terça-feira, 16 de novembro de 2010

Madoff's Possessions Bring In Over $2 Million

Ruth Madoff's 10.5 carat diamond ring was the star of an auction held on November 13 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City. The auction held by the U.S. Marshals Service sold off more of the possessions of Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. ArtInfo reportsthat the auction brought in a total of over $2 million led by Mrs. Madoff's 10.54 carat emerald cut diamond set in platinum which sold for $550,000 to a buyer who declined to identify himself. Mrs. Madoff's diamond earrings went for $135,000 to an undisclosed buyer. Bernie Madoff's vintage steel Rolex "Moon Phase" watch sold for $67,500.

A Steinway & Sons grand piano made $42,000 but other auction items were all over the place. A king-sized bed that belonged to the couple went for $2,250 . The bed's buyer, Tally Wiener, a lawyer who helped liquidate Fairfield Sentry, a fund that fed money into Madoff's accounts before going under, has said he will offer the bed to Mrs. Madoff. Oddly enough Madoff's shoes, perhaps an obvious symbol of his profligate spending, seemed to do particularly well. A pair of black velveteen slippers with his initials in gold thread sold for a whopping $6,000 and a pair of shoes from the Manhattan store Belgian Shoes brought $2,900. What's even stranger is that 11 pairs of unused designer boxer shorts and 200 pairs of socks sold for $1,700 to one unidentified man.

Proceeds from the auction will be deposited in the United States Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund to compensate the victims of this multi-billion dollar fraud. Even though the government has sold three homes, yachts and other Madoff belongings the total proceeds of approximately $28 million haven't come close to chipping away at the billions Madoff swindled from his investors. Maoff's New York City penthouse was sold to Al Kahn, the CEO of 4Kids Entertainment. That home had been most recently listed at $8.9 million, $1 million off the original price. Madoff's Montauk house sold for $9.41 million around a year ago, more than the $8.75 million for which it was listed. Madoff's Palm Beach home was the last to sell and was most recently listed at $6.5 million. A trio of yachts brought in around $1 million last year.

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