The Scoundrel Wears Kevlar

Notorious fraudster Bernard Madoff was back in court today as federal prosecutors again tried to convince a judge to revoke Madoff's bail and place him in jail in light of Madoff's recent attempts to mail jewelry and possibly other assets to relatives. Despite this, a judge ruled that Madoff would remain under house arrest in his Manhattan penthouse.

Naturally, the public is out for blood, not to mention the large number of people who have lost vast sums of money - investments, retirement accounts, life savings - from a man who stole nearly $50 billion in an elaborate Ponzi scheme. There has been a human cost beyond the finances, as at least one individual who had lost more than $1 billion in clients' money commit suicide, apparently despondent over the losses. A number of charities were also victims of the fraud. The utter hatred towards this man has gotten to the point that Madoff wore a bulletproof vest in court.

I wonder what's going through his mind now? Fear? Remorse? Defiance? Denial? Here's a man who was respected and adored by hordes of people and especially revered by fellow Jews who were moved by his generosity. Today he's wearing a bulletproof vest made of Kevlar to defend against the viable threat that one of the many people who despise him would riddle his chest with .45 caliber rounds. He is persona non grata in his neighborhood, his city, and the world.

An article in Newsweek tackled the social implications around the Madoff fraud, specifically in terms of society's view toward those who are Jewish, and even toward Jewish views towards fellow Jews. For those who are anti-semetic, Madoff's actions perpetuated the stereotype of the Jewish "shyster" - a money-hungry scumbag who preys on honest and hard-working men. The wrinkle was that Madoff's victim's were largely Jewish - the movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, Yeshiva University, the Elie Wiesel Foundation and charities set up by the publisher Mortimer Zuckerman and the Hollywood director Steven Spielberg were among those were were victims of the fraud. For the anti-semite, this might lessen the venom as the scenario seemed less of a situation of "the unethical Jew ripping-off hard-working Christian men." But for those who are Jewish, this might make Madoff's crime even more despicable, as he robbed from "his own family" or as the author, Joseph Epstien noted, "making Madoff a truly equal-opportunity son of a bitch." Personally I think Madoff's Jewish faith will be played down, and rightfully so. God knows that there's no shortage of Gentiles who are absolute scoundrels. Madoff just happened to have a better network of victims.

What I also found interesting was Epstein's words around how one sociologist viewed various Christian denominations and how Jews followed suit:

Many years ago the sociologist E. Digby Baltzel distinguished among the Protestant sects by noting that a Methodist was a Baptist with shoes, a Presbyterian a Methodist who has gone to college, and an Episcopalian a Presbyterian who lives on his investments. That portion of wealthy Jews who have come to live on their investments began more and more to model their leisure and financial lives on those of old-line Episcopalians, with the added benefit of having Sunday mornings free.

I think that's pretty hilarious. Well, unless you're a Baptist who can't afford shoes.