Original subtitles

They all ask the same question before they pull out...

"How does Bernie make a profit

when everyone else in the world is taking a bath?"

Sign 'em where they're marked.

Frank, these are from different years.

You got questions,

you should really take 'em up with your brother.

I hope it's the right one.

He's been buying me off my whole life.

I'm making you CFO.

It's just nothing... It's a title.

Your father would do anything in the world for you and Andy.

You know that.

The Steiner brothers

The Steiner brothers

are withdrawing their money from the fund.

You've always said that if I ever needed my money out,

all I had to do was ask.

Our investors...

They've lost confidence in everything.

You're gonna turn this around, Bernie,

just like you always do.

Fraud! Fraud! Fraud!

I have something to tell you.

Bank stocks were pummeled again today.

The president, at a news conference,

- tried today to... - Nightmare on Wall Street.

It's over.

I'm finished.

What does that mean?

I... There's nothing more.

I... There's nothing more.

Are... Are you talking about the business?

Because the business has billions on the books, Dad.

That's the books you read.

They're not the real books.

I... Ah!

The trading company that you boys run...

has been a loss for a long time.

And I've been covering it

with funds from the investment services.

And the investment services is, uh...

a lie.

What are you talking about? What do you mean, a lie?

What are you talking about? What do you mean, a lie?

It's a Ponzi scheme.

What does that mean, a Pon... A Ponzi scheme?

Oh, my God.

It means, Ruthie, that I have been doing things

with other people's money that I shouldn't,

and now it's all gone.

Everything?

There's a few hundred million

that I want to distribute very carefully to people.

That I want to distribute very carefully to people.

But... and I need a week to do that.

I need a week to 10 days.

And then...

I'm gonna turn myself in.

And, Ruthie, they're gonna send me to jail.

How much... How much did you lose?

$50 billion.

Oh!

Oh!

Mark, Mark!

Mark, wait, stop.

Breathe. It's okay.

We need to see what we can do to help.

We have to think this through.

It might not even be real, what he's even saying.

It might not even be real, what he's even saying.

Why would he make it up, Andy?

He's been acting incredibly strange at work.

He's been lying on the floor.

He can't answer a simple question.

It might even be a brain tumor for all we know.

Of course he's been acting strange.

He's taken everybody for a $50 billion ride

and crashed into a wall.

Don't you see what's been going on, Andy?

All the secrecy, promoting DiPascali?

Keeping us out of the investment business?

Where are you going? To find a lawyer.

A lawyer? What, are you gonna walk around on the street

and ask if they can represent you? Come on, man.

Steph's uncle's got a law firm five blocks from here.

I'll call him and have them meet us there.

We're exposed, Andy.

He's left us no choice.

Let's go!

Let's go!

So, a couple of hundred million?

What happens to that?

I don't think we should go into the details right now.

You said we had nothing left.

What does... What does "nothing left" mean?

Does it mean that we... That we downsize

to a smaller apartment or sleep out on the street?

Downsizing.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's downsizing, all right.

I don't... I don't understand this.

You're not a criminal.

Yes, Ruthie, I am a criminal.

Yes, Ruthie, I am a criminal.

A lot of you might not believe what you're seeing,

but it's the truth.

The night I confessed to Ruth and the boys

was the same night as the company Christmas party,

held as always at Rosa Mexicana, guacamole heaven.

Held as always at Rosa Mexicana, guacamole heaven.

Why? Why did I do that?

I'd known these people for years, and all that time,

they trusted me as the guy

who knew what was best for everybody.

Tonight was the last time

I'd ever see them look at me like that again.

This is $50 billion, you said,

not million, but billion, with a "B"?

Yes, sir.

I've met your father, you know.

More than once.

My colleague has his retirement fund with him.

My colleague has his retirement fund with him.

Not anymore.

Okay.

Um... let me ask you, does your mother know that you're here?

No.

Ruth!

Margarita?

No, thanks.

Yeah.

Thanks.

I haven't seen Andrew or Mark. They're coming, right?

Yeah, they're just... they're just running a little behind.

What is this?

What is this?

I have no idea.

So you said that your father wants to wait a week

before turning himself in to pay out the money that's left,

is that right? Mm-hmm.

It's not his to spend. It's stolen.

If he plans to disperse any of it to anyone at all...

Anyone... this is a crime that's currently in progress.

Does that mean that we're guilty?

It's my strong advice that we go to the authorities immediately.

The SEC, the FBI, the U.S. attorney...

If your father gives any of that money away, you are complicit.

Hey, Bern.

What is it that's so important

you had to take me away from my favorite food?

Peter, listen, uh,

I have committed some irregularities with the company.

Bernie, I've always known that certain things

weren't completely on the level...

No, no, no, no, no, no. You don't know that.

That's what you don't know.

You don't know that anything was off the level.

You don't know that. Do you understand me?

I need a week to take care of certain people,

I need a week to take care of certain people,

and then I have to turn myself in.

And I'm gonna probably end up going to jail.

Okay?

Okay.

All right.

Don't go to jail.

Oh, no, Peter, Peter, stop. Please, please.

Don't.

All right.

I love you, Bernie.

I love you, Bernie.

I love you, too.

Look... Go on, go on.

These affidavits testify to the key points

of what you've told us here tonight.

All you have to do is sign. But don't do it lightly.

Well, I just want to remind you

that the reason my clients came forward tonight

is because they are completely and totally innocent

of any involvement in these crimes.

Understood. But please remember,

once you sign, there's no going back.

Once you sign, there's no going back.

These are sworn statements

that can be used against your father in a court of law.

Sign that. This is for you, Andy.

Excuse me.

Sign where your name is.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Mr. Madoff?

Yeah.

We're from the FBI. Do you know why we're here?

I didn't hear the house phone.

I didn't hear the house phone.

What's going... What's going on?

Somebody turned me in.

Who?

Who do you think?

I floated my sons for 40 years.

And this is how they repay me...

By lawyering up and ruining my exit plan.

Just 10 days to put things in order.

All they had to give me was five minutes.

You got it. I'm checking it out.

Hey, do me a favor... next time,

have them fill the tequila bottles

with cranberry and tonic. Frank. Frank.

My head is like a... Huh?

Why is the FBI here?

On the computer, ma'am.

Hey, Bern, it's like 10:45.

Look, I'm sure that Peter has told you the FBI is here,

but I keep getting calls...

DiPascali, Crupi, Bongiorno.

Where can we find their offices?

Oh, they're not up here.

What do you mean, "up here"?

They're on 17.

Get all those papers off the wall. Let's go.

Come on, pick these papers up.

Make sure they make it into the shredder.

Make sure they make it into the shredder.

Guys, guys, don't jam 'em in.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Ma'am, make sure you get those. Lots of journals.

Double-digit returns, even in the worst of markets.

Federal authorities revealed this was no market magic.

It was a grand Ponzi scheme.

Yeah?

What?

Bernie?

You got to be kidding me.

Monsieur, your brother's on the telephone.

Monsieur, your brother's on the telephone.

What? Really, what is it?

Mr. Madoff has been arrested.

Well, we're learning more this morning

about what authorities are calling

the largest financial scam ever.

A powerful New York investment broker

accused of bilking investors out of $50 billion.

For years, he made good on...

amazing investor.

He made big money year after year, double-digit returns.

He made big money year after year, double-digit returns.

It sounded too good to be true, and it was.

Financier Bernard Madoff now stands accused

of running a $50 billion fraud.

He faces 20 years in prison and millions in fines.

I'm watching him on television right now.

And ABC News has learned, George, that the two employees

that turned Madoff in were, in fact, his sons.

Well, we're learning more this morning

about what authorities are calling

the largest financial scam ever,

a powerful New York investment broker...

Aah!

That's right. Just me.

Just you? A $50 billion fraud, and nobody else was involved?

That's correct.

Nobody?

Am I not being clear, Ethan?

Not Frank DiPascali? No.

Not Annette Bongiorno? No.

Not your brother? No.

Not your sons? Your wife?

No.

If he wants to make bail,

he's gonna have to do a hell of a lot better than this.

He's gonna have to do a hell of a lot better than this.

He's cooperating. What do you want him to do?

Draw you a treasure map? Yes!

That's exactly what I want him to do.

Bernie confessed, of his own free will,

even before calling me,

which I'm sure you can guess I'm thrilled about.

Let's cut the crap.

You've got the centerpiece of your case well in hand.

Sorry, Ethan.

A personal recognizance bond isn't gonna cut it.

You want your client to go home?

I need a $10 million bond posted.

He's gonna have to be placed under house arrest.

And I'm gonna need that bond signed by four people

willing to stand for him...

assuming there are any left.

It has to be signed by four people?

You, me, and the boys.

And then we can bring them home.

Of course, Ruthie. Just fax it over.

I'll sign it and get it right back to you.

I'll sign it and get it right back to you.

Oh, thank you, Peter. That's a relief.

Yeah, now the boys.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah, of course.

I'll keep you posted.

Listen to me right now, Mom.

Mom, listen to me.

Do... Do you understand me? No!

No, Andy and I are never gonna help our father.

Mark, you've got to calm down.

Do you understand me? We are not signing the bond!

Do you want to save yourself, Mom?

You let him rot in jail where he belongs!

You let him rot in jail where he belongs!

Too much.

Mark. Mark, Mark!

Tell her to leave. Stop, I will.

Tell her to leave. I need you to calm down.

I don't want her here. Just sit down over there.

I do not want her here. Okay, fine.

Tell her to go.

Mark, you've got to calm down, okay?

Mom. Open the door.

Mom. Open the door.

Mom! You're signing this bond!

You're signing it right now. Tell her to leave, Andy.

I'm gonna make it very simple.

He's given you everything! Okay, it's your choice.

Us or him! You son of a...

All your father has done for you.

Don't be so unreasonable. Let me in.

Many of Madoff's victims, hungry for justice.

And he looked at me, and I saw a hollow face.

Hollow. There was nothing in it.

No emotion whatsoever.

You met his eyes? Yes.

And there was nothing there.

I met Richard and Cynthia Freidman.

We were investors with Madoff.

We lost everything. Everything.

Everything, yes. All our life's savings.

They were skeptical that justice would truly be done.

There's something about being in the presence of somebody that evil.

So, when was it exactly that I became the poster boy

for all of Wall Street's crimes?

Maybe it was when all the celebrities

who took a hit were revealed.

No, no.

Who doesn't love to see celebrities suffer?

Maybe it was the charities.

And I admit that didn't exactly show me in the best light.

No, no, no.

Even after what that idiot Frenchman pulled,

Even after what that idiot Frenchman pulled,

trying to show the world

what an honorable aristocrat he was...

That didn't do it.

No.

The moment that the world decided to make me

the 21st-century icon of evil and greed,

the monster of Wall Street,

when I came home for house arrest.

Bernie, are you gonna give any of the money...

Bernie, are you gonna plead guilty?

There, right there.

There, right there.

That smirk... that smirk seen around the world

and replayed for days on every network on the planet.

Yeah, I know.

I know what you think you saw in that smirk...

A man without remorse,

a rich man confident

that his money would put him above the law.

You think you saw a man scorning the world.

Well, you couldn't have been more wrong.

But I'm really not some evil, horrible,

ethically deprived scoundrel.

I'm basically an ordinary businessman

I'm basically an ordinary businessman

who simply got in over his head.

I'm gonna go in alone.

No way. I'm not letting you go out there unprotected.

They're not gonna come at me if I'm not with you, okay?

I love you.

That's him!

Go, go, go, go, go, go!

Go, go, go!

Excuse me, ma'am, you can't be here.

Ma'am, this is a crime scene. You have to leave.

No disrespect, agent,

but I'm sick of waiting around for you to figure out

that I'm the person you need to be talking to.

Here.

His personal address book.

All 130 of his "must have with him at all times" contacts.

All 130 of his "must have with him at all times" contacts.

Everyone he stole from is in that book.

And just who, exactly, are you?

I was his secretary.

Many of the largest investment firms on Wall Street

didn't do business with Mr. Madoff.

Why didn't they go to the SEC?

Because the SEC wouldn't have done anything.

Why would you watch that?

People who live in glass houses don't throw stones.

Penance, maybe.

What?

Voluntary self-punishment.

The SEC comes in after the fact,

The SEC comes in after the fact,

toe-tags the victims, counts the bodies...

Used to be a popular concept in the very, very old days.

Anyway, I won't close my eyes to what I've done.

Hey.

Uncle Bernie's the one that put all of us in jeopardy

and ruined everyone we know.

You did nothing wrong.

Dad, it's not your fault.

You didn't know what he was doing.

I was Chief Compliance Officer.

I was Chief Compliance Officer.

It was my job to stop it.

They're not gonna just let me walk away from this.

Hey, this is Mark. Leave a message.

Why won't you talk to me, huh?

Listen, I'm the one that should be angry...

With you and your brother.

How could you betray your father like this,

after all that he has done for you?

After all that he has done for you?

Why... Why this pointless demand that I choose between you, why?

Why should I have to choose between my husband and my son?

What... What... What good would it do if I left him?

What difference would it make?

You know all you're doing, Mark, is just ripping this fa...

family apart!

In Denver, President Obama signed

the massive $787 billion economic stimulus bill, saying,

"It would keep the American Dream alive in our time."

At the same time on Wall Street,

the Dow dropped nearly 300 points

after worries about clouds on the horizon.

President Barack Obama sees today's signings

as a historic moment that will end the run

of economic calamities.

None greater than the ultimate Wall Street fraud,

Bernie Madoff.

I'm the fraud, eh? Turn the economy around.

But today does mark the beginning of the end.

But today does mark the beginning of the end.

Ah, the whole financial system's rotten from the top down.

I'm just a dirty little fish

swimming around in a great, big, dirty pond.

You know the biggest banks in the world

sell their customers assets they know are toxic,

and... and... And the ratings board

gives them a rubber stamp of approval.

And the politicians then tell the public

that Wall Street is gonna police itself.

Ha!

And then we all get bailed out,

And then we all get bailed out,

and they got to pay billions

and billions and billions of dollars.

And they call me a fraud?!

And I ran the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, okay,

within the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.

Ah.

I'm the fall guy.

You have no idea how good it is to see your face.

It's just been killing me not to...

It's just been killing me not to...

Not to see you or Mark for the past two... two months.

Well, Mark would kill me if he knew I was here.

How is he?

How are any of us? Not good.

Well, you're holding up all right, it seems,

all things considered.

Well, it's easier for me to adjust than you and Mark.

I didn't spend my whole life worrying about being liked.

So, what is it? What did you want to ask?

I want to see Mark's baby.

I want to come to the hospital when the baby comes.

No. Mom, I know it's hard.

Mark has his feelings, and they're never gonna change

Mark has his feelings, and they're never gonna change

unless you completely cut off Dad.

Why... Why is it so hard for you both

to understand why I can't do that?

Maybe you never loved anybody

like your father and I love each other,

or else you would understand

why what you're asking me is impossi...

He lied to us every day, Mom, you included.

And now we have to pay for his lies.

Cut him off.

You have a future.

The whole family has a future.

The whole family has a future.

Just not him.

Nobody will ever love me like that again.

Nobody will ever love me like that again.

Maybe your grandson will.

What?

It's a boy.

We just found out.

We just found out.

You know how much little boys love their grandmas.

Ye...

I've got to go.

You can't help but wonder

whether Bernard Madoff is sleeping yet.

Tonight, the disgraced financier

will rest his head on a bare-boned bunk

in a New York City jail cell for the first time...

In a New York City jail cell for the first time...

Not in the master bedroom of his multimillion-dollar penthouse.

So they yanked my bail the minute I made my guilty plea,

and they threw me in the clink to wait to be sentenced.

Here's your lunch, douchebag. Choke on it.

So...

what's it like outside?

Good.

It's fabulous, actually.

It's fabulous, actually.

I lost weight.

You know, 'cause I can't go out.

Or get groceries to the apartment.

They won't do that.

The salon won't book my appointment for me,

and no restaurants want me.

I'm the only homeless person in the whole world

who lives in a penthouse, and that's only temporary.

Why?

Why what?

Why what?

Seriously.

Don't tell me you just got in over your head.

I want to know why, Bernie, why?

Because people only want to get richer and richer and richer

and they don't want the risk and they don't want the worry.

Even the bank I put the money in,

I put billions of dollars in that one account.

You think it occurred to them to pick up a phone and say,

"Hey, we got an account here,

it's got billions of dollars in it for 35 years.

Maybe you ought to take a look at it."

Maybe you ought to take a look at it."

No.

Because I was the magician.

And nobody wants the magic trick explained.

And that's what you get for believing in magic.

Okay, so, another lawsuit.

Read all the way to the bottom.

Read all the way to the bottom.

Our kids? They want to sue our kids?

They're suing my 3-year-old daughter.

That's insane. It's gonna get thrown out.

Look, Mark, this is totally screwed,

but we've got to just...

We've got to what?

We've got to play ball?

We've got to let them rub our noses in the dirt?

Pretend that we like it because we know we deserve it?

Does that make it okay for them to threaten our kids,

Does that make it okay for them to threaten our kids,

who had absolutely no involvement

with what their scumbag grandfather did?

If they get anywhere near my children, I swear to God...

No one's gonna hurt your kids.

It's... It's just a lawsuit.

We're dealing with hundreds of them.

Every judge in every lawsuit against us

can say that we're innocent, and it wouldn't matter.

The world's never gonna believe us.

This day will pass. I can see it.

But I need you to picture it.

Why bother?

Why bother? Your wife, your kids.

Everything's gone.

What are you talking about?

They've taken everything... Even our name.

Mark, please.

We're changing our name.

Steph and I figured it was...

It was for the best, especially for the kids.

We will now be known as Stephanie and Mark Mack.

Why would you do that?

Why would you do that?

Because I can't be a Madoff anymore.

Hello, Ed.

So, you won.

You're the hero.

Well, I don't feel like a hero.

I feel horrible for every single person

involved with this thing.

Well, hopefully that's gonna change, thanks in part to you.

Nothing's gonna change, Ed.

The SEC's gonna go right on doing what it's doing

and nothing short of a revolution in the street

is gonna change anything.

I'm glad you finally got what you wanted, Harry.

It's made you so much happier.

Can you imagine? They offered me a deal.

So I told them, I ain't rolling over.

Ain't no way.

There's guys out there doing worse things than we ever did.

We can fight through this, Bernie. I got faith.

Besides, we never had that fishing day on my boat.

Shut up!

There's no play here, Frank.

Get out.

Save yourself.

And, Frank, I never liked fishing.

It was just an act I put on for my kids.

From approximately April of 1986 until December, 2008,

I directly participated in Mr. Madoff's scheme

to defraud his investment clients of billions of dollars.

Also directly involved were my colleagues

Annette Bongiorno and Jodi Crupi.

In addition, the Director of Operations and several others,

all of whom worked with me on the firm's 17th floor...

all of whom worked with me on the firm's 17th floor...

had roles in the fraud.

And you never made one trade?

The day I make a trade, you'll be the first to know.

I had the use of a corporate credit card,

which I used to charge personal expenses,

including plane tickets for my son

and his fraternity brothers...

Bernard Madoff awaits judgment this morning

in U.S. District Court

for running the largest and longest-running

financial scam in history.

Your honor, I cannot offer you an excuse for my behavior.

How do you excuse betraying thousands of investors

who entrusted me with their life savings?

The financial devastation can easily be defined,

but the emotional, spiritual, and psychological devastation

is indescribable.

I sat in limbo for weeks, for months.

First, trying to figure out

how we were gonna help over 1,100 people.

How we were gonna help over 1,100 people.

Another year or two with my savings,

and then I'm just a pauper.

Wherever it goes from there, I don't know.

People have accused me of being silent

and not being sympathetic.

That is not true.

When my company was sold,

I just cashed it all in, and I gave it all to Bernie.

And I always make a joke.

I said, "That probably took him on a vacation."

We have, through the generosity of friends, been able to stay...

We have, through the generosity of friends, been able to stay...

My mom has already retired.

This was going to cause a 70% drop in income

for the rest of her life.

I would love to meet him, tell him what I think of him,

and spit in his face.

I apologize to my victims.

I will turn and face you.

The things that matter, I have.

And he can't take them away.

He just needs to be put away.

I mean, really, I would love to see him with nothing.

I have to wonder out loud, though, so he goes to jail.

He's gonna spend the rest of his life in jail.

Is that justice? People's lives are ruined.

His 150-year sentence

virtually ensures he will spend the rest of his life in jail.

The judge said a message had to be sent.

The judge said a message had to be sent.

Ruth Madoff was not in the courtroom today

to say goodbye to her husband, nor were his sons.

The judge said he had not received a single letter

on Madoff's behalf from family or friends,

and even his own lawyer called him a deeply flawed individual.

As he walked out today, I saw no tears in his eyes.

And it seemed to me, Charlie,

there was a distinct smirk on his face.

Joanie? It's Ruthie.

You're the only person that I... I could call.

'Cause all my friends and my sons, they're just all...

Look, you're still my big sister, though, right?

Look, you're still my big sister, though, right?

Joanie, I know that you lost everything because of him,

but look, I-I...

Could I...

Would you...

I-I just don't have anyplace else to go.

And...

Okay, thank you, okay.

My first day inside was...

My first day inside was...

Well, let's just say the stress levels were incredibly high.

Welcome home, Madoff!

But then, suddenly, I was deemed welcome to my new home.

Hey, it's the $50 billion man!

Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!

Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!

In here, I was the guy who stole $50 billion,

the greatest thief in history.

Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!

Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!

Well, that's some kind of distinction, isn't it?

What?

What is that?

What is that? Really?

You're gonna pretend you don't know her?

Of course I know her. That's the Hadassah lady.

Of course I know her. That's the Hadassah lady.

50 years of marriage, everything you put me through,

at least show me the respect of not treating me like an idiot.

Ruth, I-I really, I don't have any idea

what you're talking about.

So, you deny it.

Of course I'm denying it!

All the things she should hate me for...

The destruction of our family...

This is crap!

All the lives I've ruined...

It's someone looking for attention.

I don't believe you.

Ruth.

I should leave you.

I should let you rot in here, you liar.

And the one thing that gets her is this.

And the one thing that gets her is this.

You're right.

I was with her. I lied.

But she was... she wasn't you.

I was always thinking about you when I was with her.

I don't know you.

I never knew you.

If you'd have told me that morning

when the Feds first showed up at my door

that I'd be spending the rest of my days locked up

with a bunch of murderers, thieves, and low-lifes,

with a bunch of murderers, thieves, and low-lifes,

I would have sworn my last happy day was behind me.

But here's the thing.

I used to wake up sick to my stomach

from carrying that secret around with me.

Down, down, down, down.

And now, I'm all out of secrets.

For the most part, I feel a hell of a lot better.

Looks like you finally found a full-time job.

Yeah, it's good, man.

It's been great.

It's been great, just the two of us.

Yeah, with Steph taking Audrey to Disney World,

Yeah, with Steph taking Audrey to Disney World,

I just get some private time with him.

We can all come back together recharged.

Good.

I wanted to tell you that I've been thinking a lot recently

about something you said to me once.

Mm-hmm?

That the world is never gonna believe

that we weren't involved.

And it just sort of hit me.

So what?

Who cares what the world thinks?

Everyone that matters knows the truth.

The rest is just noise.

The rest is just noise.

Isn't it?

Mark, I've been waiting for you to say that for two years.

Two years, yeah.

Well, life doesn't have to end, right?

No.

Cheers.

Cheers.

It was Mark Madoff's life in privilege and luxury

that also ended two years ago today

when his father was arrested in the massive Ponzi scheme.

And this morning, Bernie Madoff's son

apparently timed his suicide to the very minute and hour

of that anniversary.

It may well have been a message to his father.

She never visited again.

Never called, never wrote.

Never called, never wrote.

My family, they are the only victims that mattered to me.

Everything I did was for them...

To protect them, to provide for them, to give them everything.

I'm never gonna get over what I did to my family.

But as for the rest of you,

you who so badly want to see me suffer for the rest of my days,

you who so badly want to see me suffer for the rest of my days,

in torment, sorry to disappoint.

You remember that smirk? You know?

The one that made the whole world hate me?

You want to know what I was thinking?

It wasn't that I was above the law.

Or that I was gonna beat the rap.

Or that I was better than the rest of you.

It was that at that moment, I realized

It was that at that moment, I realized

that I had actually accomplished

exactly what I set out to do

all those years ago in Laurelton, huh?

Nobody would ever, ever, anywhere,

until the end of time,

pity Bernie Madoff.