Convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff was “desperately disappointed” that the owners of the Mets chose to settle the fraud lawsuit brought on behalf of victims of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, CBS News reported Wednesday.
“He wrote me last weekend that he was so looking forward to that trial,” said Diane Henriques, author of the book “Wizard of Lies” which detailed Madoff’s fraud.
“He was hoping that the Mets’ defense would make the case he was making to me that they had no reason to doubt Madoff.”
The lawsuit was settled Monday for $162 million shortly before jury selection was to begin, though the team will ultimately surrender far less and will not have to make any payments for three years.
The trustee for Madoff’s victims, Irving Picard, was set to argue at trial that Mets owner Fred Wilpon, once a friend of Madoff and a longtime investor, was willfully blind and chose to ignore signs that Madoff was producing fraudulent returns.
Henriques told CBS that in recent emails from prison Madoff blasted Picard, who was seeking more than $300 million at trial.
“He calls Picard a fool, an amateur, says he doesn’t understand the market, says he never understood the market, that he’s just lost on Wall Street,” Henriques said.
Wilpon and his business partner, Saul Katz, maintained they had no idea Madoff was operating a Ponzi scheme and were defrauded out of money like other victims.
The settlement is viewed as a victory for Wilpon, with many believing a larger lump sum judgment against him would have forced him to sell the team.
As part of Monday’s agreement with Picard, the Mets can seek money from the bankruptcy estate as former Madoff investors and can use those funds to pay the settlement obligations.