Trustee Sues Ruth Madoff for $44M

Ship sinks, can rats be far behind?

(NEWSER) - The first scam has emerged in an apparent bid for compensation from the operators of crippled cruise liner Costa Concordia. A woman and her boyfriend were arrested in Hungary after falsely reporting two people missing on the ship, according to officials. The scheme was spotted by a New York lawyer who is representing six Hungarian survivors from the wreck. He became suspicious when he was contacted by the woman, who asked how much money she could expect for her missing daughter and granddaughter—and kept modifying her story, reports ABC News . More»

Eight employees got disciplined, however

(NEWSER) - SEC staffers managed to miss Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme for more than a decade despite numerous warnings, but that is apparently not a fireable offense. The agency disciplined eight employees involved in the case, with the most severe punishment being a 30-day suspension coupled with a demotion, reports the Washington Post . The others got a range of lesser penalties, including pay cuts and, in one case, only a "counseling memo." More»

Ruth, Andrew open up to '60 Minutes'

(NEWSER) - Almost three years ago, Bernie Madoff turned to his wife and said, “I have a confession to make: I’ve been running a Ponzi scheme,” Ruth Madoff recalled on 60 Minutes last night. Son Andrew remembers his mother’s response: “What’s a Ponzi scheme?” Once she realized what was going on, however, Ruth says she was “paralyzed” and remembers little more of what her husband said. Brother Mark, who later committed suicide, “stormed out of the room,” Andrew says; even so, Bernie then went back to his office and, later that night, brought his wife to a company holiday party. The next morning, the FBI took him away. More»

Imperial Bernie created misery all around him

(NEWSER) - A new book about Bernie Madoff's family is hitting bookstores tomorrow and depicting a miserable, greedy, vain clan of epic proportions. Here are highlights from the New York Post 's rundown of Truth and Consequences, by Laurie Sandell with cooperation from Ruth Madoff and her son Andrew:

• Bernie. A neat freak who dominated Ruth, he fooled around on her for 16 years and sexually harassed the wives and girlfriends of both his sons. With one sitting close enough to hear, he complimented her body but remarked that "she could have been heavier on top."

She says she and Bernie tried to kill themselves after story broke

(NEWSER) - Ruth Madoff makes a jarring admission to 60 Minutes, saying she and husband Bernie attempted suicide with pills after his Ponzi scheme unraveled, reports CBS News . "I don't know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous what was happening," she tells Morley Safer. "We had terrible phone calls. Hate mail, just beyond anything and I said, '...I just can't go on anymore.'" More»