Even before the Ponzi scheme made news, being related to Bernie Madoff could be pretty excruciating. This week marks the release of another Madoff memoir (Truth and Consequences, authored by Laurie Sandell with some well-publicized cooperation from wife Ruth and son Andrew) and, as usual, the family patriarch comes off as kind of a jerk. For example, according to the Post, he was never very polite to Andrew’s wife, Catherine Hooper:
When [Hooper] met his parents for the first time at his brother Mark’s 44th birthday party in 2008, she was greeted strangely by Bernie.
“I want you to know that he’s not from money, despite what you see. I know you think he’s a rich guy, but we’re from nothing. My father was broke. We’re humble people,” he said.
“I want you to know that he’s not from money, despite what you see. I know you think he’s a rich guy, but we’re from nothing. My father was broke. We’re humble people,” he said.
Even when he was trying to be nice, he stuck to the awful father-in-law script: Later, aboard the family yacht, Bernie, “Complimented Catherine’s body, adding, ‘But she could have been heavier on top.’” In another yacht-based incident, he screamed at her for placing a purse on a polished table because, in his words, “The bottom of your bag has round metal feet on it! If the boat moves, those feet are going to leave a mark on the table!”
That last outburst is attributed to Bernie’s particular dislike of “anything made with metal or that had metal edges.” So, maybe that’s the real reason he’s happier in prison? They’re pretty good about tracking metal objects in there.
