Saturday, September 19, 2009

'Made Off' With Your Money, But Lost His Beach House
















The $50 billion Ponzi scheme conducted by Bernie L. Madoff resulted in a $9 million sale of his Montauk Oceanfront beach house. Nestled on the beach at 216 Old Montauk Highway, Madoff was known for throwing lavish annual parties for his employees near the Beachcomber Resort Hotel on the weekend following Fourth of July. The property, which boasts sweeping ocean views, was built closer to the beach than would be permitted under today's strict zoning regulations. The home has 3,000 square feet, with 182 feet of beachfront and is 50 feet from a sand dune. Madoff was paying approximately $17,000 in annual property taxes to the Town of East Hampton for his Montauk property.
So this East End getaway goes to a mystery buyer for more than its $8.75 list price. (Gossip around Montauk and East Hampton offer a sale price of $9-$10 million.) The real estate agent handling the property won't disclose the buyer- nor the exact price- but says contracts have been signed. A broker with Corcoran Group states that the property did go for more than the list price. There were between five and 10 offers on the property, and more than 28 showings since it went on the market in late August, she added.
Now for the good news- the money the government made on the sale of this beach house will pay restitution to victims affected by this horrendous scheme. Its crazy though because Bernie incurred billions and billions of dollars of fraud therefore, this $10 million is barely a chip of the iceberg.
Other local gossip consists of someone sneaking onto this, now government owned, property only to steal a $300 statue off of the front porch. I hate to let this person know, but if you are caught, you will pay much more than $300 to get yourself out of trouble. STUPID MOVE in my opinion. And I am actually surprised that the U.S. Marshalls didn't have video surveillance all around and inside Madoff's beach house. Needless to say, the sale of this home has created a buzz in the End End. People are driving on Old Montauk Highway trying to catch a glimpse of anything they can associated to this scheme.
Luckily for the affected population, this was a 'quick and easy' sale and only the start of a hopefully brighter future.
But for Madoff, the "Weekend at Bernie's" is no more.


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