Madoff: Brilliance Not Necessary When Lying To SEC

For your listening pleasure: The Massachusetts Secretary of State's office released audio (after the jump) of Bernard Madoff telling hedge fund Fairfield Greenwich chief risk officer Amit Vijayvergiya in 2005 how to deal with the SEC when they might come snooping around, "You know, you don't have to be too brilliant with these guys, because you don't have to be." First rule of Bernie's Ponzi Club: You do not know about the Ponzi Club. Madoff said Fairfield Greenwich shouldn't worry about how he operated, "You don't want to have that information because ... the commission, when they ask questions, they try and draw out information. The less that you know how we execute ... the better you are." He recommended saying that since he's been around for 45 years, he's essentially totally trustworthy! Madoff added, "They ask you a zillion different questions and we look at them sometimes and we laugh, and we say, 'Are you guys writing a book?'" And he says of needing to deal with another phone call, "I'm sorry. If I get any more solicitations for charity, I'm going to kill myself."