Did Convicted Ponzi Schemer Bernie Madoff ACTUALLY Have A Connection To The Mafia?

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There is a new Netflix documentary that claims convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff "took" a 150 year sentence to "avoid a mob hit". Chief wrote a blog about it here and the doc is out now.

The truth is this headline is likely complete bullshit. First of all he didn't take anything. He was given and imposed a sentence after pleading guilty in federal court to crimes and like any other person convicted/pleads to a crime in federal court there is IMPOSED a sentence generally to the same sentencing guidelines that generally every federal judge follows. The judge, as I have discussed before, has the ability to give more or slightly less but the judge imposes it. He called Madoff "extraordinarily evil" and gave him essentially life. 

Bernard Madoff plead guilty because he admitted to his crimes. He has mentioned many times, "he couldn't tell the lie any longer", and told his family and kids about it then spilled his guts to the FEDS. Madoff also has said he "was solely responsible for the fraud". He also didn't cooperate because he didn't want to bring down anyone close to him. He took what he did like a man and I guess we can give him a shred of credit there. Bernard Madoff was given the max, 150 years, and it makes sense. Especially if you consider he stole 65 billion dollars through multiple counts of money laundering, securities, mail, investment adviser and wire fraud, perjury and other thefts. 

In his decades of having a Ponzi scheme there is no proof that any of the folks connected to the scam had any affiliation to the Mafia, organized crime or cartels. If you notice in the Post and publications like that, there's no mention of what groups he actually stole from just general posts of "the mob wanted to kill Bernie" etc. That said, if high level criminals with connections at every level of the crime hierarchy wanted to they could surely have him killed. They would get to him if they wanted to. They didn't because it never happened. This is just a popcorn headline to make people watch the documentary or buy newspaper and it will work.  The truth is it's likely not true, sorry to burst your bubble. 

I do though want to talk to more about Bernie's time inside where he did have a friendship with a real mobster. As I have discussed before, there are five levels in the federal prison system. The most lax and low security is something called a federal prison camp and there is one about 75 miles from New York City called Otisville. It is for people with white collar crimes, tax cheats and pedophiles. Madoff and his lawyers wanted to go to Otisville due to the fact of it's close proximity to New York, his age and because of him wanting to be in a Club Fed type atmosphere. It wouldn't happen though, most inmates in Otisville has short sentences and no one with 150 years is going there. Madoff was ultimately sent to a place in North Carolina called Butner FCI. In the five levels of federal prison, it's a medium, slightly above a camp or low. They also have an adjoining medical center for inmates that become or are sick. Most people reading this is if you didn't act like a complete asshole at Butner, you'd be completely fine. 

Inside Butner FCI 1, Bernie or "Uncle Bernie" as he was called inside was apart of a unit called "Clemson", there is also another unit in there called "Georgia Tech". According to a friend of mine Robert, he told me that Clemson was more of a laid back atmosphere with about 50 people. Georgia Tech was a bit more rowdy and loud. It was said at one point on a night in Clemson, Bernie walked into the TV room and was upset that a certain inmate was in a chair he regularly sat in to which Madoff responded by physically attempting to pull him out of the chair. 

Now the inmate he messed with was a young 20 something year old kid, but Bernie had a bit of respect for being an old guy and revered and no one came back on him for it. That's right no revenge. Bernie was NEVER beaten up in prison as the media will tell you. His going to the hospital had to do with a change in his medication and fainting. The truth is Bernie was very respected by younger inmates and they gave him plenty of love. He was looked at as a stately figure and people wanted to know him. He was as safe as can be and for once he didn't have to worry anymore. At one he wrote a letter to a family letter doting that he was treated like a "mafia don" inside 

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Madoff would ultimately meet Colombo Crime Family boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico in prison. 

Yvonne Hemsey. Getty Images.

Carmine was serving a 139 year sentence. In my estimation Carmine Persico is one of if not the most brutal bosses in mafia history. He was alleged to have committed murder as a teenager though it was never proven. He came up through the turbulent 50's and 60's in the Mafia. He eventually became boss in the 70's and ruled with an iron fist, ordering hits on prosecutors or anyone that threatened his leadership. Consider his nickname "the Snake" he got that nickname in the 60's after manipulating his friend into believing he was with him but in turn switched sides. 

Carmine and Bernie became "close" after Madoff touched down. Bernie was given some essentials in prison like shower shoes and other goodies by people from Carmine's camp. The two became friends hitting it off and sharing war stories as they lived out their golden years behind the federal wall. At one point, Madoff would work as an orderly but eventually took a job in the commissary and ran his own store selling inmates commissary items at a different rate than the prison offered. In his 3000 hours of work as an orderly and other things, he made about 20 cents an hour and in the time he worked he earned about 700 bucks in total. 

One of the many schemes Bernie concocted was "cornering" the hot chocolate packing market inside. I spoke with Robert about this and he told the story. Robert spent nearly 25 years in federal prison after getting life for a drug offense and for several years was around Madoff and became close to him writing for publications about his experiences. He would say at one point that he walked out in the yard and saw Bernie slinging hot cocoa out of this coat like a crack dealer would do on the corner. You can see him talking about it here: 

Ultimately Bernie Madoff would die in April of 2021 at the age of 82. He would spend about a decade in prison. He died alone in cell worth several hundred dollars. According to his final prison file report, he possessed a couple batteries, a plastic calculator, some books, popcorn and some Ramen. 

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Mob bosses didn't want him dead, in fact they had a relationship with him. For more mafia and crime content check out my podcast