Rich Who Deserve Obscurity: The Madoffs

Name a famous liar with a big nose and a heart of wood. That’s right, Bernie Madoff. We haven’t heard from him in while. The last time was two years ago when he was supposedly dying of cancer. (TFT 8/24/09) Like everything else about him, it wasn’t true. His family, however, is coming out of the shadows. His wife, Ruth, and remaining son, Andrew, were interviewed by Morley Safer on Sixty Minutes (10/30). Minus the perky bob that made her resemble a furtive Katy Couric, Ruth Madoff looked every one of her seventy years. She spoke reluctantly and revealed nothing. Her son, Andrew, spoke more easily, but also didn’t say anything. Who made the program worth watching was the woman sitting next to Andrew. Catherine Hooper is young, attractive and, most of all, fearless. She has to be. She’s Andrew’s fiancée. Getting married is always a leap of faith, but tying yourself emotionally and financially to someone named Madoff? That’s bungee jumping.

What do Ruth and Andrew Madoff want? What do they expect to gain from this (and other) public appearances? It can’t be publicity for their newly published memoir, Truth and Consequences. They don’t need it. If the name Madoff doesn’t come back to you in waves, you’re not going to buy the book. Sympathy? Not as along as she lives in a gated community and both, by their own admission, are still worth millions. Respect? Not as long as their husband and father lives in a gated community. (He’s got one hundred and forty-eight more years to go.) If they really want to avoid his shadow, they should avoid the spotlight, too. They can’t change history by writing a book or change people’s opinions by appearing on TV. They can only change their name. Either that or wait until a bigger crook comes along and makes everyone forget Bernie Madoff. My money’s on the latter.