This morning, MSNBC interviewed one of the many, many victims of Bernard Madoff, who entered his guilty plea to 11 felony charges this morning so he can go to prison to die. The victim, Peter Moskowitz, asks a good question: Is Madoff being a good general, jumping on the proverbial grenade to save all his lieutenants?
And few Madoff associates were as helpful as local philanthropist Michael Bienes, whom New Times columnist Bob Norman has written about. Bienes broke months of silence recently and defended himself against victims' allegations by saying, essentially, that Madoff fooled him too.
Remember, Madoff's sons turned him in. And if they were really surprised to learn that it was a giant Ponzi scheme, then it's possible that other Madoff associates were also in the dark. But then, this theory means we're taking Madoff at his word, and that doesn't seem a particularly wise proposition, does it?
