Free Republic

Saul Katz, Fred Wilpon's BIL, co-founder of Sterling Equities, and Mets co-owner, will repeatedly tell you he is a CPA........the brains behind Sterling's investment portfolio and business operations.....in charge of all the family finances invested with Madoff. And yet the investment pro, claims he had no knowledge that Madoff was running a Ponzi. Katz took out over $120M just in the last six years. Katz's three sons, who work for Sterling Equities, snared more than $237M. Katz married Wilpon's sister, Iris, more than 50 years ago and in 1972 went into business with Fred.

Besides Wilpon's personal relationship with Madoff---when the Mets negotiated larger contracts with star players — complex deals with signing bonuses and performance incentives — they sometimes placed deferred compensation with Madoff.....a strategy that allowed the Wilpons to make money for themselves. There was never much doubt: “Bernie was part of the business plan for the Mets,” a former employee said. Wilpon also encouraged friends to invest. A fellow LIRR commuter, Robert Tischler, came to own a piece of an apartment building with Wilpon and Wilpon’s BIL, Saul Katz. When they sold, Wilpon suggested he invest some of his profits with...

But the Sterling partners’ reliance on Madoff’s consistent and steady returns ran further than just opening hundreds of accounts. Sterling used its BLMIS accounts as a substantial source of liquidity to develop and sustain its businesses, including professional baseball and real estate. For instance, much of the approximately $90 million of other people’s money withdrawn from the Mets’ BLMIS accounts helped fund its day-to-day operations. Sterling also used BLMIS returns to generate sufficient profits to meet capital commitments for its Sterling American Property real estate funds. Further, BLMIS returns provided the necessary cash flow to Sterling’s internal bank—Sterling Equities Funding,...

Mets owners are in a much tighter squeeze than they are letting on. Sterling Equities, which is controlled by Wilpon and son, Jeff, is supposedly worth some $750M and $1B. The Wilpons want to replace roughly $750M,...their losses with convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.....and are now in settlement talks with the Madoff estate trustee, who claims they withdrew $48M more than they invested. They are opposing a move to unseal legal papers, saying the papers are attempted "character assassination"..... painting [Mets owners] as persons who should have known that Madoff did no trading".........