Inside Madoff’s ‘Penthouse Prison’
On Friday, the ABC News show “20/20,” aired videos of a polo shirt-clad Bernard Madoff, holed up in his Upper East Side “penthouse prison” — using his MacBook laptop computer, a bottle of sparkling water at his side.
In the segment, former Madoff employee Nader Ibrahim said Madoff’s sons and brother ran the business while Madoff traveled the world for months at a time via private jet. This statement contradicted Madoff’s account that he acted alone in perpetrating the multibillion-dollar fraud of which he stands accused.
Also on Friday, Irving Picard — the court-appointed trustee responsible for liquidating the assets of Madoff’s company — spoke before a group of Madoff investors in Manhattan. The New York Times reported that Picard told the group of creditors that there is no known documentation that, during the 13 years leading up to Madoff’s arrest, the trader bought or sold any of the securities or Treasury bills reflected on clients’ statements.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
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