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Bernie Madoff Associate Found Dead in Florida Pool
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[link to www.foxnews.com]
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jeffry Picower, a philanthropist accused of profiting more than $7 billion from the investment schemes of his longtime friend Bernard Madoff, was found at the bottom of the pool at his oceanside mansion and died Sunday, police said. He was 67.
Picower's wife discovered his body and pulled him from the water with help from a housekeeper, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Medical Center at about 1:30 p.m.
Palm Beach police are investigating the death as a drowning, but have not ruled out anything on the cause of death.
Picower's body showed no visible injuries, said Joseph Sekula, spokesman for the Palm Beach Fire Department.
"There wasn't anything noted as far as trauma or anything to the body," he said, adding that "it did appear that he was swimming because he was wearing swimming trunks."
Picower's wife told responders she had seen her husband just 15 minutes before finding him in the pool, but she did not specify whether she saw him in the pool or elsewhere, Sekula said.
Detectives were still at the home more than six hours after the initial emergency call. The iron gate to his long driveway was open and several Palm Beach police cars were parked near the mansion. The home and property is worth more than $33 million, according to the county property appraiser's records.
Picower had been accused by jilted investors of being the biggest beneficiary of Madoff's schemes.
In a lawsuit to recover Madoff's assets, trustee Irving Picard demanded Picower return more than $7 billion in bogus profits. Irving Picard did not immediately respond to a phone message left at his office Sunday. Madoff's attorney, Ira Sorkin, also didn't respond to a request for comment.
Picower and his wife started the Picower Foundation in 1989, which has given millions to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Human Rights First and the New York Public Library. It also funded diabetes research at Harvard Medical School.
The foundation, whose assets were managed by Madoff, said in its 2007 tax return its investment portfolio was valued at nearly $1 billion.
After the Madoff scandal broke in December, the Picower foundation said it would have to cease grant-making and would be forced to close.
But the trustee's lawyer said Picower's claims that he was a victim "ring hollow" because he withdrew more of other investors' money than anyone else during three decades of investing with Madoff and should have noticed signs of fraud.
According to the lawyers, Picower's accounts were "riddled with blatant and obvious fraud," and he should have recognized that because he was a sophisticated investor.
Picower had asked that the lawsuit be dismissed, saying it was unsupported by the facts. Messages left for Picower's lawyer, William Zabel, and his wife's attorney, Marcy Harris, weren't immediately returned Sunday.
Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence after he admitted losing billions of dollars for thousands of clients over a half-century career that saw him rise to be a Nasdaq chairman.
Jonathan Landers, an attorney representing a large group of victims, said in an e-mail that it was impossible to tell what effect Picower's death would have on efforts to recover funds lost in Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme.
"While there are allegations regarding his knowledge of the Madoff fraud and his possible liability to investors, none have been proven," he wrote. Landers added that even if such facts could be proved, Picower's "death could make it easier or more difficult to obtain and collect on claims."
"It may cause those who have control of his assets to fight harder because there is no longer any personal dignity or desire to settle and move on," he wrote.
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