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'F— my victims. I carried them for 20 years': New York magazine profiles Bernie Madoff's life inside
By Melissa Whitworth World Last updated: June 7th, 2010
That’s right. That charming quote comes from New York magazine, whose reporter Steve Fishman has just written about life inside prison for the world’s most infamous Ponzi scheme investor:
In prison, he crafted his own version of events… Madoff explained the trap he was in. ‘People just kept throwing money at me,’ Madoff related to a prison consultant who advised him on how to endure prison life. ‘Some guy wanted to invest, and if I said no, the guy said, ‘What, I’m not good enough?’ ’ One day, Shannon Hay, a drug dealer who lived in the same unit in Butner as Madoff, asked about his crimes. ‘He told me his side. He took money off of people who were rich and greedy and wanted more,’ says Hay, who was released in December. People, in other words, who deserved it.
Another prisoner who’d spent time with Madoff had seen a 60 Minutes devoted to his crimes. Admiringly, the prisoner commented that he’d cheated his clients out millions of dollars. “No, billions,†Madoff corrected him.
Fishman’s piece is fascinating because it details Madoff’s unguarded moments, talking to other prisoners. He has nothing to lose now he’s inside, serving 150 years. As the headline says: Bernie Madoff is free at last.
EDIT: Changed long link to named link to prevent horizontal scrolling. -Gaillo