April 3, 2009 · 4:48 pm
My Comment: I love the quote from the US Marshal “”I’ve never seen so much bull in my life,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Barry Golden said shortly after entering the house. “Pictures of bulls, bull statues, even bulls on clothing. There’s a lot of bull in the house.”
By JANE MUSGRAVE
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
PALM BEACH — Bernard Madoff’s $9.3 million Palm Beach mansion is now in the hands of the U.S. government, along with two of his boats and a Mercedes.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, about a dozen agents from the U.S. Marshals Service descended on the five-bedroom, seven-bath house along the Intracoastal Waterway.
“I’ve never seen so much bull in my life,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Barry Golden said shortly after entering the house. “Pictures of bulls, bull statues, even bulls on clothing. There’s a lot of bull in the house.”
The bull theme even extended to the boats seized earlier Wednesday. A 55-foot yacht moored at a Fort Lauderdale marina is named Bull. A 24-foot speedboat taken from a warehouse in Palm City is named Little Bull.
A bull can refer to a person who buys stocks or securities expecting them to grow in value.
Golden said agents would not remove anything from the mansion. They shot photographs and video of the contents, which included everything from big-screen TVs to books to a Mercedes with a flat tire in the garage. The locks were changed and the alarms activated.
Ultimately, everything is to be sold to compensate the thousands of victims of Madoff’s estimated $65 billion Ponzi scheme. The 70-year-old ex-financier is in jail after admitting last month that he masterminded what is likely the biggest investment scam in U.S. history. He faces up to 150 years in prison when he is sentenced June 16.
Some victims, however, are worried that the scam might not be over.
The boats and the house are actually owned by Madoff’s 67-year-old wife, Ruth, according to sales records. She recently got a $25,000 homestead exemption on the Palm Beach mansion she bought in 1994.
Attorneys representing some of Madoff’s victims have said they fear Ruth Madoff will try to use the tax exemption to protect it from seizure. Florida law protects homesteads.
Madoff’s lawyer, Ira Sorkin, seemed to indicate otherwise.
“We have no objection to the seizure or to the assets being sold,” he said. “The proceeds of the sale will be put aside for discussion at a later date.”
Ruth Madoff has her own attorney, Peter Chavkin, who could not be reached for comment.
The Madoff estate holds an infamous place in Palm Beach history as the one-time home of Peter and Roxanne Pulitzer. It was the center of activity during the Pulitzers’ often tumultuous marriage. Lurid tales of drug abuse and ménages à trois catapulted their 1982 divorce trial onto the front pages of newspapers worldwide.
Steven Rubin, a Boca Raton attorney who specializes in real estate law, said Ruth Madoff can try to convince a judge that her right to the property should be protected because she was a victim of her husband’s scheme.
“They can’t just take it,” he said. “She has due process rights.”
Defense attorneys have indicated they may try to let her keep the couple’s $7 million Manhattan penthouse, as well as about $62 million in securities.
U.S. attorneys plan to seize the Madoffs’ property around the globe. In addition to the penthouse, assets include: a $1 million chalet and two boats in France; a $3 million home on Long Island; a bank account of Ruth Madoff’s that contains $17 million; and municipal bonds worth an estimated $45 million.
Prosecutors are also seeking evidence that the Madoffs’ two sons may have profited. They are asking for promissory notes showing that Madoff lent $9 million to his son Andrew and $22 million to his son Mark, according to court records.
Other items on the forfeiture list include $2.6 million worth of jewelry owned by Ruth Madoff, a Steinway piano valued at $39,000 and silverware valued at $65,000.
Hustlenomics: Adventures in running OPM (Other People’s Money) 