[SunkenCiv]

on Saturday, the second anniversary of the day his father was arrested for running a gigantic Ponzi scheme that shattered thousands of lives around the world

Thousands of lives around the world, huh? Does anyone here know *anybody* personally whose life was shattered? This is a disgusting display of partisan axegrinding by the Slimes on the back of a tragic event. Thanks Ladycalif.

[Pharmboy]

Begging your pardon, but I do not think that is an overstatement. There are many people who lost millions of dollars with Bernie, some of whose lives were indeed shattered. My sister in Florida does know a family who were multimillionaires; three generations who owned several businesses in NYC. They were honest people who made it big. They lost, essentially, everything and had to now start from the beginning and go back to work. They sold their houses, etc.

Yes...they were stupid (and arguably greedy seeing Bernie's phony numbers), but they did nothing illegal and lost the family fortune. They might have been the extreme, but plenty of people and institutions lost billions. Click here for the list.

[AZLiberty]

Yes, the life of a friend of mine was "shattered". A family doctor in his 50s, he was about to retire on his Madoff investment when he learned that it was worthless. He had his entire life savings -- principal and interest -- tied up with Madoff. He was an early investor and saw his investment grow year after year.

Stupidly, he trusted everything to Madoff. More stupidly, he believed the SEC was keeping an eye on Madoff. Nonetheless, he's screwed.

[rmlew]

Thousands of lives around the world, huh? Does anyone here know *anybody* personally whose life was shattered? This is a disgusting display of partisan axegrinding by the Slimes on the back of a tragic event. Thanks Ladycalif.
Anyone? Yes, I know a family that lost most of its wealth. They had invested directly with Madoff and were also screwed by lazy lying financial consultant who had de-diversified their portfolio in the last 5 years by also investing in Madoff. The father is a diabetic now bedridden by a stroke. The daughter's apartment was sold recently, in part to pay for her grad school, and she now lives with her parents again. The mother lost her corporate jobn and now works part time, taking care of her husband the rest of the time. They've also placed their country home for sale, but it has been on the market for 2 years. They've gone from a rich family to a middle class family now scrapping by.