NEW YORK, Dec. 24, 2008
Madoff Scandal Takes Grisly Turn
Distinguished N.Y. Investor Who Lost $1 Billion Commits Suicide; Will More Tragedy Follow?
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Police say Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet slashed his wrists after losing more than $1 billion in Bernard Madoff's phony hedge fund. (SIPA PRESS/DAVID X PRUTTING)
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People walk out of 509 Madison Ave., where Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet had an office on Dec. 23, 2008 in New York. Authorities found de la Villehuchet, the founder of an investment fund that lost millions with Bernard Madoff, at 7:50 a.m. with no pulse at his office of Access International Advisors. (AP PHOTO)
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Bernard L. Madoff (AP/New York Times)
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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.
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.Follow the Madoff Money Trail
A look at the people and institutions that have lost millions in the alleged Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.
"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.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 45 Comments
- 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.
- Reply to this comment
- "Who invests with a guy named "Madoff"?"
Posted by Evian_Ycnan at 03:46 PM : Dec 24, 2008
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A lot of smart people whose money he "made off" with. - Reply to this comment
- 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! - Reply to this comment
- This story eerily sounds like the beginning of the Great Depression.
- Reply to this comment
- 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.
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- madoff is a greedy scum bag!
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- Sad he put more worth on paper than on his own life.
This is the fault of unrestrained greed nothing more nothing less. - Reply to this comment
- 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 . - Reply to this comment
- 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. - Reply to this comment
- 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... - Reply to this comment
- 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!
- Reply to this comment
- isn''t greed wonderful...[/sarcasm]
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- 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. - Reply to this comment
- 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. - Reply to this comment
- 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!
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- 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. - Reply to this comment
- 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
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- 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. - Reply to this comment
- 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. - Reply to this comment
- 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! - Reply to this comment
