# Bernie Madoff is dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 14, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977 "2021-04-14T15:10:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/1 "2021-04-14T15:10:59Z")
Died about 30 miles from where I live. I met a lawyer who saw him in prison. > **[Bernie Madoff, infamous Ponzi schemer, has died | CNN Business](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/14/business/bernie-madoff-dead/index.html)** > > Bernard Madoff, whose name became synonymous with financial fraud, died while serving a 150-year sentence in Federal Prison. He was 82 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/2 "2021-04-14T15:23:40Z")
(Derisive snort) I knew our joke of a justice system wouldn’t make him serve all 150 years. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/3 "2021-04-14T15:24:27Z")
I predict a damn small group of mourners. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/4 "2021-04-14T15:28:05Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I predict a damn small group of mourners. - I/m sure there are several layers of mourners below them. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/5 "2021-04-14T15:45:51Z")
The media should not be covering this. (Not a dig at the OP.) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/6 "2021-04-14T15:51:55Z")
my crocodile is becoming dehydrated ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/7 "2021-04-14T16:03:09Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > The media should not be covering this. Why not? “Criminal dies in prison” is good for deterrence. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/8 "2021-04-14T16:13:12Z")
Then that should be the headline. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/9 "2021-04-14T16:17:30Z")
It is. The headline linked in the OP does not say “Benie Madoff, noted philanthropist”. The “in prison” part is in the first sentence of the article, if it were in any doubt. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/10 "2021-04-14T16:24:04Z")
Not to hijack the thread, but I meant that literally. The headline should be “Criminal dies in prison,” or something similarly obscure. His name should not appear, except maybe as a footnote in the main body. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/11 "2021-04-14T16:30:21Z")
What do you imagine that would achieve? You’re trying to draw some parallel to mass murderers whose names hit the headlines only because of a killing spree. But Bernie Madoff is _already_ a very well known name, a name that everyone associates with the extremes of white collar criminality. What would be achieved by omitting his name to produce a cryptic headline that would mean absolutely nothing to anyone unless they then read the article to _discover_ the name? Whatever happened to that scumbag Bernie Madoff? He died in prison. That’s something people want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/12 "2021-04-14T16:34:12Z")
Nobody knows for sure when his scam started , he said 1987 but other people said it went back to the 70s. There was a guy who reported him to the SEC for the scam but they never seemed interested in looking into him until he confessed in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/13 "2021-04-14T16:35:29Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > The headline should be “Criminal dies in prison,” or something similarly obscure. His name should not appear, except maybe as a footnote in the main body. Drudge has “Madoff in Hell.” Is that better? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/14 "2021-04-14T16:38:27Z")
In no way meaning to minimize his crimes, but it does amaze me that people could sniff out the bullshit sooner than they ultimately did. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/15 "2021-04-14T16:40:02Z")
A pyramid of mourners? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/16 "2021-04-14T16:41:26Z")
Did that joke need an explanation? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/17 "2021-04-14T16:46:21Z")
This is the guy who knew it was a scam > **[Harry Markopolos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Markopolos)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Harry M. Markopolos (born October 22, 1956) is an American former securities industry executive and a forensic accounting and financial fraud investigator. > From 1999 to 2008, Markopolos uncovered evidence that suggested that Bernie Madoff's wealth management business was a huge Ponzi scheme. In 2000, 2001, and 2005, Markopolos alerted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of his views, supplying supporting documents, but each time t... ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/18 "2021-04-14T17:00:11Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > In no way meaning to minimize his crimes, but it does amaze me that people could sniff out the bullshit sooner than they ultimately did. Madoff had a blue chip reputation, and the analysis which uncovered it was complex. Very few people analyze investment funds’ returns in excruciating detail. The reason Markopolos uncovered it was not because he was a unique genius, but because the firm he worked for tasked him with figuring out exactly what Madoff was doing so that they could replicate it themselves for their own clients and funds. So he did an analysis of Madoff’s activity which was far more detailed than anyone else had done or was likely to do. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/19 "2021-04-14T17:14:11Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Madoff had a blue chip reputation, and the analysis which uncovered it was complex. I don’t know enough about the details to know if this is completely accurate, but it’s not complex: > **[Bernie Madoff | Investment scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Madoff#Investment_scandal)** > > In 1999, financial analyst Harry Markopolos had informed the SEC that he believed it was legally and mathematically impossible to achieve the gains Madoff claimed to deliver. According to Markopolos, it took him four minutes to conclude that Madoff's numbers did not add up, and another minute to suspect they were fraudulent. > After four hours of failed attempts to replicate Madoff's numbers, Markopolos believed he had mathematically proven Madoff was a fraud. He was ignored by the SEC's Boston of... > At least as early as 2001, [Harry Markopolos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Markopolos) discovered that for Madoff’s strategy to be legitimate, he would have had to buy more options on the [Chicago Board Options Exchange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Board_Options_Exchange) than actually existed.[[77]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Madoff#cite_note-NoOne-77) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977/20 "2021-04-14T17:47:58Z")
No no no, he’s on the outside looking in [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-madoff-is-dead/939977.md?page=2)