Hoboken Author Talks Madoff, Ponzi Schemes

To this day, Hobokenite Diana Henriques—author of four books, long time journalist and a senior writer at The New York Times—is the only reporter who has interviewed all three living members of the Madoff family. 

Her book, The Wizard of Lies, is the first and only book about Bernie Madoff and his ponzi scheme that includes Madoff's point of view. An updated paper back version of the book is scheduled to come out on May 8.

In a recent interview with Patch in her living room on Park Avenue, Henriques talked about meeting Bernie Madoff in prison twice, writing a book on the biggest ponzi scheme in history and her belief that Bernie's wife, Ruth, didn't know anything about the crimes her husband was committing.

Henriques is scheduled to speak about The Wizard of Lies at the Hoboken Public Library on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

At earlier speaking engagements—among them, the Tuscon Festival of Books and an anti-money laundering convention in Florida—Henriques said she focused on talking about how to avoid ponzi schemes. Because, she said recently, people are still falling for them, even after the Madoff affair.

"Ponzi schemes are particularly attractive," Henriques said, "because they're built around trust." As was the case with Madoff, who delivered steady returns to his investors for many decades. 

"Consistency and safety is what Bernie was selling," Henriques said. Steady returns in combination with a good reputation provided the framework for Madoff's crime. 

"He was respected and admired by everybody," Henriques said. And that also leads to Henriques' biggest unanswered questions: When did the scam start? Was Madoff ever sincere?

Madoff maintains that he was honest until 1992.  

"I don't buy that date," Henriques said. "I think it started at least by the mid eighties."

The government, meanwhile, alleges that the fraud began as early as 1978.

"I don't know how we get Madoff to answer that," said Henriques, the only journalist who interviewed him twice at the Butner Federal Correction Complex in North Carolina.

Henriques interviewed Madoff first in August 2010, when he still looked "dandy" and had "adapted to the (prison) costume and wore it beautifully," she said. The second time was in February 2011, shortly after his son Mark's suicide, when he was unrecognizable and he "looked like a janitor."

"It was a shocking deterioration," Henriques said. After Mark Madoff's suicide, Henriques sent Madoff a note, she said, but he has never wanted to discuss his son's death. "Thank you for your kind note," was his only response to her condolence letter. Henriques is still in contact with Madoff, mostly through the prison's email system as well as hand-written notes in his "extremely clear" handwriting. (Madoff gave the book a "mixed review" and called its title "sensational," Henriques said.)

Henriques said that—after speaking with Ruth Madoff—she is certain that she didn't know about the scheme.

"There is no proof that she did," Henriques said. In 28 million documents and more than a thousand law suits against Madoff, no proof of any knowledge on Ruth's part has been alleged. 

"She obviously adored him," Henriques said. "It never made sense that he could have faced her as a criminal." Henriques interviewed Ruth Madoff in October 2011 in Boca Raton. 

It's easiest to deceive those who already love and respect you.  

"He's an intriguing person," Henriques said about Madoff. "He's so ordinary. He's so much like us."