This editorial appeared in The Tri-City Herald.
Ordinary folks playing by the rules and investing frugally find it galling to watch their assets melt away while Bernie Madoff sucks down booze and caviar in his $7 million penthouse.
Chipped beef on toast in the mess hall at Rikers Island would be a better choice for this pampered symbol of greed and hubris.
In the midst of the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, Madoff periodically bobs back up into public awareness as his lavish life continues.
OK, we made up the part about swilling liquor and nibbling Beluga caviar, but it's true Madoff is under perhaps the most luxurious house arrest in U.S. history.
He is back in the news, along with his wife, Ruth, who also was, it is important to note, his bookkeeper.
Madoff is accused by the U.S. government of the biggest financial fraud ever, $50 billion by his own estimate.
We've written about his gaudy home imprisonment before, but now his wife is beginning to stir public interest too.
Madoff himself is claiming that his wife owns the Manhattan penthouse and an additional $62 million in assets. These should be beyond the reach of any cheated investors, Madoff says, because they are in Ruth Madoff's name and unconnected to any alleged fraud.
To read the complete editorial, visit The Tri-City Herald.