The Wizard of Lies Page #5

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about the advisory.

- Frank will handle it.

- Come on, Dad.

With all due respect,

Frank's...

Frank's what?

Frank's an idiot.

You know, Frank

never went to college.

I heard Frank comparing women's

vaginas to automobiles

earlier today.

Whether Frank is refined enough

for your taste is irrelevant.

He's good at his job.

If something were

to happen to me,

he'd fill you guys in on all the

details you need to know.

And what if Frank

decides to screw you?

I mean, I don't even know how

much you're worth. Is it a billion?

Two billion?

Three?

What if there's three

and he says there's two

and takes a billion and rides

off into the sunset?

Calm down, calm down. Everything is

written down in a safe deposit box.

If something were

to happen to me,

you consult with our lawyers,

and they'll handle it.

They'll fill you in

on everything.

Everything, huh?

- That's right, everything.

- Everything? You know, good luck.

This conversation is impossible.

- I don't understand why you

can't understand... - Impossible!

...what I just said to you.

You know, why is it that whenever

this conversation comes up,

you find a way to wriggle out

of giving me an answer?

It comes up

because you bring it up.

No, because I'm...

we're trying to plan.

Well, if you don't bring it up,

it won't come up.

You know, I'm just trying

to get a basic sense...

You don't have to get

a sense of anything, Mark.

- You don't have to get a sense of anything.

- Why is that too much to ask?

- I've told you this is something

I don't talk about. - Dad. Dad!

Listen to me.

I don't understand!

Listen, what is wrong?

Are you a f***ing idiot?

Are you a f***ing idiot?!

I mean, answer me!

- I don't understand!

- No, you don't understand!

You don't have to

f***ing understand!

You're asking me about

taking over the advisory

and yet you can't even follow

a simple f***ing instruction

to shut the f*** up!

You don't understand.

You don't understand.

Leave it alone.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

- Good night.

- I love you, Dad.

Love you.

Good night.

Hey, nonny, ding, dong,

a - lang, a - lang, a - lang

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 I'm

the only one that you love

Life could be a dream,

sweetheart

Hello, hello, again, sh-boom

and hopin' we'll meet again

- Oh, life could be a dream

- Sh-boom

If only all my precious

plans would come true...

People here always ask me

how come I never ran.

But the truth is

it didn't even occur to me.

I guess it's because

I never thought

of what I was doing

was stealing.

Well, it was a $65 billion

Ponzi scheme.

People lost their life savings,

they lost their homes.

Their lives

were destroyed.

You didn't think

of that as stealing?

People felt safe

with you.

- Yeah, but these were...

- And yet,

you were

betraying them all.

Well, but these people,

you know,

they had a little greed

in them, too.

There was a little bit

of, you know...

look, you know, and they

didn't wanna look too hard.

They looked

just far enough.

- So they're accomplices

in some way, too. - Bernie.

Accomplices because

they trusted you?

Accomplices because you

were so trustworthy,

you seemed

so trustworthy.

Yeah, but there's a lack

of honesty on their behalf,

an unwillingness to take responsibility

for their behavior.

- Your investors?

- Yes.

It takes a lot of chutzpah

for you of all people

to say that.

You know...

now that I think of it,

my greatest failure...

or maybe it's my

greatest weakness...

is I've always wanted

to please people.

And that's...

that's one that can

get you into trouble.

I've been here

all f***ing morning!

- I wanna go upstairs. - Sir, nobody's

going upstairs right now.

I wanna see

somebody in charge.

- Right now, I'm in charge.

- Who are you protecting?!

And you need to

back up right now.

- We're talking about my f***ing

life savings! - I told you right now!

- Do you understand?

- You need to back up right now, sir.

- Hello, Madoff.

- I'm in the f***ing lobby.

I wanna come up.

Sir, I am not able

to give you permission

to come up here right now.

Where is

my f***ing money?!

You have to call

the advisory arm.

- I can give you their number.

- F*** you, you f***ing thief!

Oh, my God.

Unusual circumstances

did not exist for Bernie.

Take 9-11.

When those towers got hit,

everybody in the whole

entire office

was gathered

around the TV.

Who was crying?

Who was hysterical?

Not Bernie.

He kept his head down

and he continued to work.

And it is not like

he did not

know anybody

in those buildings.

As with every event

of personal devastation,

they remember

exactly where they were

and what they were doing

when they learned

they were ruined.

The grayish white paper

rolled out of Mary Thomajan's

fax machine.

The fax was from

the small feeder fund

she had trusted

for 18 years

telling her

that all her money

had been invested

with Madoff,

who had been arrested.

She later recalled,

"In the 50 seconds it

took to read that fax,

I went from being

a multimillionaire

to having my life savings

wiped out

and life as I knew it

altered forever.

Robert Halio's son called him

at his retirement home

in Boca Raton

with the news.

It's all gone, Dad.

I don't...

I don't know what to do.

95% of his wealth

had been entrusted to Madoff

and was now gone.

Mr. De la Villehuchet

had written his brother

a letter that said,

"If you ruin your friends,

your clients,

you have to face

the consequences.

He then positioned

a trash basket

to protect the carpet

and slit his wrist

with a box cutter.

Tim Murray, a property

manager in Minnesota,

was traveling and nearly

drove off the road...

...Fort Lauderdale...

- Richard Freedman...

- David Iselin...

Time to pay the piper, Bernie.

Presumably...

Presumably with the life savings

of another piper.

Just...

This was the worst

pyramid scheme

since the actual pyramids.

- Ruth loves to go to the

California Pizza Kitchen. - Yeah.

And they say that her

favorite dish there

is the veal scallo-Ponzi.

Listen, I have something to tell

you that's really important.

I have your money!

I can get it to you.

Okay, I guess

you're not there.

They can see right in.

- They can see right in.

- What?

We... we don't have

any curtains.

They can see right in.

Hold on,

let me call you back.

- Catherine, it's gonna be fine.

- No, they're gonna be looking in

with their long lenses

and we'll be trapped.

They're gonna get bored

just standing around.

I'm not the story.

We've gotta get curtains

right now.

Sh*t.

Hi, how are you?

I'm all right.

You?

I've been better.

I'll bet.

- Mommy, Mommy.

- What?

- Is that Ruth Madoff?

- Jessica, not another word.

It's okay.

No, none of it is.

There she is.

- Hi, Sarah.

- Oh, hi.

Is Gisele here?

I was wondering

if she might be able

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