4
2011
Is Picard Representing The Victims, Or Reaping Billions For His Own Agenda?
An article by Hojo's Mojo
Lost in all the excitement of the season-opening weekend series against the Marlins, was some news regarding the ongoing clawback lawsuit against the Mets partners by trustee Irving Picard.
The Daily News reports that there is mounting criticism over the revenue and fees Irving Picard has been paid for recovering the billions of dollars lost by the victims of the Madoff Ponzi scheme.
Reportedly, the $2.5 billion dollars that was setup in a non-profit escrow account to help pay for Picard’s fees is almost wiped out.
SEC Inspector General David Kotz wrote that there has been “significant criticism” over the fees paid to Madoff trustee Irving Picard and his law firm Baker Hostetler, and to attorney James Giddens and his law firm. The payments could break the bank at the Securities Investor Protection Corp., which would then be forced to seek help from the SEC.
“Because the outcome of Lehman liquidation is uncertain and SIPC is advancing its own funds to pay the administrative expenses for the Madoff liquidation, the possibility exists that SIPC could deplete its $2.5 billion fund.”
Andrew Stoltman, a Chicago securities attorney who is representing a different group of Madoff victims, had this to say.
“Picard is being paid ungodly sums of money to recover these funds. It’s literally become a money printing press for his law firm. When he got the appointment (as Madoff trustee), he in effect won the legal lottery, and they are certainly taking advantage of it.”
Irving Picard and his representatives have declined to comment on the criticism levied on him by the SEC Inspector General.
Additionally, in other news that flew under the radar, a lawyer representing about 500 Madoff victims has called for trustee, Irving Picard, to resign.
In a court filing Wednesday, Helen Davis Chaitman cited Picard for breaching his fiduciary responsibility and withholding vital information, and said he should be replaced by an independent investigator.
“This is the largest financial crime in history,” said Chaitman, a Madoff victim herself. “Picard has been dishonest with the court and should step aside as trustee because nobody can trust anything he says.”
Rep. Peter King (R-New York), said he believes Picard has “abused his authority” in his attempts to force a large settlement from Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz.
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-New York), said that “Picard had waged a public relations war against the Mets owners and other clawback litigation defendants”.
Another lawyer working with the victims is displeased with how Picard has handled the clawback lawsuit and has accused Picard of keeping the victims he is supposed to represent in the dark,
“Picard had the whole court to himself for a while, but there is a whole other side that is now starting to come out,” he said. “My view is that everyone who invested with Madoff was a victim and it seems to me that not everyone was treated as fairly as we would like to see. The clawback victims feel like they have been brutalized twice.”
I don’t know why all of these significant developments and charges received such little coverage in the past ten days, but it would appear that some type of media bias is at play. Whenever any negative news about the Mets or the Wilpons is reported, it immediately goes viral and takes on a life of it’s own.
But for some reason, when all of this news comes out that mirrors what the Wilpons have been saying all along about Irving Picard, the media simply ignores it.
It just seems very unfair to me.
About the Author: Rob Johnson
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 25 | 18 | .581 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 21 | .523 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 21 | 23 | .477 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 17 | 24 | .415 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 12 | 32 | .273 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/19/2013
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Because everyone thought it as a way for the Mets to get out of what ever trouble they were in. Now that important people (politicians, etc) talk about it, only then does it get news time.
I think HoJo is saying that this negative news about Picard isn’t getting the appropriate news time, whereas anything negative about the Wilpons tended to get splashed all across the media 10 times over. It’s a fair point.
Of course not. We’re not the Yankee’s thus anything regarding us is laughed at
The problems with Picard go far back, well beyond the Daily News report. Complaints of abuse of power, of violating the law, misrepresenting evidence, of lining his pockets, of acting like he’s above the law, are all out there and have been for some time.
It so happened, that when he opted to drag the Wilpons and Katz in, I think he miscalculated the degree in which such exposure would eventually backfire as it’s now begun in a more mainstream way. My personal opinion of Picard is that of control freak, loving the wide latitude of power his appointment allows him to exploit. But it seems to me he’s overplayed his hand, seems to care nothing about the truth even in the face of ruining lives which in my opinion, he seems to enjoy including dragging down innocent people including older Americans who lost everything to Madoff and are being sued by him, nonetheless for their last dimes. There’s congressional testimony against Picard, going back at least to 2009.
Amongst too many Mets fans, I repeatedly see a collective self-serving agenda to declare Mets ownership guilty, whether true or not.
I personally believe Mets ownership have been twice victimized, as have many other Madoff victims. Well, make that three times – Madoff, Picard and certain Mets fans who care nothing about the truth, only their own needs. This speaks poorly of our changing society, where personal gain – in this situation, Madoff, Picard and certain Mets fans – trumps the moral integrity of actual truth and justice under the law, searching for facts, rather than gulping the hand-me-down claims we’re apt to see. I believe Picard should be replaced, and thereafter, a formal federal and state investigation be launched as to whether he’s committed any criminal wrong-doing in addition to civil.
How about four times? By Madoff, Picard, some Mets fans, and then the media where some like the New York Times simply served as a PR lackey for Picard.
I wonder if the New York Times is reporting the negative news about Picard or are they ignoring it?
The New York Times — Fourteen years of Pinch Sulzberger’s mismanagement where the ownership sets up a corporate shell and screws the investors. Is it all the news that is fit to print or all the news that suits Pinch Sulzberger’s political agenda? No and Yes, but remember to keep them in the right order. If Mets fans think the Wilpons are a problem, take a look at the Sulzbergers.
Picard may end up out ponzying madoff if left unchecked. This primarily is why I refuse to lend any actual credence to his exhagerated claims as he has no risk from trying for as much as he can get his hands on since he also receives a substantial % of all he claws back anyway he possibly can.
[...] Mets Merized Online Posted under Carlos Beltran and tagged with Agenda, Billions, Picard, Reaping, Representing, Victims Comments (0) [...]
It’s a known fact the more money Picard can recoup from these clawbacks, the more money he and his firm stand to make. His motivations aren’t simply all driven by the victims.
Maybe the group that went after these clawbacks should have been headed by public servants who don’t make a profit. Oh…that perception though would have been they would have no ‘incentive’ then to work hard at that job they were given.
‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’.
“Is Picard Representing The Victims, Or Reaping Billions For His Own Agenda?”
Irving Picard is doing both. So many greenbacks, so much temptation, so little scrutinizing — so why wouldn’t he be doing both?
Nail on the head Des. Imbued with the might of morality, the sole arbitrator of right and wrong has been allowed to run amok. Dispensing “justice” while slandering some and giving passes to others while answering to no one.
Some justice.
Isn’t that how Spitzer “cleaned up wall Street”?
It’s sad that the more outrageous his claw back lawsuits, the longer and harder they will be litigated by the defendants, and thus the more money Picard makes. He has no incentive to file reasonable lawsuits against the defendants. This is obvious, but I’m surprised Picard is so lacking in ethics and morals that he would stoop this low to enrich himself and the lawyers working under him.
Picard may be in it for the big bucks, but this doesn’t get the Wilpons off the hook. What they did was worse and they capitalized on the backs of thousands of innocent victims. I dont believe they were ignorant as to what Madoff was doing. I’m not buying it one bit! They were tipped off and pulled their money out and they had plenty of warnings too.
What exactly did they do K Maxx?
Do you know? Have any clue at all?
Do you have proof they were tipped off? The evidence Picard said proved they were was denied by the people he claims said it! And he has tried to hide this evidence he lied about!
If you invested 1 Billion dollars in IBM and then cashed out for 300 Million profit only to find 6 months later that IBM was doing something fishy you didn’t know about, should you lose all the money you invested in them or just the money that you got as profit?
If you think so then no one would EVER invest in ANY company if lets say 20 years later someone found out they did something wrong and all the money anyone made had to be returned.
It’s dumb to think that is how investment is supposed to work!
“They were tipped off and pulled their money out and they had plenty of warnings too.”
Do you even know that they ADDED money into their Madoff account in the 90 days before Madoff was arrested? And that there was half a million dollars in their Maddoff account that they lost when he was arrested?
Don’t let the facts get in the way of your hatred of the Wilpons!
Hojo I thank you again for bringing some balance to Metsmerized on this issue.
Why has the balance been so Anti Wilpon? It’s very simple!
Everyone who has a grudge with the Wilpons has come out of the woodwork to get their digs in!
And are using Picard’s smear tactics as proof of their own biased feelings!
McCarver? Fired by the Wilpons.
The negative posts here at Metmerized were mostly done by fans who blame the Wilpons (and not Omar or Phillips or any other GM we have had since 86) for the Mets not winning a WS over that time and not spending money this year and last to go after big money free agents they wanted (regardless of the fact that method is why we were in bad shape in the first place!)
The behavior is typical VULTURE LIKE!
Circle over the target and whenever the predator Picard makes a strike the vultures come down to pick a the bones.
These Vultures don’t know or care what the facts are. Just as Picard doesn’t care what the facts are. In fact it appears Picard is determined to BURY the facts that would hurt his case and reveal the fact the Wilpons probably didn’t do anything wrong. The only knock on them is they were stupid to invest with Madoff but still smart enough to get out before the scam imploded!
Most of the Vultures don’t even really know what the Wilpons did or are accused of. Some of the Vultures think the Wilpons lost all their wealth to Madoff. (Wrong! they made money off madoff not lost!) and the others think they made a Billion (which is what Picard is asking for) when all they really profited was 300 Mil!
But they don’t care about facts all they know is they want a new owner just as they wanted a new manager and a new GM and a new CFer and a new Pitcher and a new second baseman and a new etc…etc….etc….
They were unhappy over a mediocre season and wanted heads to roll.
Apparently not enough heads rolled to feed their morbid satisfaction and since Picard is taking aim at the Wilpons they have decided to get onto his boat!
What they do not understand is the Mets monetary issues have nothing to do with Madoff or the Wilpons personal wealth.
It has to do with the fact that they decided the way to get the mets to improve was to boycott games which left them with no money to pay the bills and go after the players they sought us to in the offseason.
We are spending 140 Mil on players even AFTER the Madoff situation has come into being.
We took a loan from MLB not because of Madoff but because of MADFANS!
Because they refused to go to ballgames that would have supported the payroll of David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and any other player they will complain about when we let them go because we can’t afford to keep their high salary on the books.
I don’t know what the Wilpons did or didn’t do nor do I really care!
Only rich folks care about these things us working stiffs really are not affected by it.
All I know is that if I were in the Wilpons shoes I would be feeling rather persecuted right about now despite the fact I probably didn’t do anything wrong.
And anyone else here who was in that position would be crying for a little more fairness in the media! Would demand it!
The first step to being a compasionate and fair person is to put yourself in thier place and see if they are being treated as you would want to be treated.
My guess is many fans who post here and many people in the press fail this primary test of being a decent human being!
Metsie – Nice piece of writing and information.
Since the season is now in play and I follow the Mets for me, and the Yankees in Dad’s memory, major Golf Tournaments (Master’s this week) and major Horse Races (Wood Memorial on Saturday this week), and whatever else in sports catches my interest, I’ll have much less time for the Wilpon Saga for a while.
Frankly I never learned much from any newspaper and no one else can or will speak about it.
I’m waiting for Mario Cuomo’s reports – this is a man I trust.
Thanks Annie,
I happen to work in the media (engineering mostly) but I know what kind of crap and tabloid mentality has infected it ever since Watergate broke.
We used to merely tell the news without slant or bias. We reported the story never MADE the story or gave analysis. The Viewer was left to ponder the facts on his own!
I remember the day Cronkite said we had lost the war in Vietnam and it was a big event not because he went against the government’s story but because it was one of the first times in History that a TV anchor known for just reporting the facts actually gave an opinion!
Since Watergate every reporter who has gotten into the business has tried to be the Next Woodward and Bernstien!
Before Watergate no one ever really questioned the leadership and it’s integrity in the news. Since every administration has been accused of conspiracies and secret dealings and scandal.
People think democracy and freedom of speech is what makes this country great.
I would say it is the justice system and it’s seeming independence from politics and the right to a trial by peers (Jury) that keeps us and allows us to be free.
We are not entitled to our own facts and while we can state what we believe are facts it is up to a jury to decide whose facts are facts.
We should allow the WIlpons plight to go through this very important process and once that verdict is announced we can comment on that verdict and the guilt of all parties who are involved.
As for me I’m going to enjoy baseball and watch and go to games because I know with my support they have a chance to to succeed at what I really care about, Bringing a WS flag and trophy home!
The rest is just filler for the newspapers who can only fill so much space in this advertising weak market with what happened on the field and have to resort to stories that have no bearing on baseball or the fans who watch it!
Bad News is always good news and Good news is irrelevant in this day and age!
The 6 oclock news will tell you about every murder that happened in the city yet not mention any birth except on January 1st!
Thats the information source we rely on for most of our information, and we wonder why we all think the world is going to hell in a handbasket!
I was very happy to read this post this morning, and I especially enjoyed reading your comments Metsie. The media has been playing this their way from the very start and they have prejudiced most Mets fans against the Wilpons who have not been convicted of any wrong doing and were victims themselves. I have a new found respect for this site for treating this issue fairly. I only wish the mainstream would follow suit.
When the respectable news organizations start taking tips from stories that ran in Star Magazine you have to know that something is severely wrong with the 4th Estate!
The people have a right to know is overused and smeared.
The people have the right to know the FACTS!
But what is a fact seems to be a very subjective thing these days.
At least as far as the media is concerned.
The Trial by Jury is not a perfect solution to determining facts.
But it is the fairest way we have come up with.
If the jurors in the OJ trial got to see all the evidence that was supressed the verdict would have been very different.
If you went only by what was in the media you probably believe he was guilty.
because the media doesn’t have to meet the burden of proof a lawyer has to in a court.
You used to have to get two independent sources to verify a story before you ran with it.
These days if Fox and some other network runs with the story CNN takes them as two sources and reports it as well!
Not the best way to present the news if your interested in FACTS!
The real skill of the Woodward and Bernstien was not getting the story, it was handed to them by an anonymous source. The skill was getting the independent verification of what he was telling them so they could print the story!
That simply doesn’t go on anymore!
It’s it is tweeted it makes the front page!
Metsie –
I have a Political Science degree but I never wanted to be a politician – my Dad was and he loved it. He was a Selectman and then the Police Commissioner here in our small town in CT.
I wanted no part of that, however Dad also loved sports and we went to a lot of Yale games because we lived nearby. Later in life, I went to work at Yale and got to be a member at the Yale Golf Course and play in some very, very nice tournaments in the NYC area.
Dad was the one who took me by the hand – I was about six – and brought me to Yankees stadium to see a baseball game – he also gave me a score card and helped me fill it out. I was hooked.
However, I read the Times first every morning, then the Daily News and last of all the New Haven Register. I do get the White House messages on my computer and I rarely miss the major speeches or meetings of the Congress. The House seems to be managing pretty well, but the Senate has become an old folks home for the elderly politicians some of whom have never ‘worked’ anywhere else.
We have a brand new Governor here in Connecticut named Malloy and he’s already cut the budget and told us life will be tough for a while . He’s the former Mayor of Stamford – 8 terms.
Annie to be honest I know I have criticized you in the past for posting the Picard stories but that criticism was not for you reposting a news item but more towards the fact that when the counter to the story came out Hojo was left to publicize it.
A good reporter who believes a story is newsworthy will be sure to post both sides of the story that they deem is newsworthy.
If we wish to act as journalists then we have a responsibility to report ALL facts and not just one side or the other.
To do otherwise means that we are NOT REporting but SUpporting which is something a good journalist should never do!
If you are going to take the mantle as the voice and investigator of the people you must also take the responsibility to be as fair as possible to both sides so that people can FORM their own opinion not have it spoon fed to them!
If we spoon feed them then all we are doing is creating stupid people who can’t or won’t think for themselves!
And the whole purpose of reporting the news is so that people have the information they can make their own judgements on.
It’s a common problem and not one that you alone may have been guilty of doing. This is what the information age has done to us!
Because we race to be the FIRST ONE to tell the story we have given up on making sure we got the story right!
It is an affliction of the ME FIRST society we live in!
Which happens to be the same problems we face in Politics as well!
And since you learned about political science my guess is you can see that!
Metsie,
In general I agree with what you’re saying. But the Justice Department itself doesn’t have clean hands. Selective prosecution and willful denial of the need to prosecute certain cases goes on to the present day. Consider the Philadelphia Black Panther case. Voter intimidation took place, as recorded by independent news sources and video taping of the events.
Bartle Bull, a former civil rights lawyer and publisher of the left-wing Village Voice, calls “the most blatant form of voter intimidation I’ve ever seen”—began on Election Day 2008. Mr. Bull and others witnessed two Black Panthers in paramilitary garb at a polling place near downtown Philadelphia.
The Washington Times reported that six career lawyers at Justice who had recommended continuing to pursue the case were overruled by Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli—a top administration political appointee. Here is a Wall Street Journal account:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550604574361071968458430.html
(Membership to the Journal may be required.)
Des don’t confuse the Justice department with the Judicial system. They are two totally seperate entities. One is the lawyer for the president and the other is beholden and answerable to the Supreme court.
While Politics does have the ability to influence both as far as judges are concerned the fact that a jury decides not the judge is why the Judicial system works as well as it does.
Minorities may have another opinion on that to which I can’t defend but I would say that if they were actually judged by their peers it might not have been an issue.
Metsie,
Touché, with the reminder that the Justic department includes the FBI, DEA, ATM, U.S. Marshalls,…. The list goes on, but these agencies feed the judicial system. Sometimes, it’s garbage in, garbage out.
I can’t really argue with who you were talking about.
I presume you meant ATF not ATM, ATM when I saw it had a much different meaning! LOL
But here is something to think about….
If the ATF isn’t a conspiracy to put red necks in jail then how the hell did they decide to put Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms into it’s own policing agency?
LOL
DEA is a business if you ask me. We spend billions to stop drug kingpins when all it would take to get rid of them is to legalize drugs and turn their profits to crap!
Think about how many Mobsters are still in the Liquor Business?
We gave thugs a monopoly and once we legalized the booze it wasn’t profitable enough for criminals to be interested in!
They kept the clubs they used to serve it from though, what better place to distribute the drugs! LOL
And despite all the money we spend on Drug interdiction drug usage has gone up! Why? Because everyone wants what they can’t have! LOL
If we banned or made it a felony to eat spinach and green beans we might get our kids to eat their vegetables!
Yes what you said about those groups are pretty true but thats because they are only charged with blaming someone they are not charged with blaming the right guy. Thats the district attourney’s job!
Whenever I see ATF the first thing I think of is this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guvo7gUdUnE
Well I’ve been very critical of the way the Wilpon’s have run this baseball team yet I have yet to see or hear a single credible piece of evidence that supports Picard’s primary allegation that “they knew or should have known.” despite the fact that Picard has been leaking “damaging” depositions which turn out NOT to support his public accusations, but in fact seem to be contrary to his allegations.
He has smeared the Wilpon’s with the selective use of this so called “evidence” while keeping it from them and subverted the Courts order against trying the case in public in an attempt to pressure the Wilpon’s into settling on HIS terms or tainting the jury pool. How anyone could support his heavy handed attempts at blackmail is beyond me. When you include the FACT that he has given others a HUGE pass on this whole thing, including the person who originally funded the entire scam and call it justice is the very anthysis of that concept.
Boycotting the Mets would only at best result in a fire sale so if justice and fair play are not part of your thought process how can you be so sure that a new owner would be better? The most likely scenario is that MLB would have to take over with the team being sold down the road with no guarantee it will be rum competently then if ever. How is that good for us?
Even though the Wilpon’s have gone about running this team in the most naive, gullible and shortsighted way possible, they have spent huge dollars attempting to make it competitive, even throwing good money after bad in an attempt to have any chance of making it work.
It is true they have cheaped out in other more productive ways of spending in order to foolishly play checkbook baseball but there is every reason to believe that those days are over. That now we will have a plan in place that encompasses smart moves for today with plenty of thought and resources going into tomorrow as well.
If you are a Met Fan why not go see your team play this year? Oh, you only go when the Wilpon has provided a big name player to go see despite the way that’s worked out so well for us in the past.
Like a trained seal you only zip over to Flushing when a Vince Coleman or a Mo Vaughn or a Jason Bay or a JJ Putz is added to an already under performing roster.
You can’t go to Citi just to enjoy seeing your favorite team play baseball? Walk around the Stadium and watch the game from a million different vantage points? Have a burger and a beer? Buy a hat? Take your wife and kids, your girlfriend, your cousins, meet up with friends in CF or McFaddens? Bring your nephews and nieces to the batting cage, t-ball field or dunking tank? Get their picture taken with Mr. Met or buy them a t shirt?
Wow. What a bunch of posers, prima donna’s, and bandwagon jumpers.
And I thought the Yankee fan was full of s***.
tag, I live in Florida after working for long periods in Queens and Manhattan. I go to PSL and Viera early in spring training and try to take in as much as I can on the practice fields. I’ve learned a lot from what goes on there. I don’t feel the need to have a box seat over the dugout in order to enjoy baseball. In fact I think some of the best moments of baseball and its culture comes from the practice diamonds. You can really get to know the players and the upcoming prospects by going to the practice fields.
Sound great Des. I’ve never been. Hope to some day. My wife an I are planning to hit Savannah and catch a couple games this year but ST, especially the way you describe it sounds great. I hope to get down there some day.
For those who want baseball on a budget, the Spring Training period is the way to go. Most of the happenings are free, and the camaraderie is wonderful. I do miss seeing the games from seats at Citi and Shea though. But I’ve got Ronnie, Keith and Gary for my pals during the season. They’re great.
The irony of MLB is that because of my internet location, the Florida teams are blacked out. So I have to listen to the Mets games with the Marlins on WFAN on internet radio, the way we used to do it years ago.
Over the few years he managed the Nationals, I got to really like Frank Robinson. I saw how he handled his team at Viera. He and Gil Hodges would have been strong friends I think. Two gamers.
There are always two sides to every story and it’s about time we start listening to this partcular side which the media refuses to report.
I have a bit of a social problem – I know the Wilpons – and for me the only way to treat them during this long, drawn out legal matter is not to say anything about them. In fact the only person I’d like to hear from when it is all over is Mario – who is the mediator – and who will speak with a straight line. This is why I am glad that some others will keep following this messy situation although I’m sure it will still be there in the fall.
To Joe D.
You’ve got some really great people here, and I for one appreciate them and their knowledge and thank them for sharing with all of us.
Annie, wasn’t it you who wrote a long anti-Wilpon piece on this site a few weeks back? If so, what made you suddenly take the stance to not say anything now?
Without revealing too much, can you say how you know the Wilpons and to what degree? Why is your impression of them so negative? (Apart from the way they run the team.)
As for Cuomo, I think he was a great choice. I don’t think he will make any progress, however, as the two sides are just so far apart. I don’t know much about the mediation process in bankruptcy cases like this, but my guess is that there will be no public report or much said publicly from Cuomo, regardless of his success or failure. He is personally appointed by the judge and will be reporting to him. This is good as he can provide an objective and intelligent view of the whole dispute which I think Lifland will at least take into consideration, although Lifland is already closely aligned with Picard.
why do you peeps love non-baseball so much
this directly affects ( and has already affected ) the team. if it were happening in texas, or chicago, or the bronx, i would not care.