The Wizard of Lies Page #3

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he's facing right now.

How did you

justify that, Bernie?

How did you

sleep with that?

I guess the way

I could sleep with it

is that I knew that

Peter didn't know anything

even though

I had him do things

which he didn't realize

could've implicated

him in this...

in this, um...

crime.

Bernie was always

needling people.

He would find your weak spot

and he would poke at it.

I mean, that was Bernie and

he could be a real bastard.

But not like this.

I mean, not stealing

people's money.

I mean, at first,

I started thinking,

"My God, you know, did one of

the grandchildren get kidnapped?

Was the 10 million

ransom money?"

What 10 million?

The 10 million

that Ruth came in

and withdrew from

her Cohmad account

and transferred into

her Wachovia account.

I mean, I...

what do I know?

I mean, I'm always watching

crime stories, you know?

I fall asleep

every night to "SVU. "

And you're saying

on December 10th,

Ruth Madoff withdrew $10 million

from her Cohmad account

and transferred it

to a personal account?

Yes, but that

is not unusual.

I mean, think of it

like having an ATM

in your, you know...

your living room.

Except, you know, when things

are going on, you wonder.

Mommy's here!

Don't forget your ball.

We're gonna go to Connecticut

for a few days.

You know it might snow?

No mention

of his arrest yet.

- It's my mom.

- Don't answer.

You know what

Flumenbaum said...

no contact.

Don't screw around, Mark.

- Hi, Mom.

- Hi, Mark.

Honey, I'm, um...

I'm with your father

and in order to release

him on bond

they need four signatures.

It's a $10 million bond.

- What?

- Ugh, I know. Can you believe?

Anyway, can you

get down here?

Uh, I'll text you

the address.

Mom...

do you understand

what he's done?

No, honey, Mark,

I know you're angry,

but he's your father.

I'm not doing it.

End of discussion.

Mark.

I'll try Andy.

What do you mean

by misunderstanding?

We couldn't get

your sons to sign.

They wouldn't sign?

I'm sorry, Mr. Madoff.

The boys wouldn't

sign the bond?

I'm very sorry, sir.

Who... did you

talk to them or did...

No. Your wife was on the

phone with each of them.

Their mother did and they didn't...

they wouldn't...

Um...

Well, there's no money

involved in it.

So did they

understand that?

Yes.

Hmm, I don't know.

Marc, it's Daniel Horwitz.

We couldn't get

the four signatures,

but I can get you Ruth

and, um,

Peter Madoff's.

Okay, hold on.

Will you submit to, um,

home detention

with electronic monitoring

and surveillance,

homes in Manhattan, Montauk,

and Palm Beach will be pledged,

and yours and Ruth's passports

will be surrendered.

Are those terms

okay with you?

Um, yeah.

He says yes. Great.

- Okay. - "The Journal" just

went online with the story.

We have 20 minutes before the

press descends on this place.

Let's do this.

Mr. Madoff.

It's very strange

and troubling news

out of Wall Street tonight.

Former NASDAQ Stock Exchange

chairman Bernard Madoff

out on $10 million bond.

This man with a stellar reputation

seems to have

taken a whole lot

of very smart people

to the cleaners.

The man they trusted

the most with their money,

a NASDAQ chairman

18 years ago,

is now confessing

to authorities

he cheated them

of billions of dollars.

And there's a bunch

of big-time investors

wondering how a

guy named Madoff

made off with their money.

What's gonna happen, Bernie?

- I don't know.

- Are you gonna go to jail?

Probably.

For how long?

- I don't know, Ruth.

- For a long time or a little?

I don't know.

- What?

- I don't know.

Are they gonna take

the apartment away?

- I don't know.

- What about the houses?

What about the boys

and the grandkids?

- Ruth. Ruth, enough.

- Look I just wanna know if...

I'm sorry if I have

questions, Bernie.

I'm sorry if I'm

a little scared, okay?

It's just you always

keep me in the dark.

I keep you in the dark

to protect you.

Yeah, well, it doesn't

feel that way anymore.

I just wanna know

what's going on.

Please, Bernie, don't keep

me in the dark anymore.

Just tell me.

Tell me.

Tell you what, Ruth?

Just tell me,

I don't know...

what you did.

I met Ruth when

she was 13. I was 16.

A friend was having

a party in his basement

Something had happened

to the jukebox.

It got knocked around

when he was moving it,

so the only song it'd play

was "Sh-Boom" over and over.

She was this tiny,

little blonde

with enormous blue eyes.

Just gorgeous.

Very funny, too.

You remember that actress

Goldie Hawn?

- I do very well.

- Yeah, that was Ruth.

She'd wake up every morning

without a care in the world.

Very lively, very bubbly.

Popular, too.

- Were you popular?

- Oh, yeah.

I mean, I was a lifeguard

at the time.

Best job I ever had.

I mean, why just be some

regular schnook on the beach

when you can be

in a guard tower,

everyone

looking up at you?

- And you get paid.

- Did Ruth ever get jealous?

For the rest

of the summer,

she laid out right next to the...

the guard tower every day.

Sometimes I'd

whistle down at her

and she'd look up

and call me a dog.

But I liked

having her there.

It felt good.

I mean, we've basically

been together

every day since

the night we met.

It's our 51st

anniversary coming up.

Mm.

How do you think you were

able to keep it all separate?

For 16 years,

I kept this secret

from my wife,

my brother,

my sons.

How I was

able to do that

and maintain

any degree of sanity,

well, it's, uh...

that worries me

when I think about it.

Oh, oh, yes

I'm the great pretender

Ooh, ooh

Pretending

that I'm doing well

Ooh, ooh

My need is such

I pretend too much...

- Those are fresh?

- Yes, sir.

They are really fresh?

- Fresh this morning.

- Not freshly frozen?

- No, sir.

- Fresh, fresh, okay.

I'm the great pretender...

Check all the plates.

Make sure that none of them

are dirty, please.

I don't want anybody coming here

and eating on a dirty plate.

They pick up a napkin,

you pick up a napkin

and then you have dirt

under here like this.

This one. See?

Dirty plate.

Make sure

they're all clean.

What was your job title

at Bernard L. Madoff

Investment Securities?

Chief compliance officer.

I never had any financial

interest in the firm.

Bernie made it clear that there

was no prospect for partnership.

Boom, ba-doh,

ba-doo, ba-doodle-ay

Oh, life could be a dream

If I could take you

up in paradise up above

- If you would tell me...

- Eleanor.

So who's the more

handsome brother, him or me?

All right, we've all heard

this one, Casanova.

- Come on.

- In my opinion?

Be honest.

- Peter's way more

attractive. - Oh.

So you've got a thing for barrel-chested

bald men with big stomachs?

Screw you!

In fact, Bernie,

when I first met Peter,

I said to myself,

"My God, this man looks

just like Lee Majors. "

- Handsome.

- Thank you, Eleanor.

Yeah, that was

25 years ago.

Back then, even you

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