Last Saturday, the NYT ran a breezy op-ed by Daphne Merkin, blaming widespread willful delusion for the Bernie Madoff debacle. No wonder. Her brother is the scam's biggest sucker.

Remember how author Daphne Merkin downplayed her brother's connection to Bernie Madoff in the Times this past weekend, describing Ezra Merkin as "a sibling who did business with him," and then suggesting that Madoff's victims weren't really victims, since no one held a gun to their heads and demanded their cash? We weren't the only ones surprised by the bizarro op-ed. The Times agrees that a bit more disclosure was warranted, according to an email a reader received from Times public editor Clark Hoyt:

Two conceptual artists/nuts decided that they could stop people from dying by building bizarre apartments for them. But Bernie Madoff lost all their money! He's killed the dream of immortality through uneven flooring:

• Andrew Cuomo reports that 15 of the top 20 recipients of the $165 million in AIG bonuses have agreed to give back the cash. As for the other five, Cuomo is still "thinking about" releasing their names. Hint, hint. [NYT]
• Tim Geithner will call for the Treasury to be granted the power to seize troubled financial firms when he goes before a Congressional panel today. [DB]
• More trouble for AIG: The IRS is looking into cushy tax deals that were structured by the same unit that collected those millions in bonuses. [WSJ]
• Goldman Sachs plans to give back its bailout money in the next month. [DB]
• More on the programs unveiled by Tim Geithner yesterday, which created plenty of enthusiasm on Wall Street and sent the Dow up 7 percent. [NYT]
• The trustee overseeing the Madoff mess says he found an additional $75 million laying around, so there's some good news for you. [NYT]
• What a difference a year makes: "The best-performing deal of billionaire Henry Kravis's empire is a deep-discount retailer selling $1 dog treats and $2 bleach to lower-income shoppers." [WSJ]

Author Daphne Merkin penned an op-ed piece for the Times yesterday and once again offered up a few thoughts on the scandal concerning her brother, disgraced money manager Ezra Merkin, who steered more than $1.5 billion to Bernie Madoff and who has since been forced to shut down his funds amid half a dozen lawsuits. This time, though, Daphne attaches a disclaimer to her piece, albeit one that might strike any rational person as a touch inadequate: "I did not know Mr. Madoff nor did I invest with his firm, but have a sibling who did business with him." Did business indeed! But that's not the only bizarre bit.

Just days before Bernie Madoff was arrested, a Bronx businessman named Martin Rosenman handed over $10 million of his family's money to the now-imprisoned financier's investment firm. Terrible timing, no doubt, but Rosenman quickly argued that he hadn't actually intended to have Madoff invest the cash until the following month, so he was entitled to get his money back pronto, and shouldn't be treated like the thousands of shlubs who'd fallen victim to Madoff months or years earlier. A federal judge ruled against Rosenman in February and instructed him to take his place in line with everyone else, thank you very much. But it seems Rosenman isn't taking no for an answer. Today he filed notice that he intends to appeal the ruling. Best of luck with that, Marty—you'll need it. The court papers are below.

Last night, as her husband sat in jail and reporters and photographers continued their stakeout of her home, Ruth Madoff was like, hey, I need some cheese! She went to the grocery store. Just spontaneously.

Possibly the most unfortunate name to have at the moment: Bernie Madoff, of course. A man named Bernard Jeffrey Madoff says his phone has been ringing off the hook the last few weeks, calls that have come "at all hours of the day and night," from "people who were either upset or unhinged or both." For the record, though, he doesn't pronounce his name the same way. He goes with MAD-off, not MADE-off. [NYT]

Bernie Madoff is leading our Most Loathsome Financial Villain poll, but there's still time for second-place Alan Greenspan to make a comeback. Go vote for your candidate!

Bernie Madoff would still very much like to go home to his Upper East Side penthouse while he awaits sentencing. Lawyer Ira Sorkin pressed the case in front of a three-judge panel this morning and argued he wasn't a flight risk. Prosecutors begged to disagree, and the judges said they'd issue a ruling "in due course." So there's still a small sliver of hope, which should boost Bernie's spirits a bit today. [NYT]

Most shocking finding in this poll? 76% of Americans have no opinion of Bernie Madoff.

David Friehling, the New York accountant who signed off on Bernie Madoff's books, has been arrested as an accomplice in Madoff's Ponzi scheme. His alleged crime? Not doing his job.

Finally, we have an all-encompassing, shrink-wrapped theory of Gladwellian cogency to account for everything malignant in our society, including the financial meltdown, Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop.com, Olivia Palermo's nasty attitude toward Whitney Port, the disaster wrought by Bernie Madoff, the unrepentance of aging philanderers, and Alex Rodriguez's photo spread in this month's Details (left). It's all because of narcissism!

It looks like Bernie Madoff's sketchy accountant is going to be the next person to go down in connection with the scheme. The Journal is now reporting that David Friehling has been charged with securities fraud, aiding and abetting investment adviser fraud and four counts of filing false audit reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He faces 105 years in prison if he's convicted on all of the charges and is expected to be arraigned in federal court later today. [WSJ]

We can't guarantee your card will make it through: Bernie Madoff is being held in isolation at the moment, and it's unclear if isolated prisoners have access to their mail. But it's worth a shot, no? To improve your chances, be sure to follow the prison's official rules: For instance, any letters that contain money will be sent back immediately. (But you weren't really going to send him more cash, were you?) Simply print the card out, write a personal message, apply a stamp, and drop it in the mail. Just don't hold your breath waiting for him to write back. [Previously]

Authorities have released Bernie Madoff's mug shot from his booking at the Metropolitan Correction Center. After scamming $64 billion, he should have at least had to hold one of those silly little signs. (Via)

It was only a matter of time before attention-hungry restaurateur Nino Selimaj figured a way to cash in on the Bernie Madoff saga. New York's most successful Albanian-born Italian restaurant owner says that he'll be giving away free meals at Nino's 208 on East 58th Street to anyone who was ripped off by Bernie all this week, so long as they mention the schemer when making reservations and bring a monthly statement from Madoff's investment firm to the restaurant. One quick way to make the deal work even if you weren't victimized by Bernie: Buy an authentic Madoff statement on Ebay for $21 and then order the $25 osso buco. [City Room]

How on earth did so many investors fall victim to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme? If they'd only bothered to consult a "face reading expert," they would have known instantly he was up to no good! At least that's what Jean Haner, who was asked by the Daily News to read the fraudster's mug, says. The author of the book The Wisdom of Your Face, Haner says that while Bernie's face might suggest "I care about you—and your money," that's just what he used to gain the trust of his victims. If you look more closely, you'll see that his eyes are "deep-set" and "slant down," which are clearly indicative of someone who is pessimistic and prone to do dishonest things: "When the going gets tough, rather than be honest, he'll keep secrets." Now you tell us!

The internet is very upset that Bernie Madoff looks like George Washington. Could it be because it's like being made love to by a woman with the same mannerisms as your mother? We investigate.

Bernie Madoff's lawyers filed documents in court today detailing all of his assets and monthly expenses. (They were submitted as part of an appeal to release him from prison prior to his sentencing in June; good luck with that.) The documents indicate Madoff had assets worth $823 million as of the end of last year, although $700 million of that consists of his stake in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, and his company may be worth a tad less than that given what's transpired the past few months. (If, however, you're interested in paying that kind of money for the prestigious firm that bears the Madoff name, Lazard Frères would be positively delighted to hear from you.) As for his expenses, Madoff says that it costs him $326,757.85 a month to maintain his various homes, boats, and household employees. So where does all that money go exactly? You can go here to see every line item. Or click on the photo above for a few totally random details pulled from the court documents. [NYT]