October 31, 2011
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Ruth Madoff, wife of disgraced Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff, and her surviving son, Andrew, appeared on the "Today" show Monday to discuss Ruth's revealing interview on "60 Minutes."
Although pressed by host Matt Lauer, Ruth and Andrew maintain that they knew nothing about Bernie's nefarious business. Watch the interview.
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As for the elder Madoffs' suicide pact, Lauer told Ruth and Andrew that he received a call from Bernie in prison, who said he lied to the NY Times when he said, "I never thought of taking my life, it's just not the way I am." Bernie confessed he and Ruth indeed swallowed pills in an effort to kill themselves.
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October 28, 2011
Candid Confessions
Ruth Madoff recently said she and husband Bernie tried to commit suicide on Christmas Eve over the $60-billion scandal that rocked the financial world.
The most hated woman in New York told "60 Minutes" (airing Sunday) that she and Bernie swallowed a bunch of pills, even though Bernie told the NY Times earlier this year, "I never thought of taking my life, it's just not the way I am."
October 27, 2011
Candid Confessions
Ruth Madoff, wife of disgraced financier and Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff, revealed to "60 Minutes" that she and her husband attempted suicide together, about two weeks after his 2008 arrest.
"I don't know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous what was happening," Ruth Madoff said to reporter Morley Safer. "We had terrible phone calls. Hate mail, just beyond anything and I said, 'I just can't go on anymore.'"
July 14, 2009
Rumor Control
Convicted felon Bernie Madoff reportedly hired his very own personal prison shopper to find a cushy lockup in which to serve his 150-year sentence.
It seems to have worked. The Ponzi-schemer was shipped this morning from the Manhattan Correctional facility to Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina.
Federal sentencing attorney Alan Ellis told ABC news, Madoff "hit the inmate lottery" with Butner's medium security lockup. Ellis characterizes the facility as "one of the crown jewels of the federal prison system."
June 29, 2009
Rumor Control
Bernie Madoff, 71, the man who swindled more than $65 billion from his clients, was sentenced to 150 years in prison today.
A federal judge ordered Madoff's wife Ruth, 68, to give up her Manhattan apartment, worth $7 million, and to sell off the family's beach houses in Long Island and Palm Beach, Florida.
March 30, 2009
Rumor Control
He cheated thousands of Americans out of their life savings, but did Bernie Madoff also cheat on the person closest to him -- his wife, Ruth?
Madoff isn't commenting from behind bars, so "Extra" can't confirm the rumors, but the NY Daily News reports that the Ponzi schemer had at least one extramarital affair.
Yes, he's screwed a lot of people.
March 20, 2009
As Seen On Extra
Mrs. Madoff -- the woman behind swindler Bernie -- attempted to pick up some groceries in NYC on Thursday night. Paparazzi caught up with Ruth at the store, prompting the deposed Ponzi Queen to scurry home empty-handed!
Ruth, who has a reported $93 million in assets (or other people's former assets) isn't evoking any sympathy from her husband's victims -- one of them, blogger Alexandra Penney, even compared her to Adolf Hitler's wife! "I don't know what Ruth Madoff knew," Penney told "Extra," adding, "What did Eva Braun know?"
Bernie is currently awaiting his June sentencing in lockdown.
March 16, 2009
Rumor Control
Rumor has it that the feds are going after Bernie Madoff's assets, but is it true?
You can bank on that rumor! With the Ponzi scheme operator behind bars and his wife Ruth and other family members under investigation, there's a run on the couple's frozen assets. The feds are targeting a long list of luxury items owned by the Madoffs -- including $65K in cutlery, a piano worth $40K and $2.5 million in jewelry (Madoff was caught attempting to mail off an assortment of luxury watches last month). His NYC penthouse is said to be worth $7 million.
Madoff pled guilty last week to a laundry list of financial crimes and is in jail awaiting sentencing. He faces up to 150 years for his role in the multi-billion-dollar scam.
"Extra" has obtained a document detailing the government's notice of intent to seek forfeiture of Madoff's assets. Check it out here!
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