Mark Madoff’s Suicide

Forty-six year old Mark Madoff, Bernie Madoff’s son, committed suicide today, the anniversary of his father’s arrest on December 11, 2008.  He is said to have hung himself with a dog leash in his NYC apartment.  His two year old son was asleep in the apartment, while his 4 year old daughter and his wife were in Disney World.  Yet, another tragedy as a result of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.  

It seems like a never ending story of destruction and desperation.  Bernie Madoff’s 150 year prison sentence does not seem unfair.  It is hard to imagine how he feels right now after hearing about the death of his son, but could he be blamed for it?  Bernie Madoff’s entire family experiences constant harassment and relentless hatred.  Sometimes it is hard to pity a family that has remained wealthy, especially under the circumstances, and yet where do we divide wealth from humanity?   It would be nice to think they are philanthropic, and yet, Bernie Madoff took down with him many philanthropic organizations.  

Empathy.  A man just killed himself , leaving behind a young family.  It is uncertain at this hour whether or not he was suffering from a depression or something other than just circumstance.  Does that matter?  There are several people who killed themselves due to their financial collapse as a result of Bernie Madoff’s actions.  Mark Madoff’s attorney, Mr. Flumenbaum, said the following:  "Mark was an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo."  There is no definitive answer at this juncture as to whether or not Mark Madoff was completely innocent.  He and his brother both came forward and unleashed their father’s crimes.  Was this to protect themselves in some way?  It is said that Mark and his brother worked for a part of the business separate from the Ponzi scheme.  

The Bernie Madoff scandal may have happened two years ago, but it is fresh in many of our minds, especially those trying to recover from financial ruin.  Many of the rich he affected  had to leave their familiar lifestyles and try to make sense of their lives.  Obviously, his one of two sons was devastated by what happened and could no longer keep going.  As pointed out earlier, he may have been suffering from a deep depression and the anniversary was too much to handle.  It has not come out yet whether this was the case.

Today, we mourn the loss of a young man caught in a tangled web of desperation. He should not be blamed as selfish, but as someone who was in great pain and suffering and lost all hope.  If he was going to be punished for crimes, it no longer matters.  May he rest in peace.