The Madoff family has recently been doing interviews professing their innocence in patriarch Bernie's Ponzi scheme. So the question is: did the family have any idea what was going on? I would be happy to hear your opinions. Here is my take on it:
Without evidence to the contrary, it is really hard to say whether the family was innocent in the matter, but I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt. I don't think the Madoff family had any idea that Bernie was scamming investors for BILLIONS of dollars.
His wife Ruth, and their two sons, Mark and Andrew, enjoyed a life of luxury. They thought of Bernie as a highly skilled and successful securities trader. There is quite a bit of money to be made in this business, so the fact that they were doing so well was no cause for alarm.
Besides, how many people really know about their husband's or father's career? I know what my dad does, but in no means am I around to see the inner workings of his job. Nor does an heiress like Paris Hilton have any idea what is going on in the family business. Even employees of a fraudulent company are sometimes unaware of the misdealing. Ruth worked for Bernie for about 6 months but I don't think she was privy to the real situation.
Bernie was obviously hiding a great deal of information from many, many people. I am sure he lived his life in fear and shame just waiting to get caught. I would think running a Ponzi scheme is a secret one would want to keep from his or her family. In order to keep up the facade, he couldn't let anyone know--especially his wife and kids.
The aftermath of the situation has not been easy for the anyone involved. Bernie and Ruth had one failed attempt at suicide, while unfortunately their son Mark took his own life. Dealing with that sort of hatred and public humiliation is more than most could handle. Even Jeffry Skilling's son (of the Enron scandal) ended his life last year, no doubt as a result of his father's greedy actions.The real culprit is behind bars for the rest of his life, while his family suffers. I think people should feel compassion for the family as well as the scammed investors. The only thing worse than being found innocent when really guilty is being treated as guilty when really innocent.
