ME: Madoff Friend Picower Died Of Heart Attack

The Palm Beach medical examiner's office says that Jeffry Picower, who allegedly took in $7 billion from friend Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, died by a drowning that was caused by a massive heart attack. ABC News reports, "[Dr. Michael] Bell told ABC News that the toxicology results will take ten weeks and if there is anything found that could have contributed to Picower's death he will amend the death certificate."

Picower's body was discovered at his Palm Beach mansion by his wife yesterday afternoon. ABC News also has the 911 call she made—Barbara Picower is heard crying, "He's at the bottom of the pool." A rescue worker said, "There was a 15 minute window from the time that she saw him actually conscious and swimming in the pool until she went back out and saw that he was not responding and that he had actually gone to the bottom of the pool." The NY Times reports, "William D. Zabel, a family lawyer, said that Mr. Picower, who was 67, had a history of 'cardiac issues' and had Parkinson’s disease."

Picower was a Wall Street investor and philanthropist. When Madoff's scheme unraveled, the trustee in charge of tracking down Madoff's assets sued Picower for billions, saying he should have known Madoff was running a scam, since his returns were as high as 950% one year. The Picowers had told the Times, in written answers to questions, "We always have been private people, and having all this play out in the media has taken a big toll on our health... We feel stunned, betrayed, angry, sickened, devastated." Their lawyer said they had initiated settlement talks with the trustee, as well.