Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

More Crime & Courts Stories»

Madoff HQ Was 'Coke-Fueled Animal House'

Ponzi kingpin now sharing cell with drug offender

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 21, 2009 2:58 AM CDT

(Newser) – Bernie Madoff ran the druggiest, most decadent securities fraud in town, according to court papers filed yesterday. Madoff's offices were so awash in cocaine—paid for with investors' money—that it was nicknamed "the North Pole," and the firm hosted drug-fueled parties featuring topless waitresses, according to a lawsuit filed by swindled investors. Nuggets about Madoff's precipitous fall from the high life are tucked throughout the 276-page document seeking restitution from Madoff, family members and other financial entities who knew bout the scam, according to the suit.

The suit contrasts Madoff's luxurious former lifestyle with his somewhat drabber present-day existence. Madoff shares a cell with a 21-year-old drug offender and eats pizza cooked by a child molester, the New York Daily News reports. His jailhouse pals include mob boss Carmine Persico and convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, according to the lawsuit, which cites several interviews with unspecified sources.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Why is this man smiling? ( AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)

The joker. (AP Photo/Illustration by Darrow for New York Magazine)

Bernard Madoff poses on the Wall Street trading floor in 1999 when he was living the high life. (AP Photo/The New York Times, Ruby Washington)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Employees described it as a wild, fast-talking, drug-using office culture. - Lawsuit filed against Bernard Madoff

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 7 comments

NxBigmouthery

Oct 22, 2009 12:03 PM CDT

He gets pizza? He should be on gruel...with urine.

cochiserocks

Oct 22, 2009 1:52 AM CDT

Co-dependancy at its most lucrative!

cementhead

Oct 21, 2009 9:42 AM CDT

Madoff and mob bosses like Persico won't have any trouble finding more blow on the inside either. These guys are probably having a laugh in there. By the time they reach a minimum security facility, it's not a scary place at all. Here in Canada these people are living in little bungalows and go fishing during the day and cook prime rib for dinner. Lots of guitar playing and conjugal visits. One famous criminal even raised horses while in the jug. If there was no violence involved in their crime, the warden is forced by law to release the prisoner after serving 1/6 th of the sentence. That'll teach 'em !!!

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

New York Daily News (Source Grid »)
ABC News (Source Grid »)

Crime & Courts

cocaine • lawsuit • Ponzi scheme • securities fraud • Bernard Madoff • Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities

More Newser Stories

SEC Not Firing Anyone for Missing Madoff's Scheme

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»

Bernie and I Attempted Suicide: Ruth Madoff

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»

Mets' Owners Won't Lose All Their Madoff Money

Judge gives partial victory to both sides in lawsuit

(NEWSER) - The New York Mets' owners may have to return some of $300 million in profits they made dealing with Bernie Madoff, but their $700 million principal is probably safe. A judge has decided that for trustee Irving Picard to pursue the Mets owners' principal investment, he must prove that they were "willfully blind" to the fraudulent nature of Madoff's enterprise, the Wall Street Journal reports. The ruling could make it harder for Picard to win back large sums from others. More»

'Amish Bernie Madoff' Busted

Ohio man accused of running $16.8m Ponzi scheme

(NEWSER) - We've had the Bernie Madoff of campaign treasurers , so now meet the Amish Madoff. A 77-year-old man in Ohio is accused of scamming thousands of investors in 29 states, mostly his fellow Amish, out of $16.8 million. Prosecutors say Monroe Beachy ran a Ponzi scheme for decades, telling investors he would invest in safe securities, but instead putting their money in riskier ones and sending them false account statements, ABC reports. Beachy, who declared bankruptcy earlier this year, faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted. More»

Madoff: I'm a 'Human Piñata'

Thinks he doesn't deserve to die in prison

(NEWSER) - There are probably at least a few former investors who wish this was literal: Bernie Madoff says the judge in his Ponzi scheme trial made him the "human piñata of Wall Street" when he dished out a 150-year sentence. Madoff tells the New York Times Judge Denny Chin's ruling was excessive. "Maybe the judge felt, ‘Well, he’s 70 years old, so even if I give him 20 years, he’s going to be 90 years old,’" says Madoff. “But quite frankly, there’s a big difference with dying in prison, you know, and dying outside with your family." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Madoff HQ Was 'Coke-Fueled Animal House'