Madoff Scandal Takes Grisly Turn

Distinguished N.Y. Investor Who Lost $1 Billion Commits Suicide; Will More Tragedy Follow?

(CBS/AP)  He was a distinguished investor who traced his lineage to the French aristocracy, hobnobbed with members of European high society and sailed around the world on fancy yachts.

But after losing more than $1 billion of his clients' money to Bernard Madoff, Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet had enough. He locked the door of his Madison Avenue office and apparently swallowed sleeping pills and slashed his wrists with a box cutter, police said.

A security guard found his body Tuesday morning, next to a garbage can placed to catch the blood.

The bloody scene marked a grisly turn in the Madoff scandal in which money managers and investors were ensnared in an alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme. De la Villehuchet is believed to have lost about $1.4 billion to Madoff.

No suicide note was found, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the city medical examiner, said the autopsy on de la Villehuchet had been completed Wednesday. She said the medical examiner was awaiting toxicology reports before determining the cause of death.

The suicide came as the number of Madoff victims grew. New York University said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that it believes it lost $24 million in the scheme through an investment with money manager J. Ezra Merkin.

De la Villehuchet, 65, was an esteemed financier who tapped his upper-crust European connections to attract clients. It was not immediately clear how he knew Madoff or who his clients were.

He grew increasingly subdued after the Madoff scandal broke, drawing suspicion among janitors at his office Monday night when he demanded that they be out of there by 7 p.m.

A partner in the firm asked a security guard later in the evening to check and see if De La Villehuchet was still there, but the door was locked, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

When a guard came into the 22nd-story office suite the next morning, less than 13 hours later, the Frenchman was dead, Browne said. There were several cuts "to his arm, to his wrist and also to his bicep area," Kelly said.

His suicide may be just the beginning, says a fellow hard-luck investor who predicted such incidents shortly after news of the scandal broke.

"It was kind of an easy prediction to make," Robert Chew, who lost $1.2 million in Madoff's fund, told CBS' The Early Show Wednesday. "I'm afraid that this is just the beginning of this kind of devastation and tragedy. It's just going to continue."

In a column Chew wrote for Time Magazine nine days ago, he said the scandal was "the kind of news that's been known to cause shortness of breath, sudden cardiac arrest, revolvers pulled from bedside drawers."

De la Villehuchet's death came as swindled investors began looking for ways to recoup their losses. Funds that lost big to Madoff are also facing investor lawsuits and backlash for failing to properly vet Madoff and overlooking red flags that could have steered them away. It's not immediately known what kind of scrutiny de la Villehuchet was facing over his losses.

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Follow the Madoff Money Trail
A look at the people and institutions that have lost millions in the alleged Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.

---

De la Villehuchet comes from rich French lineage, with the Magon part of his name referring to one of France's most powerful families. The Magon name is even listed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, a monument commissioned by Napoleon in 1806.

"He's irreproachable," said Bill Rapavy, who was Access International's chief operating officer before founding his own firm in 2007.

De la Villehuchet's firm enlisted intermediaries with links to wealthy Europeans to garner investors. Among them was Philippe Junot, a French businessman and friend who is the former husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, and Prince Michel of Yugoslavia.

De la Villehuchet, the former chairman and chief executive of Credit Lyonnais Securities USA, was also known as a keen sailor who regularly participated in regattas and was a member of the New York Yacht Club.

He lived in an affluent suburb in Westchester County with his wife, Claudine. They have no children. There was no answer Tuesday at the family's two-story house. Phone calls to the home and de la Villehuchet's office went unanswered.

Guy Gurney, a British photographer living in Connecticut, was friends with de la Villehuchet. The two often sailed together and competed in a regatta in France in November.

"He was a very honorable man," Gurney said. "He was extraordinarily generous. He was an aristocrat but not a snob. He was a real person. When he was sailing, he was one of the boys."

The two were supposed to have dinner last Friday but Gurney called the day before to cancel because of the weather. But during the call, de la Villehuchet revealed he had been ensnared in Madoff scandal.

"He sounded very subdued," Gurney said.

Gurney said de la Villehuchet was happily married to his wife.

"I can't imagine what it's like for her now," he said.

[martin9p2]

Madoff deserves the death penalty.

[whyaskwhy1]

I''ve no idea of any involvement he may have had in our current miseries... but if was going to go it''s a shame he didn''t take any of the trash out with him.

[jerr11]

One guy lost $1 Billion of his investors'' money and committed suicide.

Another guys lost $3 Trillion of taxpayers money in Iraq and is laughing in Crawford, Texas.

That''s the difference between a man of conscience and a Son of Satan.

[evian_ycnan]

Who invests with a guy named "Madoff"?

Who gets on a plane numbered US Air flt 5050?

[standlee5]

What a sad way to express shame. He''d have been better off spending the rest of his working toward helping those he failed.

[jack773]

If you can find that Madoff somehow forced people into an investment then he''s guilty - as for investments there are nany scams out there - why pick on Madoff? The entire of Wall Street is not guaranteed - the Madoff plan might have worked - in fact it did just as good as blueline GM!

[lovegetpeace]

2008 was almost a perfect year for the Democratic Party. We missed only 1 Democratic Senator in Congress for a Filibuster-Proof Senate. I only hope that 2009 will be an even better year for the Democratic Party.

The Greedy Republican Party is in Coma for another 40 years - again

[credibility2]

Madoff continued his scheme based on his name and those who saw him as the genuine article. The SEC is especially guilty of not having thoroughly investigated him when on several occasions, others tried tipping them off to his scheme. Sadly, many of the investors that used the money of others, entrusting it to Madoff are also guilty of fraud. There''s plenty of blame to go around, but most of it is with Madoff and the SEC.

[credibility2]

There are plenty of greedy Dem millionaires in Congress and elsewhere. So, it''s not just greedy Repubs. Let''s try to be all grown up now and be fair and balanced. Oh, BTW, your savior is vacationing like a real pauper now isn''t he in the multi-million dollar digs over in Hawaii. But, I guess that''s OK since he''s a Dem. A regular ole'' one of the real people, now isn''t he?

[missingamerica]

This is two sides of the same coin.

On the one hand, Madoff took actions that harmed others, no doubt because he believes that the pursuit of wealth justifies all.

On the other hand, de la Villehuchet felt compelled to turn himself into nothing when he suddenly found that he possessed nothing.

This is a result of permitting the development of a society that defines the worth of a person by the amount of wealth that they accumulate.

Unrestrained capitalism is the essence of evil.

[garego43a]

Another phrase enters our language, death by Madoff"

[garego43a]

Actually I meant to say the new phrase to be added is "suicide by Madoff", sorry.

[tejasdemo]

Another guys lost $3 Trillion of taxpayers money in Iraq and is laughing in Crawford, Texas.

*********
Dont forget the house he just bought in Dallas. Yep, he''s quite a guy isnt he ?

[jerr11]

Of course you probably don''''t believe in hell..

Posted by perceptions5 at 05:11 PM : Dec 24, 2008



Yes, I believe very much in hell.


A reading for thee, Brother-in-Christ:

Proverbs 6:16-19
[16]There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: [17]haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, [18]a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, [19]a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.


935 Lies.

4200 Dead Americans.

George W Bush - Son of Satan.

Damned for all time!

[jerr11]

And I say to ye, when that day of judgment comes, that He will Smite all these sinners with His Mighty Sword.

All these Scumbags That would use His name in vain, Lie 935 Times to the Nation, and Kill Men and Women for Profit!

[jerr11]

False prophets? The Books of Proverbs?

Methinks not.

A scripture reading for the Liar-in-Chief and his hellbound apologists:


Proverbs 6:16-19
[16]There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: [17]haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, [18]a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, [19]a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

[summarex]

Before we entertain any sort of assistance or bailout for these poor rich guys let''s first bailout the thousands who were recruited into mortgage fraud scheems by some of the very same -now unfortunate - slobs we are reading about here.

[zertrat]

Dear Abrame,
He was not a steward of peoples lives, and that''s the whole point. He aimed to be a steward but failed because he did not properly manage the resources of "peoples'' lives, reitrements, charities, and so much more."
Management is the essence of stewardship.
The absence of stewardship, replaced by greed, and gambling with peoples'' lives, characterizes this man.
You claim "He failed in his DUTY in a way you''ll never understand." We understand it so well that we don''t fail like this man did. If you really understand your duty, you don''t fail this spectacularly. And your snotty talking down to the masses is pretty hilarious, Abrame (especially given that you don''t understand basic grammar like the apostrophe.)
Don''t give me atonement after a crime like this, after a murder, after causing a major crash, and then call that honor. Have the stewardship, duty, responsibility, and talent to avoid it in the first place.

[javajoe1313]

"He was a very honorable man," Gurney said. Iam sure he is. Because I never heard of him. can this Guy Gurney tell me one good thing this moron did for the poor people? He was a super rich guy dealing with super rich people, partying all the time with expensive champagne,cognac,vodkas,caviars and gambling. I don''t feel sorry for any of these rich people who invested in Madoff''s scheme. They are all catching upto their Karma. More Madoffs to come in the coming days. Lot of these investors using their holocaust victim status to make extra money by giving specches instead of doing something really positive to the people who are being killed in
Africa,Burma,etc. All These investors are greedy,power hungry and selfish scumbags.

[lionandhoney]

The actions of one have far reaching consequences. When a human being vaults their acquisition upon the loss of another to the point that they lose hope in life and end it...this is nothing short of murder. We all have a measure of individual sovereignty that must be unassailable: if it is violated, individually or collectively, we have departed from humanity and the natural human disposition towards altruism. Society survives upon what it''s members bring to it and falls upon what it''s members take from it. Civility is a mark of our evolutionary disposition. Madoff''s behavior is nothing short of tyranny and a blatant departure from humanity. When will we collectively cooperate with the fact that education and an absolute adherence to the universally accepted ethical parameters that have been with us so long are a necessity? Often times, the weight of our collective selfishness, apathy and ignorance just seems to outweigh any feelings of mercy. We ARE heavy indeed, but our only hope is for responsible parties to enforce much more sophisticated levels of education as well as continuously deploy a sound ethical standards that holds all accountable. Violating our non-tangibles (thoughts, emotions, etc) is no different, as is obvious from the results in the article, than violating physical well being. Help us all...when will we progress?

[tincup356]

sockpuppet, where on earth do you come up with stuff like the democrats and republicans were around at the time of Christ? some of you people are flat party line brainwashed....but to say Jesus was a Democrat cannot be true,,,because Jesus was without sin,,,,so we know *** well he was not affiliated with any political group.

[jowand]

You may use "Merry Sostice"

Lib

Posted by firehose11 at 06:35 PM : Dec 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

[harp1963]

And so many of us out here can be completely happy making 50,000 a year. Too bad.

[my2centss]

To bad this man took his life over a bunch of paper. That he believed money was worth more than life. Merry Christmas all.

[gmond]

"More Madoffs to come in the coming days. Lot of these investors using their holocaust victim status to make extra money by giving specches instead of doing something really positive to the people who are being killed in Africa,Burma,etc. All These investors are greedy,power hungry and selfish scumbags.

Posted by javajoe1313 at 06:59 PM : Dec 24, 2008

Madoff ripped off everyone of every faith, but all you want to point out is his religion, and lump in every Holocaust survivor with this one p.o.s. Oh, sure, it''s quite obvious that you''re not a bigoted ***.

[jerr11]

A scripture reading for the Liar-in-Chief and his hellbound apologists:


Proverbs 6:17


[17]haughty eyes (The Decider), a lying tongue(935 Lies), and hands that shed innocent blood 4200 Dead Americans.



George W Bush - Son of Satan.

Damned for All time!

[jerr11]

One man lost $1 Billion of his investors'' money and took his life.

Another man lost $3 Trillion of taxpayers money, killed 4200 Americans and is laughing in Crawford Texas.


That''s the difference between a man of conscience and an a man of Satan.

[jerr11]

Greedy jews must be taken care by the FBI and pack them in gitmo like prisons....

Posted by Beodishazmi at 11:52 PM : Dec 24, 2008




This is not about Jews. It''s about greed AS*SHOLE.

[mmacomments]

wHY KILL YOURSELF? wHY NOT PLOT AND GET EVEN? iF YOU HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO LOSE A BILLION DOLLARS...YOU HAVE ENOUGH TO GET INFO

[pirmin3]

Two simple rules could have avoided this -

1) If it seems to good to be true it probably is.

2) Never invest more than you can afford to lose.

[nuffera]

Guess he couldn''t stand the thoughts of having to really work for a living and would get a tremendous nose bleed coming down from his perch. Sorry, I have no sympathy for any of those rich buggers!

[E Andreis]

Hmm, an observation taken to the limit.

Madoff should be held responsible for any deaths sue to his previous actions.

1) Conspiracy to kill (suicides based on financial ruin in 1929).

2) Conspiracy to destroy the nations credibility and institutions (a terrorism beyond belief that undermines this nations values).

Arrest him again and charge Madoff with his deep devious crimes.

[E Andreis]

Correction

Hmm, an observation taken to the limit.

Madoff should be held responsible for any deaths due to his previous actions.

1) Conspiracy to kill (present suicides based on financial ruin, look at example from 1929).

2) Conspiracy to destroy the nations credibility and institutions (a terrorism beyond belief that undermines this nations values).

Arrest him again and charge Madoff with his deep devious crimes.

[ddaryl1]

isn''t greed wonderful...[/sarcasm]

[swingset4u]

I don''t pitty these investors. WHO in the H*ELL "invest" that kind of money without knowing the kind of investment? Due Diligence is the key folks. They knew it was a scam. The bubble broke a little to soon for these greedy ba*stards!

[torva-2009]

What I dislike most about the Madoff case is that he is merely under house arrest...if he hadn''t been rich he would be in jail...that is where he should be now, pending his trial.

This would also be a good time to end the CLUB-FED prison system...probably where Madoff will go if found guilty...

A felon is a felon is a felon...and no distinction should be made between white-collar/rich criminals and the rest!

I''m surprised that a convicted felon serving his/her sentence or a group of such hasn''t challenged the CLUB-FED prison system as unequal treatment under the law...the white collar criminals do far more damage to society than merely a felon who may have murdered one or two victims...

[blitzder]

If only the CEO''s of Ford, Chrysler and Ford had any shame, they would follow suit.

They destroyed the lives of thousands of investors and workers, literally running the companies into the ground. Its where the CEO''s belong.

[clovisbuford]

Beodishazmi
Troll filth unworthy of the title human being."Posted by Abrame at 07:43 AM : Dec 25, 2008" followed by

"Jewberman refute the facts you know what I posted is all true ,cause your kind is screeching for repeat of history and don''''t you blame anyone but yourself this time arround for staying quiet will your people swindle the americans and the world Posted by Beodishazmi at 10:25 AM : Dec 25, 2008"

Dont feed the trolls like Beodishazmi
by engaging them,report their remarks as abusive and go on.
it is kind of funny to see this level of antisemitism on xmas when christ was a jew .

[antoniof123]

Sad he put more worth on paper than on his own life.

This is the fault of unrestrained greed nothing more nothing less.

[emmaross]

madoff is a greedy scum bag!

[hetup-2009]

It is really hard to have your world fall apart around you and not have anyone close enough to care that you do not kill yourself, too bad he didn''t have that someone who cared.

[mitch5511]

This story eerily sounds like the beginning of the Great Depression.

[braceyaself]

Hello all, what we are all experiencing is Global Pimpin''. at it''s best. Keep them Hoes Broke!!!!!
The housing boom...made everyone who bought a house knowin'' they could not afford, basically to work like dogs...for a house, that the powers that be were going to take back anyway. so then it moves up the financial food chain to investors and so on. Now the ultimate crime falls on us. Because most people fly on mental auto-pilot with blinders on. Immigrants have used the Ponzi scheme for as long as the U.S has been around to save money...I ain''t mad at ''em. The problem is that how do we know that there aren''t more Ponzi schemes out there. And common sense will tell you that Madoff didn''t act alone. But then again Common sense ain''t common to everybody.
With this financial inquisition going on I''m sure there are going to be more people busted out for financial wrongdoing.
And Think about it like this alot of money went into that Obama campaign and now we''re gonna find out where in the flock the money came from...Cause it wasn''t supposed to be like this...HA,HA,HA,HA...!!!!

At the rate we'' re movin'' at we''ll people living in abandon buildings, on park benches. Oh that''s already happening, huh!
Worst case, Civil unrest due to all the potential scandals and Martial Law and concentration camps.

I''m actually a bit nervous about what coming down the road, ya''ll!

And this truly was the greatest country on earth!

End the Global Pimpin'' of the world it ain''t cool!

Brace Ya Self!

[erb0087]

"Who invests with a guy named "Madoff"?"
Posted by Evian_Ycnan at 03:46 PM : Dec 24, 2008
==========================

A lot of smart people whose money he "made off" with.

[vanfer-2009]

EVIL AGENDA: The democrats in this country purposely made the economy bad ever since Bush got in, so that they would get voted back in to power. They didn''t care what they costs the US citizens, which is millions and millions of dollars. The worst being Barney Frank, who Bush asked "19 TIMES", how Freddie Mac was doing and he said "fine"!He and the other democrats will have to answer to GOD, someday and justice will PREVAIL.