While the Daily News apparently got the scoop on Ruth Madoff's move to Greenwich, Connecticut, the Post is making an attempt to put itself back at the front of the Mrs. Madoff pack by publishing this amazing photograph of her dragging her garbage can with the headline: "Ruth Madoff’s trashy new life." more ›

Months after appearing on television to insist that she had cut off contact with her infamous husband, Ruth Madoff is back in the news. The Daily News reports that she "has not talked to her spouse for a good six months — about the same time that she quietly relocated from Boca Raton, Fla., to Old Greenwich, Conn., to spend more time with her family." more ›

Another week, another book about Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff! Tomorrow, a new book about the sociopathic man and his family, Truth and Consequence: Life Inside the Madoff Family, by Laurie Sandell—with cooperation from his Ruth Madoff and son Andrew Madoff—will be released. Copies have been obtained in advance by media outlets—the Associated Press got one on Thursday and the Post found one. Revelations include how Madoff was obsessed with making sure his office blinds were perfectly lined up, he sent his son a suicidal-seeming text message, and he was a real charmer with his son's fiancee. more ›

On the heels of his daughter-in-law's damning memoir and his wife's interview with 60 Minutes, Bernard Madoff is effectively in the midst of a PR blitz, since he's granted an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters. ABC News reports, "He said he is relieved to be free from years of fear he'd be discovered as a fraud and finally has overcome thoughts of suicide. Repeatedly throughout the interview he told Walters that he was guilty of the crimes that put him in prison, saying 'I deserved to be punished. I deserved to go to jail.'" more ›

In a new interview with 60 Minutes airing this Sunday, Ruth Madoff claims that she and disgraced husband Bernie Madoff attempted to commit suicide together, shortly after his massive Ponzi scheme was revealed. In the first interview she has given about the Madoff crimes, Ruth told Morley Safer, "I don't know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous what was happening. We had terrible phone calls. Hate mail, just beyond anything and I said '...I just can't go on anymore.'" more ›

Has Ruth Madoff finally decided that loyalty to her imprisoned, multi-billion dollar Ponzi-scheming husband is less important than a relationship with her son? The Daily Mail says that she hasn't been to the federal prison in North Carolina to visit Bernard Madoff for six months because "she allegedly seeks reconciliation with her son," Andrew. The Madoffs' other son Mark killed himself last year, apparently distraught over the fallout from his father's scheme and its effect on his own life. more ›

Bernard Madoff is on a roll! After recently chatting with the NY Times about his multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme, Inmate #61727054 at Butner Federal Correctional Complex collect-called New York magazine writer Steve Fishman and said, "I don’t have that much money in my commissary account," before railing, "Does anybody want to hear that I had a successful business and did all these wonderful things for the industry? And got all these awards? And so did my family? I did all of this during the legitimate years. No. You don’t read any of that." more ›

Last December, the oldest son of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff killed himself in his Soho apartment, emotionally distraught over the cloud his father's dealings had left over his life. Mark Madoff had been estranged from his now-imprisoned father and mother Ruth, and now it's reported that Ruth Madoff was "turned away" from his memorial "by his unforgiving widow, Stephanie." more ›

The Madoff saga will never, ever, end. The newest wrinkle in the story comes from two of Bernie's assistants, former operations chief Daniel Bonventre and former aide Annette Bongiorno, who are trying to wiggle out of prison as the Feds continue to build a case against them and the remaining Madoffs. more ›

With the Madoffs in the news lately after Mark Madoff's tragic suicide and a flurry of lawsuits, Post checks in with how Bernard Madoff's wife's sister and brother-in-law are doing. "Ruth Madoff's 73-year-old sister Joan Roman and her husband, Robert Roman, 76, last year began a business called Need-a-Ride out of their modest Boca Raton condo after their investments in Bernie's fund were wiped out." The septuagenerian couple "[uses] their own cars to ferry passengers to airports, delis, and malls." A neighbor said, "They lost everything. They almost lost their house. They do odds and ends to get by." more ›

After Mark Madoff committed suicide by hanging himself with a dog leash from a pipe in his Soho apartment—with his two-year-old son sleeping in another room—on Saturday, more details about his recent state of mind have emerged. A friend tells the Daily News that the 46-year-old son of the infamous Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff was stressed out about not being able to find a job and impending lawsuits. And another family friend claims that Ruth Madoff is blaming Bernie for their oldest son's death; Ruth allegedly believes that Mark "would not have died if it weren't for what [Bernie] had done." more ›

Yesterday morning, the body of Mark Madoff was found hanging from a dog leash in his Soho apartment, while his two-year-old son was sleeping in another room. While no note was found, it's believed the 46-year-old son of infamous Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff committed suicide, based on desperate e-mails he sent to his lawyer and wife at 4 a.m. A Daily News source said of a message to his wife, "It basically sounded like he couldn't take it anymore. At one point he said something like, 'You'll have a better life if I'm not around ...I love you,'" and suggested she and their kids "would be better off without 'this' hanging over them all, forever. He all but said he was going to kill himself." more ›

After being indicted on charges of conspiracy, fraud, and falsifying documents for allegedly participating in her old boss's massive Ponzi scheme, former Bernard Madoff Investments employee Joann Crupi went free after posting $5 million bail. According to the Post, the 49-year-old NJ resident "will secure the bond with $2 million in cash and assets." She is also surrendering her passport and will be on electronic monitoring. One victim was thrilled that Crupi and another Madoff employee, secretary Annette Bongiorno, were arrested, but she wondered why Madoff's relatives were still walking free, "But what about Peter Madoff? What about Ruth and the sons? Do you mean to say they didn't know?" more ›

Could it be? Is the wife of the world's biggest Ponzi schemer (to date) really trying to give back to the masses by...doing charity volunteer work? According to the Post, Ruth Madoff, "the formerly monied Manhattan matron," spends much time in "south Florida, where she bunks with relatives and apparently does God's work, delivering meals to the homebound, The Post has learned. The former billionaire's wife has been reduced to driving around in a 14-year-old clunker, with a parking placard in the back seat that reads, 'homebound delivery volunteer driver.'" more ›

Today, Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers are helping the U.S. Marshals sell of items belonging to Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff and his wife Ruth. You can see the various lots here—there's couple's jewelry, clothing knickknacks, and whatever else the Marshals found in their three homes. In other words, it's slightly more high-end than the average yard sale. more ›

Last week, the U.S. Marshals Service put Ponzi king Bernard Madoff's Montauk beach house on the market for $8.75 million—and now his Upper East Side penthouse duplex is officially for sale too. The apartment was seized in July and the Post reports it's on sale "for $7.5 million or more" with "its contents — expensive and otherwise — [to] be separately auctioned off." more ›

Ruth Madoff may have signed a deal with the feds, giving up her homes and assets in exchange for $2.5 million, but does that mean she can keep a property tax rebate check for one of those homes? According to the Palm Beach Post, since the Madoffs' Palm Beach mansion was overvalued, the couple was issued a $13,800 rebate: "Ruth Madoff recently sent the uncashed refund check back to Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon, with a letter dated Aug. 23 asking that it be reissued in her name alone." A Florida tax law expert, Richard Rampelli, surmised, "She wants to have unfettered access to the money, clearly." Hey, Metrocards are expensive! Her attorney claims that the money will go "where it is supposed to go" and points out she is "obliged to assist the government in recovering any covered assets," but Rampelli thinks she could have just given the check to the government to deal with. At any rate, the check will not be reissued in Ruth's name alone—Palm Beach County Tax Collector "said the law requires her to write rebate checks to whoever paid the original bill - and in this case, both Madoffs' names were on the original check." more ›

It's the battle of the books about Bernard Madoff! Sure, there are a lot of them—last week, the NY Times' Michiko Kakutani reviewed two of 'em, one by an investigative reporter and the other by a journalist—but neither probably delve into details about the Ponzi schemer's, uh, equipment. The Daily News has excerpts of Sheryl Weinstein's Madoff tell-all—Weinstein says she had an affair with him—including "When we made love, I was on fire" and "This man was not well-endowed." more ›

Now that Sheryl Weinstein, former CFO of Jewish organization Hadassah, has gone and written a book about her supposed affair with Ponzi schemer/current jailbird Bernard Madoff, the NY Times asked Ruth Madoff's lawyer for comment. Peter Chavkin obliged and said his client, who has been married to Madoff for decades, knew nothing of the "alleged affair," and noted "[the allegation] stands as a powerful reminder, to those who say Ruth must have known of her husband’s criminal scheme, that there are some things that some spouses — however close they are — do not share with each other." The Times also wonders about the ethics issues, given Weinstein's role as CFO for Hadassah—investing its money with Madoff—her supposed relationship with him and her decision to invest all her family's money with Madoff. Weinstein said at a court hearing earlier this year, "Four years ago we refinanced our mortgage and gave the excess cash to Bernie Madoff"—so they are now homeless—and emphasized she was testifying because she "felt it was important for somebody who was personally acquainted with Madoff to speak. My family and I are not anonymous people to him. He knows my husband’s name is Rob and my son’s name is Eric." more ›

Some more Ruth Madoff news, courtesy the Post: The Ponzi schemer's wife "owes an eye-popping $600,000 in tax penalties and interest... Under a spending agreement filed in Manhattan Bankruptcy Court, the wife of jailed Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff will be able to spend money only on settling that bill, legal fees and a 'reasonable' amount on living expenses." So we suppose that is coming from the $2.5 million she was allowed to keep. The Post says this "stems" from a deal she made after being sued for almost $45 million, "Ruth has to provide trustee Irving Picard with a 'complete monthly accounting' listing 'any and all income or other assets received,' along with all of her purchases over $100"—like flying to NC to see Bernie in prison—"and her current bank balance." In lesser Ruth news, there's a "Save Ruth" Cafe Press store. more ›

Here's another update about Bernard Madoff's condition in federal prison, courtesy of the lawyers representing the investment faker's victims. Only this update paints a less rosy picture; while attorney Joseph Cotchett told ABC News, "[Madoff] looked pretty good and seems to be working out. He looked a lot better than he has in some months since I've seen photographs of him," today Cotchett told the CBS Early Show, "Look, it's a prison. He's suffering the immediate throes of being thrust into this. It's a new world to him. It's not pleasant, as it shouldn't be. The man is distraught." That sounds about right, but Madoff has time to adjust. more ›

A lawyer for the $65 billion-dollar Ponzi scheme man says that there will be no appeal for 150-year sentence handed down to Bernard Madoff last week. Ira Lee Sorkin said, "The decision has been made, and that's it." Next up for Madoff is finding out where he'll spend the rest of his life—he requested to be sent to the Otisville federal prison. CNN Money notes that it's "70 miles northwest of New York City, where he used to reside in a $7 million apartment, ...and one of the closest medium-security prisons to New York City, where Madoff has family." Also, there's a "prison camp, textile factory, a full-time rabbi," and, according to a prison consultant, "one of the largest and most active religious programs for Jewish inmates in the Bureau of Prisons." more ›

Now that Ruth Madoff has settled with the feds—giving up her various homes and assets in exchange for $2.5 million—the feds have returned her passport to her. Unfortunately, that chateau of hers was seized in March! Madoff had to give up her passport when she put up the bail for her Ponzi-scheming husband Bernard, who is now serving a 150-year sentence. The debate rages on whether Ruth knew about Bernie's dealings; in NY Magazine's "Poor Ruth" feature this week, some point to how she worshipped her husband—"She would tell me all the time, ‘Don’t you think he’s fabulous, don’t you think he’s great?’"—perhaps to the point of being blind while others say, "He conferred with her on everything. The idea that she didn’t know anything is laughable." more ›

A couple more details from the U.S. Marshals' seizure of Bernard and Ruth Madoff's $7 million East 64th Street penthouse. According to the AP, "Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's wife asked to stay in her $7 million Manhattan penthouse and wanted to take a fur coat with her before federal marshals seized the property. A federal official informed of Ruth Madoff's departure from her apartment Thursday tells The Associated Press that when marshals said she couldn't take her coat, she left carrying just a straw bag." However, her lawyer tells the Post, "This cheap effort to smear Ruth Madoff is meritless. And it was she who forfeited the furs last Friday as the publicly filed stipulation states." And the marshals do say she left voluntarily with all the apartment's contents there, including "$18,000 worth of bedding and $382,000 in rugs and curtains." more ›

Guess Ruth Madoff is on the streets—the U.S. Marshals have seized her and her husband's East 64th Street penthouse apartment. The AP reports, "U.S. Marshal Joseph Guccione said Thursday that the marshals were at the property pursuant to a court order." Newsday explains that Ruth Madoff gets $2.5 million as soon as she vacates the Upper East Side duplex, which is worth $7 million, so maybe that's why the seizure happened so soon after her agreement giving up her three homes last week. However, it's been tough for her to find an apartment—apparently landlords aren't interested in having such a notorious tenant. Update: The U.S. Marshals say that they arrived at noon and that Ruth Madoff left all personal property, "We have possession of their furniture and everything in it." Her lawyer said, "Ruth moved out voluntarily pursuant to prior agreements we had reached with the government," but did not offer Madoff's forwarding address. more ›

Ruth Madoff, the "betrayed and confused" wife of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, may be in the clear—at least according to the Post's sources, "Federal prosecutors decided not to criminally charge Ruth because they lack evidence that she was either aware of or involved in Bernard Madoff's scam -- which swindled thousands of people and charities out of billions of dollars, said two sources familiar with the case." Of course, should they find anything, the feds could go after her, but a source says, "In the deal, she lost everything. She's lost everything she holds dear. She's lost her husband. She has no friends...She's a beaten woman. There's nothing left on the carcass to take." The carcass even has to take the subway! The press is still camped outside the Upper East Side penthouse she will have to give up—the Daily News says, "She jumped out of a cab in the middle of a rainstorm at 6:45 p.m. and sprinted into the lobby, nearly slipping in her haste." more ›

After her husband was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, Ruth Madoff issued a statement. It begins, "I am breaking my silence now, because my reluctance to speak has been interpreted as indifference or lack of sympathy for the victims of my husband Bernie’s crime, which is exactly the opposite of the truth... I am embarrassed and ashamed. Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused." Her full statement is after the jump; earlier, Bernard Madoff told the court that she cries herself to sleep every night. more ›

Now it's clear why Ruth Madoff was riding the subway earlier this week: The Ponzi schemer's wife has come to an agreement with federal prosecutors, leaving her with $2.5 million as she must sell her and her husband's $7 million Upper East Side penthouse, $11 million Palm Beach house, and $3 million Montauk house and many other assets such as yachts. The homes and other assets will be sold, with proceeds going to victims of Bernard Madoff's $65 billion fraud. more ›