Jeremy Piven goes nuts on Chris Kattan, Robert Pattinson parties in Queens, Michael Jackson is finally buried, Bethenny Frankel hates Gwyneth Paltrow, Jesus Luz wants to be a DJ, Mariah Carey is freaking out and Victoria Beckham debuts on Idol.
Bernie Madoff's Montauk estate hasn't been sold off yet. Court-appointed trustee Irving Picard has yet to pick a broker(s) to handle the sale yet—possibly because he's been too busy counting his money—although the competition for the listing is fierce, according to Dan's Papers. And while Dan's debunks one myth that's been making the rounds—"Reports that a group of untidy pot smoking surfers are using the pad to hang out, party and chill is false"—it does offer up a rather tantalizing new rumor, one that may have you rushing over to pay Casa Madoff a visit this weekend:
The only moneymaking scheme better than the one Bernie Madoff operated for two decades (if only because it's perfectly legal): the one that Madoff court-appointed trustee Irving Picard is now running. Picard's firm is charging $1 million a week to disassemble Madoff's investment firm and is stands to collect as much as $250 million when all is said and done. [NYP]
Ruth Madoff's shopping sprees are going to be a lot less exciting from now on. A bankruptcy judge has ruled the wife of imprisoned fraudster Bernie Madoff cannot spend more than $100 on herself without first informing Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating her husband's investment business. On the plus side, this probably means the new JCPenney store in Herald Square just earned itself a new customer, so that's good news, right? [Bloomberg]
Giving up her Upper East Side penthouse and all of its contents may not be all that Ruth Madoff has to sacrifice for living off her husband's vast Ponzi scheme for all those years: Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating Bernie Madoff's investment advisory business, slapped Ruthie with a lawsuit today. Picard claims she was "massively enriched" by her husband's $65 billion Ponzi scheme (duh), and says he's identified an additional $44.8 million "that is subject to recapture." Ruth's lawyer says the suit is "perplexing and totally unjustified," since she's already forfeited most of her assets. You can read the full suit below if you have nothing better to do this rainy afternoon. But if you're a salesperson at Neiman Marcus or Barneys, you probably should take this as a sign that Ruthie's regularly-scheduled shopping expedition this weekend is not happening.
How long as Bernie Madoff been in a North Carolina prison now? A couple of weeks? Well, it sounds like he's settling in nicely. According to the lawyer who visited him behind bars today—and spent four and half hours in his company—Madoff is "buff-looking" and "seems to be working out." And you were worried he'd have trouble fitting in. [ABC News]
Jerry Oppenheimer, the author famous for his gossipy, unauthorized biographies of people Anna Wintour (excellent), Martha Stewart (also good) and Jerry Seinfeld (boring), is publishing a new book about Bernie Madoff. Some of it sounds pretty juicy: Oppenheimer delves into possible ties between Madoff and members of the Mob, his serial unfaithfulness to wife Ruthie, and the book report that he may have fudged in a high school English class. Then again, some of it sounds like total nonsense. Like Oppenheimer's claim that Madoff didn't know how to tell time:
New York State Assemblyman Jim Tedisco introduced a "Madoff" bill on Monday, which would require rich New Yorkers convicted of crimes to pay state and federal governments for the estimated $80-$90 it costs to keep them behind bars. Despite the name, Tedisco's proposed law wouldn't have even applied to Madoff, since the government stripped him of his assets. But had it been on the books a few years ago? The most humiliating period in Martha Stewart's life would have come with a $13,500 bill, too. [Reuters]
It's been a week since Bernie Madoff settled in at the federal prison complex in Butner, NC, the penitentiary that will be his home for the next century or so. How's he doing? So far, so good. Although some of his fellow prisoners have been "discussing beating him up to boost their jailhouse reputations"—they actually debate these things in advance?—they've resisted the urge up until now, mainly because they've been "impressed" that he hasn't ratted out the people who helped him carry out his scheme.
• New details have emerged about Mischa Barton's involuntary trip to the hospital last week: According to the Post and the Sun, Barton was "so high on coke following a marathon three-day bender" that friends thought she might kill herself, and contacted the police. [NYP, Sun]
• Yet another fashion publicist is in legal trouble, apparently. Tim Mark Garcia, the new head of public relations for Marc Jacobs, is out on bond on "plunder" charges and is now facing extradition back to the Philippines. [P6]
• Not surprisingly, billionaire financier Pete Peterson is said to be "mortified" over how his grandson, PC, has come off on the Bravo show NYC Prep. [P6]
• French president Nicolas Sarkozy was in NYC this weekend. And he showed off his "chiseled" body when he went jogging in Central Park. [NYDN]
Bernie Madoff's prison sentence has been reduced from 150 years to 130 years. Or maybe it hasn't. But for whatever reason the Bureau of Prisons has the fraudster's release date listed for 2139. Math error or evidence Bernie's opened up his wallet and is now dishing out bribes to prison officials? You decide! [Dealbreaker]
Contrary to what CNBC and the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, convicted con artist Bernie Madoff did not end up at the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina last night. But he didn't go to the facility in Otisville, NY either, which was what the Post and CNN had been claiming. All those "sources" turned out to be wrong, and he arrived at a prison in Atlanta. But no one knows if he'll be staying in Atlanta permanently, or if it's just a temporary stop-off, so the mystery continues, it seems. [NYT, BN, previously]
Right now Bernie Madoff is heading to the prison where he'll spend the rest of his life. Just which prison he's headed to, though, is still a mystery. Late this afternoon, an unidentified source told the Post that Madoff was headed to Otisville, the facility that he'd requested since it's within driving distance of NYC (not to mention renowned for its tasty kosher meals). CNBC, however, has been reporting that its source is telling them that Madoff is going to the medium security federal prison in Butner, North Carolina. CNN is following the Post's lead and going with Otisville. The Post's sister paper, the Wall Street Journal, is backing up CNBC and reporting that "a person familiar with the situation" has indicated Madoff is North Carolina-bound. Presumably we'll find out his destination for certain in a few hours when he shows up and makes his grand entrance. Or maybe this is all part of Bernie's plan to deliberately confuse prison officials and he's behind the wheel of a stolen car and speeding for the Mexican border? Developing!
Poor Ruth Madoff's been reduced to coupon clipping. Sadly, since Cipriani's no longer running their Buy-Nine-Truffle-Strewn-Lobsters-Get-An-Iced-Tea-Free promotion, Ruthie went elsewhere: California Pizza Kitchen. How'd it go? Terribly. Also, tasty tips for her!
