Madoff Calls Schapiro A “Dear Friend”: What’s The Full Extent Of Their Relationship?

High five to JD for tipping me off to a segment about Bernie Madoff that just aired on CNBC. While little is truly new in this segment, Bernie’s assessment of his relationship with former FINRA head and current SEC chief Mary Schapiro is startling. While Ms. Schapiro and her colleagues at FINRA have downplayed any sort of relationship with Madoff, Bernie has a different take.

There’s something about Mary as Bernie calls her “a dear friend.”

Will the government powers have the cojones to more fully explore this relationship? Or, are they already aware of it? As I wrote in my commentary of October 22nd, “Nasdaq Sale: Why Would Schapiro and FINRA Execs Lie?”:

Did Ms. Schapiro receive the “E-Z Pass” to the SEC from FINRA with the support of the powers that be on Wall Street? Was the chair of the SEC the ultimate payoff to Ms. Schapiro for the successful completion of the merger between NASD and NYSE Regulation to form FINRA?

What does Bernie have to say? Let’s review the CNBC segment, Madoff: It’s ‘Amazing’ I Didn’t Get Caught Sooner. . .

Jailed swindler Bernie Madoff said it was “amazing” that he didn’t get caught sooner in his multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme, and that everything the SEC did to investigate him prior to 2006 was a waste of time, according to a jailhouse interview he gave to SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz.

Madoff also told Kotz that SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro was a “dear friend,” although she “probably thinks, ‘I wish I never knew this guy.’”

• For a Full Text of the Interview, Click Here

Madoff gave the interview to Kotz in June while awaiting sentencing for one of the largest financial frauds in history. At the time, Madoff was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. He agreed to speak to Kotz, who was investigating the SEC’s decades-long failure to uncover the scheme. The SEC released notes of the interview along with hundreds of other exhibits in the investigation following a request by CNBC under the Freedom of Information Act.

US Department of Justice Bernie Madoff mugshot

Madoff tells Kotz he feels “misunderstood” by prosecutors in his case, and that there is ” a lot of misinformation” circulating about the scandal as a result. However, he adds, “I’m not saying I’m not guilty.”

Madoff says that in multiple encounters with SEC investigators over the years, he never had to tell them about his role in the industry because “they already knew.”

The Inspector General’s report, released in early September, found multiple lapses at the SEC, but said there was no evidence of improper influence by Madoff.

Kotz told CNBC in a statement Friday that he found no evidence to support Madoff’s claim of a close relationship with Mary Schapiro.

Perhaps Mr. Kotz might be interested in the allegation embedded in the lawsuit brought by Amerivet Securities. Yes, that suit alleges that FINRA, the organization headed by Ms. Schapiro, had an investment in Madoff. For more info on that claim, I submit “Attorney Claims Wall Street’s Cop, FINRA, Invested in Madoff.”

Did Mary protect Bernie unwittingly or unknowingly?  ”A dear friend.”

Who in Washington has the guts to dig deeper into this story and reveal the full extent of the relationship between Ms. Schapiro and Mr. Madoff?

The American public and especially those who invested in Madoff deserve nothing less.

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email