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Home › Money

Money | 03/04/2009 12:00 pm

Madoff's Lawyer Receives Death Threats

Ira Lee Sorkin is being bombarded with angry e-mails and anti-Semitic rants, Madoff’s defense team says.
By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

He may be playing devil’s advocate, but Ira Lee Sorkin has every reason to worry about his eternal soul.

Sorkin, a high-priced defense lawyer, has received angry e-mails, death threats and anti-Semitic rants for representing disgraced financier Bernie Madoff in court, ABC News reports.

"As one Jew to another I deeply regret that the Sorkin family did not perish in the Nazi death camps," read one recent message.

According to his staff, Sorkin has in recent weeks received a dozen or more angry e-mails over the Madoff case, including direct threats against his life.

Federal officials have charged Madoff with running a $60 billion Ponzi scheme, in which he paid investors with cash from new accounts without making any real investments. As a result, a number of high-profile investors, charities, nonprofit groups and endowments lost millions in savings. Many victims are now bankrupt.

Sorkin’s father and at least two of his former clients are linked to Madoff. The court is currently considering whether those ties present a conflict of interest.

A preliminary hearing is set to resume next week.

Read more about: Bernie Madoff, Court, E-mail, Fraud, Ira Lee Sorkin, Law, lawyers, legal, News, Ponzi Scheme

9 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

BelindaJoy
Oh my Lord! That just sickens me to read these hateful words. How awful. We can all agree that what Madoff did was unforgiveable and indefensible. But the truth is as we all know; he has a right to defend himself against the charges being leveled against him by the federal government. A lawyer, any lawyer, has a right to stand at his side and defend him. Just because Atty. Sorkin is his defense attorney does not mean he believes Madoff is without guilt. It simply means he is being his client’s legal advocate in a court of law. Speaking for Madoff because he can not speak for himself. Should he really have to lose his life because of this? I think not. And what does that say about the person who would take his life because of his choice to defend Madoff? How sad.
By BelindaJoy on 03/04/2009 12:17 pm
PattyE
Oh I agree that Sorkin should not be confused as Madoffs’  partner in crime….but ya know….we ALL know Madoff is guilty—-so why is he being given better treatment than any other person who has done the same sort of thing?  It is becasue he has a high-falutin’ lawyer, that’s why…..Why not assign Maddoff a court appointed attorney?  that way there would be no question as to whether or not the attorney was skirting the law on behalf of his client…no WONDER people are  so mad (and ugly about it)!!!!! 
By PattyE on 03/04/2009 12:58 pm
BelindaJoy

Just for the record, why should the people of New York have to pay for a court appointed attorney (which by the way is how it works, the residents of the community pay) for a man who is worth billions? They shouldn’t have to.

You know Madoff is guilty, I know he’s guilty, in the court of public opinion we have all deemed him guilty. The federal government has him hook-line-and sinker and proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is guilty. His trial will not be one of guilt or innocence, but moreso what the penalty for his crime should be. Whether he has a high priced attorney or a cheap ambulance chaser as his lawyer, very little of what they can say will affect him being found guilty, he will.

Sorkin (in my opinion) is doing what he is hired to do, make legal arguments where needed, sign off on pertinent documents, and enter pleas based on what his client tells him, no more and no less. The only disturbing part for me is he will be paid with money that is derived directly from other’s misery which was brought on by his client.

By BelindaJoy on 03/04/2009 2:03 pm
fp1
I think the more important query would be: have Bernie and spouse received death threats? I’d really be surprised if they hadn’t.  Bernie needs to be in jail as does his wife or pushed into an airplane propeller, whichever comes first.
By fp1 on 03/04/2009 1:32 pm
NancyHale

 

When I then read about Bernie Madoff the one word that comes to mind is PERPETRATOR. He was and is that, peoples lives were violated,lives were forever changed. Sad Time.

By NancyHale on 03/04/2009 2:08 pm
SallyK
"As one Jew to another I deeply regret that the Sorkin family did not perish in the Nazi death camps,"   I would like to believe this comment was not made by another Jew, but I am afraid that it , probably, was.  To equate this man’s position as Madoff’s attorney with anything that took place in the Nazi death camps is to minimize the incomprehensibly terrible ordeals which people endured there.  While I hope and pray that Madoff sees the inside of a ‘real’ penitentiary, as opposed to a country club joint, I, also, cannot help but take extreme offense to this comment.  People have lost their lifes’ savings, no question about that.  In the camps, people lost a darn sight more than that.  Shame, shame on anyone who attempts to equate the atrocities done there to the fact that this man is  performing the function of , not even a criminal, but a  criminal’s attorney.
By SallyK on 03/04/2009 3:55 pm
StephMullin
If he’s so evil for what he did how are the people threatening him or his lawyers any better? He stole money they are talking about taking another human’s life. He should go to prision where he belongs but last time I checked it’s also illegal to threaten to kill someone (in this case it wasn’t even the person who did the bad thing). If stealing is so wrong what about murder? Is it moral to wish someone dead or to threaten to kill someone? Because the supposed reason these people are making these threats is that are so outraged at what he did. I also want to say that I too hope the quoted message wasn’t from a Jewish person as well because first off his family had nothing to do with what he did and two wishing that another person was killed by Nazi’s makes you one.
By StephMullin on 03/04/2009 4:45 pm
parulbanderwal

I really don’t think there is any need to afraid of the threats.

Bad days come and go.

have faith and move on.

All the very best.

By parulbanderwal on 03/05/2009 10:17 am