The $7 billion “clawback” suit against Bernard Madoff pal Jeffry Picower didn’t die with him.
Madoff bankruptcy trustee Irving Picard yesterday said he would continue pressing the philanthropist’s estate for the phony profits reaped from his now-imprisoned buddy’s record $65 billion Ponzi fraud.
Picard also confirmed “some meetings and discussions” with the billionaire Picower’s attorney recently, but declined to comment further.
Picower, whose wife found him at the bottom of the pool Sunday at their $33 million oceanside home, will be buried this afternoon after a private ceremony at Mount Ararat Cemetery on Long Island.
Authorities said an autopsy yesterday in Palm Beach showed that the 67-year-old “suffered a heart attack while in the swimming pool resulting in accidental drowning,” with the coronary brought on by heart disease. Toxicology tests remain pending.
“Obviously, we won’t have results for a couple of weeks but we don’t anticipate them showing anything,” Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Bell said.
Picower suffered from Parkinson’s disease and had “heart-related issues,” family attorney William Zabel said. He described Picower’s health as “poor.”
Madoff victim Miriam Siegman said Picower’s untimely demise meant “that once again, the chance to know the truth will forever elude us.”
“It seems to be an overwhelming and pervasive pattern that [those] who could best help us to know the truth, and consequently understand how to prevent this from happening again, are lost to us — either through death or because the Department of Justice and the Obama administration are so eager to make deals with these guys,” she said.
Additional reporting by David K. Li and AP