Paul Weiss Lawyer, Dispatched to Check on Madoff’s Son, Finds Tragic Scene
When Stephanie Madoff became concerned about her husband, Bernard Madoff’s son Mark, she asked her stepfather, who is of counsel at Paul Weiss, to check on him.
The lawyer, Martin London, discovered a tragic scene. Mark Madoff had hanged himself in his Manhattan apartment on Saturday, the second anniversary of his father’s arrest for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, according to the Associated Press and the New York Times.
Stephanie Madoff contacted her stepfather while she was in Florida on vacation at Disney World with her 4-year-old daughter. She became concerned, the stories say, after she received messages from her husband saying he loved her and someone should check on their 2-year-old son. The boy was asleep in his bedroom when London entered the apartment.
Mark Madoff had also written to his lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum, in an e-mail, according to the New York Post. “No one wants to hear the truth,” Mark Madoff wrote. “Take care of my family.” Flumenbaum, a Paul Weiss partner, later issued a statement saying Mark Madoff had “succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo.”
Mark Madoff and his brother, Andrew, had turned in their father after he confessed that their wealth had been earned as part of a giant Ponzi scheme.
A person in close contact with the family told the Times that Mark Madoff was anxious about lawsuits filed against him and other family members seeking to recover money for victims of the scheme. He was also upset about speculation he could face criminal charges for failing to pay taxes on generous expense account payments made while he was working for his father.
Related coverage:
New York Times: “Madoff Lawsuits Are Headed for Court”
Wall Street Journal (sub. req.): “Suicide Won’t End Madoff Lawsuits”
