's up? -Uh, nothing.
-We can talk later. -Look, what do you need?
NO, forget it.
Fucking spit it out.
-Well, I wanna talk to you about a few things. -Then spit it out. Come on.
Well... Well, look, um...
I'm thinking about taking office space somewhere else.
You're thinking about leaving the business?
I'm ready to strike out on my own.
And here I was worried about the business I handed you.
Look, I have professional goals of my own.
And I'd like to run my own company someday
and it's obviously not happening here anytime soon.
You're pretty fucking selfish, Andrew.
You got some fucking nerve.
I've worked here forever and I'm still not a partner.
It's your name on the door, as you love to say.
You obviously can't see how selfish you're being right now.
Let me ask you something, do you know what kind of offers
I've gotten to sell this firm?
-Do you? -No, I don't.
The last one was from Goldman for a billion dollars.
What? Why didn't you take it?
Because I didn't wanna take it.
I need it like I need a fucking hole in the head.
And the main reason I didn't take it is because of you boys, that's why.
Because one day, I want this to be yours with your name on the door.
I mean, why else would you think I'd do it?
You're welcome.
-You're welcome. -Yeah, I heard you.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
-Bernie, how far... -Did your wife know?
Bernie, did your wife know?
REPORTER: People familiar with the case tell CBS News federal investigators
are ripping apart 20 years of fraud inside Madoff’s ﬁrm,
moving beyond Bernie, looking at sons Andrew and Mark,
who directed trading activities,
and brother Peter, the company’s Chief Compliance Ofﬁcer.
None have been charged with any wrongdoing.
So, now as Bernie Madoff prepares for what may be his last night
-of comfort in... -Hey.
What is it?
Hmm. I don't know, maybe it's a waste of time, but I thought that I would try to write.
-Write what? -(CHUCKLES)
I don't know, a book.
Ah, it sounds stupid.
No, it doesn't sound stupid.
(STAMMERS) It may not be any good, but I, um...
This is just the Opening.
-Do you wanna hear it? -Yeah, I'd love to hear it.
"Up until December 10th, 2008,
"I spent the entirety of my life in awe of my father.
"I judged every accomplishment, every failure, professionally or personally,
"against the life he lived.
"His approval meant everything, maybe too much,
"and for as long as I can remember,
"I worked as hard as I could to make him proud.
"And then one day,
"I found out that my father was not the man I thought.
"He was a criminal, a man I didn't respect.
"And yet this man, my father,
"is the same man who taught me right from wrong,
"taught me to be fair and decent and honest, taught me about the importance of character,
"what it means to be a husband,
"and, most importantly, how to be a father.
"I am the son of Bernie Madoff.
"I used to think that I could never escape that.
"Now I'm certain I won't.
"Why is it so hard to believe
"that those closest to him wouldn't see him as a criminal?
"Why is it so hard to believe that his son would think his father could do no wrong?
"When I look at my youngest son, Nick,
"I fear the day when he's old enough to ask what his grandfather was like.
"What kind of man was he?
"If I tell him he was evil,
"how can I explain that I'm... (VOICE BREAKS)
(CRIES)
"That I..."
It's good, Mark.
It's really good.
Yeah, I... I don't know.
CATHERINE: So, is it a plea deal?
MARTIN: No. He's just pleading guilty.
MARK: So, he’s just gonna plead guilty to all the charges and that’s it?
MARTIN: It looks that way.
-So there will be no trial? -No.
MARK: Have you read what they're saying about us?
Every fucking day they're calling for our head.
Every paper, every blog.
How are those people gonna know we’re innocent if there’s no trial? How?
-How? -The sooner he is locked up...
-Bullshit. -This will be over.
It's gonna fucking linger.
The questions, the suspicions, the fucking paparazzi camped out...
-Are they not charging him with conspiracy? -No, he won't plead guilty to conspiracy.
REPORTER: Mr. Madoff, are you going to plead guilty?
MARK: Yeah, well, they should charge him anyway and force a trial.
ANDREW: If they took Dad to trial, what would happen?
Just think about it, Mark.
You’re talking about putting the richest
and most powerful people in the world up on that stand.
You're talking about JP Morgan,
Chase, HSBC, Swiss Banks.
You're talking about the world's financial system on trial.
Now, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but trust me, that will never happen. Ever.
So, no, there won't be a trial.
The public won't know the truth. And we'll be left to fend for ourselves.
STEPHANIE: I don't understand, Mark.
-Do you want a trial? -NO.
Well, what do you want?
(SNIFFLES) I want my life back.
(PHONE RINGING)
STEPHANIE: We’re not here. Leave a message.
Mom again.
RUTH: Hi, it’s me again.
Your mother.
I don't know why I'm calling.
I feel like such a moron leaving all these messages, begging you.
(SNIFFLES) / don't know.
I miss you. I miss Stephanie, I miss Audrey.
(SIGHS)
lhaven't even seen little Nick. lhaven’t even seen my grandson.
What am I supposed to do, Mark?
(SIGHS) I'm stuck.
I'm so sorry. I’m sorry for what he did.
I don't know what he was thinking. I can ’t even fathom it.
I just don't understand why you're so angry at me.
I know you want me to leave him, but I can'tjust abandon him.
How am I supposed tojust walk out of a 50-year marriage?
He's my lifetime.
He's my whole, entire memory.
I don 't know anything else.
I've never been on my own.
I'm not as brave as you two.
Call me.
(ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPS)
JUDGE: How do you now plead to count one,
the charge of securities fraud, guilty or not guilty?
Guilty.
How do you plead to count two,
the charge of investment advisory fraud, guilty or not guilty?
Guilty.
How do you now plead to count three,
the charge of mail fraud, guilty or not guilty?
Guilty.
-How do you now plead to count four? -Guilty.
-How do you now plead to count ﬁve? -Guilty.
-How do you now plead to count six? -Guilty.
-How do you now plead to count seven? -Guilty.
-How do you now plead to count eight? -Guilty.
-How do you now plead to count nine? -Guilty.
Guilty.
As Mr. Madoff has pled guilty,
he is no longer entitled to the presumption of innocence.
In light of his age, he has incentive to flee.
He has the means to ﬂee
and thus, bail is revoked and the defendant is remanded.
Your Honor, would Your Honor consider, respectfully,
a stay so that we might appeal...
Your request for a stay is denied.
Mr. Madoff Iwill see you at sentencing.
-Sorry, Bernie. -We are adjourned.
(GAVEL BANGS)
MAN: If you are visiting an inmate in the maximum-security wing,
form a single-file line to your right.
Stop here.
Keys.
Turn around.
Open your legs.
BERNIE: In the cell next to me, they got this terrorist.
Some sheikh. I can 't remember his name.
But that's my neighbor. Go ﬁgure.
RUTH: [don't understand why they put you in maximum security.
-Did you finish packing up the apartment? -RUTH: There's not much left to pack.
They're taking everything.
They even said to me,
"We're gonna need your underwear and nightgowns."
-Who said that? -U.S. Marshals.
What would they want your undenivear for?
They're gonna sell it. They're gonna auction it off.
It's unbelievable.
Nothing is off-limits to these people.
RUTH: I don't even like to think about it.
It's so spooky.
Have you spoken to the boys?
No one speaks to me.
Except my sister.
Joan even offered to let me come stay with her in Boca.
-Well, she's your sister. -Yeah, I know,
but considering she and Bob lost everything they had...
It was all with you.
I mean, it meant a lot to me.
Yeah, that was unfortunate.
That's why I was hoping to have those few extra days
to make sure everyone was taken care of.
ljust feel like such a total putz.
I mean, when you don't know what's going on,
you don't even know what to say.
I mean, how am I supposed to explain the Cohmad withdrawals?
You asked me to transfer money from one account to another.
I do it and a few hours later, you tell me it's all a Ponzi scheme.
All these questions and I don't have any answers, Bernie.
Even if you had told me, I'm not sure I would've turned you in.
I don't know what that says about me.
That's the tragedy of it.
REPORTER: Mr. Madoff are you scared you're gonna lose your home?
Mr. Madoff, what do you have to say to all of the people...
Please go away.
STEPHANIE: What the hell is wrong with you?
-Please leave us alone. -STEPHANIE: Can you put the camera down?
Do you feel guilty? Do you feel remorseful?
You feeling like you're scared?
Do you feel any responsibility?
What the hell is wrong with you?
What kind of person chases a family?
REPORTER: You don't have any right to touch my personal...
-I could sue you for shoving me. -Oh, fuck you! Get in line.
Do you enjoy this? Do you enjoy...
STEPHANIE: I don't get it, Mark.
-I don't get it. -What's there to get?
Your first instinct was to abandon us. I don't get that.
I was waiting for you here.
You left his stroller in the middle of the street, Mark.
-It was on the sidewalk. -It doesn't matter.
You just left me to deal with everything.
Do you understand how unfair that is?
This is about me. They want me.
-This isn't about you. -No, this is about all of us.
I... I am sick and tired of you acting like it's not.
-You know... -So what do you want, Steph?
You want a divorce?
Just some acknowledgment.
NEWSCASTER: (ON TV) Financial swindler Bernie Madoff is awaiting sentencing
at the Manhattan Correctional Facility as investigators dig in...
...to see if those who were closest to Madoff...
Great. This is unbelievable.
...what has been called the largest Ponzi scheme ever.
MAN: (ON TV) As we know, Bernie Madoff has continued to maintain
that he and only he perpetuated this crime.
But it's clear the money trail is not real.
CATHERINE: Every day, Mark sends you articles,
things he’s read, things that pissed him off.
It's not fair.
It's not fair to you and it's not fair to me.
I agree. He's stuck.
He keeps going in circles, reading blog after blog. It's unhealthy.
But what do you want me to do, Catherine?
Create a little distance.
Well, that‘d be easier if he wasn't the only family member I have left.
(CAR DOOR SLAMS)
NEWSCASTER: (ON TV) Mark and Andrew Madoff's attorneys
say they are guilty of no crimes,
but authorities and victims are having trouble swallowing...
Andrew fucking Madoff.
How have you been, Reed?
Well, after yourfather fucked us all over, things have been fucking fantastic.
Yeah, lots of job interviews. No one willing to hire me, of course.
Working at BLM for seven years, I guess I'm tainted.
Well, I know it's been tough on all of us, but you‘re a solid trader.
You'll find ajob in no time.
Yeah, I get a lot of questions. Yeah, especially about you, you and Mark.
"So the sons knew, right?
"They were in on it. They had to be, right?"
Reed, when I found out, it was like my head exploded.
ljust...
-Shh. You hear that? -What?
It's the world's tiniest violin playing the world's saddest fucking song.
I understand you're upset...
Yeah, well, how about making it right?
'Cause I was looking at a $450,000 bonus.
A lot of traders were owed bonuses, Reed.
You weren't the only one. We all got screwed.
I thought you were all about family.
Well, what the fuck am I? Am I not family, Andy?
Come on, where's the fucking money? What'd you do with the money?
We all know you stole it. Of course you took it. You're a criminal!
I got fucked over, too!
By my own father! My own father fucked me over!
Yeah, is that your whore? | see you, whore!
-Hey! You... -CATHERINE: Hey!
Hey!
Stop it! Andy, get in the car.
Hey! Jesus, get in the car.
Jesus.
-Asshole. Hey! -REED: Here's yourfucking latke,
-knish or whatever, you fuck. -CATHERINE: Hey!
Fuck you! I know you're in on it!
(CATHERINE GROANS)
MAN 1: (ON TV) The big question is, where did all the money go?
Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee, the liquidator,
is searching for the billions that disappeared
and trying to recover as much as possible from Madoff's remaining assets.
Of all the people that should've known, his brother and his sons,
who worked under the same roof with him, should’ve known.
-One would think so, yes. —Did they know?
MAN 2: My belief is, yes, they knew.
Clearly, they would have to have known what was going on,
-given their own personal transactions... -MARK: Oh, we should've known?
We worked for market-making. He worked for IA.
-How would we have known? -If they turn out to be untouchable,
criminally, do you intend to bankrupt them civilly?
MAN 2: Whether or not they have a criminal problem,
we will pursue them as far as we can pursue them.
And if that leads to bankrupting them, then that's what will happen.
WOMAN: The man sitting in this courtroom robbed me.
He discarded me like roadkill.
What can we possibly say good about Madoff
when he sank so low as to steal from Elie Wiesel,
as if Wiesel hasn’t already suffered enough in his lifetime.
My wife and l are not millionaires.
We worked hard for all our lives and he took our entire life savings.
Mr. Madoff not only defrauded thousands of investors,
he mastered the art of manipulating our government.
The money Madoff stole from my family had been set aside to take care of my brother
because he's gonna need medical assistance for the rest of his life.
If he's attempting to protect his family, he should not be given the opportunity
because we, his victims,
did not have the same opportunity to protect our families.
MAN 1: You have left your family with a legacy of shame.
MAN 2: You have a marriage made in hell, and that is where you are going to return.
MAN 3: I only hope his prison sentence is long enough
that his jail cell becomes his cofﬁn.
MAN 4: May God spare you no mercy.
BERNIE: lam responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain.
I understand that.
I live in a tormented state,
now knowing of all the pain and suffering that I have created.
That's something I will live with for the rest of my life.
People have accused me of being silent and not being sympathetic.
That is not true.
I apologize to my victims.
I will turn and face you.
I'm sorry.
I know that doesn't help.
Your Honor, thank you for listening.
JUDGE: The message must be sent
that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil.
This kind of irresponsible manipulation of the system
takes a staggering human toll.
Mr. Madoff will get what he deserves
and will be punished according to his moral culpabilities.
Mr. Madoff please stand.
It is the judgment of this court that the defendant, Bernard L. Madoff,
shall be and hereby is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 150 years.
(ALL CHEERING)
-What about our money, Bernie? -WOMAN: Yes!
Where's our money?
(GAVEL BANGS)
As a technical matter, the sentence must be expressed in months.
150 years is equivalent to 1,800 months.
We are adjourned.
REPORTER: We ’re standing outside of the Federal Correctional Complex
in Butner, North Carolina, where Bernie Madoff just arrived minutes ago.
We saw Mr. Madoff arrive on a bus with a group of other inmates,
where he will serve his 150—year prison sentence.
Ofﬁcials have said he will be watched carefully
to ensure he is not a danger to himself as he faces the long years ahead.
NEWSCASTER: (ON TV) Visiting hours at the prison are very liberal,
and people close to the Madoffs say his wife Ruth
may well move to North Carolina to be close to her husband.
Fuck you, you asshole. I'm in Florida.
...very much in love,
just like Bonnie was to Clyde, Charlie.
Bonnie robbed banks. Bonnie killed people.
-And I'm Bonnie? -...by going to our blog,
"The World Newser, " at abcnews. com.
How am I Bonnie?
Bonnie was a killer. Bonnie killed people.
And I'm Bonnie?
BERNIE: For 16 years, I kept this secret from my wife, my brother,
my sons.
How I was able to do that and maintain any degree of sanity,
well, that... That worries me when I think about it.
Yeah, you already mentioned that.
(CLEARS THROAT) Yeah, I did.
But while we're on the subject,
you say you wanted to protect your family.
BERNIE: Right.
But, just an example,
what would have happened if at some point before the crisis of '08,
you'd been hit by a bus, you'd dropped dead?
Mark and Andrew would've become the owners
of a firm that was still in the middle
of perpetrating the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.
Except the advisory was a completely separate business,
one in which they had no involvement, so...
But with you dead
and Frank probably willing to swear to anything to save himself,
seems to me the odds are that as owners and lifelong executives,
they'd have gone to jail.
Your sons would be sitting there where you are.
No, well, I protected them.
WOMAN: You couldn't have protected them if you were dead, Bernie.
So who would've been held responsible?
Iwould've been.
WOMAN: They would've been, Bernie.
They would've been held responsible,
which means one of two things is true.
Either they actually were guilty
and accepted the risks,
or you were willing to let your sons go to jail for the crime you committed.
Which is it, Bernie?
I do like jousting with you.
I'm notjousting with you, Bernie.
-Yeah, well... -I'm notjousting with you.
It seems to me like...
Like you‘re refusing
to recognize that hazard
you created for your family.
Notjust the day you were arrested but the hazard that they lived under,
unknowing, for, well, however long
you were operating this fraud.
Eventually, they would be exonerated.
-Period. -WOMAN: How could you have been
so certain of that,
that you were willing to risk it?
Because they were never involved, ever,
and there's no way it's ever gonna be proven othenivise.
So it doesn't matter.
It's a terrible thing that they're going through,
but they never would have been convicted because they couldn't be convicted.
Because they didn't do anything.
Neither did my wife.
Nothing. Zero.
-But you know what you've done... -I know what I've done.
-...has shattered your family. -I take full responsibility for that
and it'll... It'll kill me for the rest of my life.
But...
DIANA: Over the course of the summer and fall of 2009,
the government auctioned off Madoff's property.
The beach house in Montauk...
$9 million.
The penthouse in Manhattan...
$8 million.
The Palm Beach house...
Available for $7.25 million.
The Mercedes-Benz station wagon, yachts and power boats,
Mets jacket, a hodgepodge of personal items...
By the fall of 2009,
Picard had separately collected roughly $1. 5 billion
from the ﬁrm's brokerage and bank accounts,
asset sales, and a few out-of-court settlements.
We filed suit against Ruth Madoff for $44 million.
We have filed a clawback suit against Mark and Andrew Madoff
for the return of $127.5 million.
-(CAMERAS CLICKING) -(INDIST|NCT CHATTER)
You can be in charge of the castle.
You can be in charge of the dresses.
-| get the dresses, right? -|sn't that wig hysterical?
-(BOTH CHUCKLING) -(PHONE CHIMES)
That's great.
Could you watch her for a minute?
STEPHANIE: Mark, anytime we try to move on with our life,
Bernie just ﬁnds a way to drag us back down.
-I'm sick of it. -MARK: I'm sorry.
I tell you, you get angry. I don't tell you, you get angry.
What am I supposed to do?
I don't know. It’s just...
What the fuck is wrong with this guy?
Suing our four-year—old daughter?
-It's insane. -I know, I'm sorry.
I just... I hate that every time
I start to feel normal again, something bad happens.
MARK: Have you checked your text messages?
No.
Oh, my God, he's so cute. (CHUCKLES)
I love you.
[love you, too.
Bye.
(BLINDS CLICKING)
MARK: (SIGHS) Hey, Marty,
I sent you the article. Did you get it?
Anyway, please give me a call back.
Hey, man, it's me.
What, are you away or something?
'Cause I called you earlier today and you didn't answer.
I left a message for Marty and he's not there either.
Like, nobody ever seems to be around.
Everybody's out of town or something.
I'm leaving you another message.
I know I keep leaving you messages, Andrew.
I can't even reach Stephanie. I can't reach anybody!
I'm seriously gonna lose it.
I really am.
I'm, like, trapped in here.
Guess what?
It's me again.
I don't know if you're away with...
Are you away with Catherine?
I mean, where are you guys, anyway?
Have you gone fishing?
It's just, like, ever since she's been in your life,
I can't fucking reach you anymore.
I can't ever talk to you.
You'rejust, like, always fucking on some holiday!
Okay, ljust left you, like,
a 20-minute message and I got cut off.
Andy, Marty,
I don't even know who I'm leaving messages for.
I'm just leaving messages now, you know what I mean?
(YELLS)
We're supposed to just sit around and, like, you know,
with our dicks in our hands, doing nothing?
You know, I've been at this for two years.
Two years. Two years!
I can’t keep going on this way! I have to make a statement.
I gotta make a big statement!
I can't go on like this.
(PHONE DIALING)
Mark, are you there?
Mark, pick up.
AUTOMATED VOICE: Your call has been forwarded
to an automatic voice message system.
At the tone, please record your message.
Mark, ljust tried the house.
Uh, uh, call me.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
RUTH: Come in.
Mom.
What's wrong?
I just got these messages from Mark.
I tried calling the house,
but he's... He's not picking up.
All right, yeah. ljust... ljust pulled up.
I'm going inside.
I'll call you back. All right.
Mark?
(DOG BARKING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
-(BREATH|NG HEAVILY) -(DOG CONTINUES BARKING)
Hey!
Hey, Nicky.
What are you doing, huh?
Wanna come with Papa?
We're gonna go outside. You wanna go out...
(NICK CHUCKLING)
Okay. Grouper!
Gotta get your blanky.
Grouper, come back.
Hey, Nicky, with Papa we're gonna play peek-a-boo.
Grouper, come! Grouper!
Grouper! Grouper, come! Come on, that's a good boy.
That's a good boy. Look at...
Grouper, good.
We're just gonna go outside.
ANDREW: Hello?
It's Marty.
Mark's dead.
WOMAN: Stephanie!
MARTY: He... He hung himself. WOMAN: He's dead.
ANDREW: Has anybody called my mother?
l have to call my mother.
(PHONE RINGING)
RUTH: Andy?
Oh, it's so good to hear your voice, sweetheart.
(SCREAMS) No!
(RUTH SOBBING)
(GLASS SHATTERS)
(CONTINUES SOBBING)
MARTY: / wrote Bernie a letter a week after Mark killed himself.
And I never sent it to him, because they monitor his mail
and I thought they would never, ever give him a letter like this.
Well, here, you can say it on TV. He ’s probably watching.
Well, what I wrote to him was,
"Bernie, while I will not
"send you pictures of your grandchildren,
"there is one picture I do want you to see.
"That last picture of your son, Mark.
"You owe it to his widow,
"his children, his brother, his mother.
"So, here is what I wish for you, Bernie.
"Every time you sit down to eat,
"as you pick up your plastic fork,
"I want you to see your son '3 corpse
”hanging from the rafter directly over your table,
"right in front of you, Bernie.
"So at every meal, you see your son, Mark.
"His white sweat socks are swaying
"ever so gently at your eye level,
"immediately above your food dish.
"And as you look up, Bernie,
"you see...
"You see your ﬁrstborn son hanging there,
"his head at a left-leaning angle,
"looking down at you,
"asking how could you do that to your son,
"who up until two years before his death
"had given you the greatest gift...
"His unconditional love for his father."
WOMAN: Well, [hope he heard that.
-I hope he heard that. -MARTY: Well, he gets free television,
so why shouldn’t he hear it?
Why isn't he in a hole where he belongs?
WOMAN: He says that he is happier in prison
-than he was before. -MARTY: Free meals!
WOMAN: He feels safe in prison. MARTY: His victims
are eating their dinner out of cat food cans.
WOMAN: Then he says, "The average person thinks I robbed widows and orphans.
"/ made wealthy people wealthier." That is not true.
MARTY: Mark... He wrote a note.
The note said,
"Bernie, this is what happens
"when you destroy your sons
"by your life of deceit.
"Fuck you, Bernie. "
-That was Mark's suicide note. -WOMAN: Right.
RUTH: I can't keep coming here.
I want a relationship with Andy,
and he won't see me if I keep coming here.
I can't have it both ways.
BERNIE: No, I understand.
And I can't talk to you anymore.
You can't write to me or call me.
It'll be too hard.
Ruth, all lwant is what's best for you and for the boys.
Boy, Bernie.
Boy.
You were my lifeguard.
I thought you were gonna protect me forever.
Best job I ever had.
I never had to save anybody.
I don't know if it will ever be any different than it feels now.
I don't think after losing a child
things ever get better.
I don't see much of a future for me.
And I don't really care if I have one.
The future's hard.
Yeah, I was sorry to see that People Magazine
used that photo of you and Mark when he was a boy.
I can never forgive you, Bernie.
And yet I'm not angry at you.
I don't know why.
It's a combination of feeling numb and it seeming fruitless.
I don't remember how much I got paid as a lifeguard,
but it was never about the money.
DIANA: In 2013,
I invited Andrew to speak at a writing seminar I conducted at Princeton
under the general theme of writing about con artists.
Andy had just started chemotherapy for the recurrence of lymphoma.
The topic I asked him to think about for the class
was how the media had covered his father's case
and how that affected his life.
STUDENT: I’ve always wondered,
why didn't you go on TV and state your case?
Why didn't you defend yourself?
Well, one of the reasons
I've always felt uncomfortable
about the prospect of going on TV and telling my story
is that I don 't know if I'm that sympathetic a character.
And at the end of the day,
I lived a life of great wealth and privilege.
Um, [traveled the world.
Uh, I wanted for nothing.
All of that was subsidized by my father's victims.
It's hard to tell our story,
Mark's, my mother's, myself, uh,
when there are so many other stories.
You know, my brother killed himself
My mother lost the only man she ever loved,
turned out to be a complete fraud.
But, you know, there were just three of us.
There are thousands of victims.
And, uh...
Any other questions?
Yes.
The father-son relationship is such an important factor in anyone's life.
There must be some part of that relationship with your father
that still exists.
Even after all this,
can you see some point where you could visit him
or talk to him again?
My father is dead to me.
WOMAN: On September 3rd, 2014,
Andrew Madoff died from mantle cell lymphoma.
(PHONE RINGING)
Hi, this is Ruth.
Leave a message after the tone.
(BEEPS)
Hi, Ruth, ljust wanted to...
I know I said I wouldn't call, but ljust...
Okay.
(PHONE DIALING)
(SIGHS)
(PHONE DIALING)
Hi, this is Ruth.
Leave a message after the tone.
(BEEPS)
(PHONE DIALING)
You have reached a number that is no longer in service.
If you feel that you have reached this recording in error,
please check the number and...
BERNIE: Hey, lwas online today
and I'm reading some of the old coverage of me
and I came across this article.
Frankly, it was just ridiculous.
WOMAN: What was the article?
The New York Times interviewed this guy,
a forensic psychologist who worked on the Ted Bundy case.
And this guy, Joe Blow, whom I've never met, never talked to,
don't know from Adam, never seen in my whole entire life,
was going on and on about the similarities between Ted Bundy and myself.
I can see how that comparison would be troubling, but...
Well, there is no comparison.
I mean, how can you compare me to someone
who decapitated women and kept their heads as mementos?
I mean, that's the behavior of a truly, truly evil human being.
I mean, what comparison is there, ever, possibly in that?
And yet the New York Times, the "Newspaper of Record,"
"All the News That's Fit to Print,"
never had anyone say, "This is a preposterous piece of writing,
"especially for the business section."
Well, why do you think they made that comparison?
-You know, when I turned myself in... -Your sons turned you in.
No, no, but I turned myself in.
It was a matter of a few days, so I was gonna do it.
So anyway, when I turned myself in...
It was the height of the whole anti-Wall Street hysteria
and they needed a villain, they needed a face for the whole mess they created.
That face became me, so that‘s...
I don't know, I just...
I don't even wanna think about it.
WOMAN: Think about what?
Well, he killed people, innocent people.
And in my case, I told people, everyone,
"Don't put more than half your money with me.
"You never know. Who the hell knows?
"I mean, one day, I could just go crazy."
But the reality is, people are greedy.
WOMAN: The reality is that not even your warning was true,
and you took their money anyway.
Let me ask you a question.
DO you think I'm a sociopath?