Bernie Madoff Auction Puts A Price On Irony

There is something a little tawdry about tables and cases filled with old jewelry purses, watches, duck decoys and golf clubs, even if they once belonged to a wealthy crook. The man who orchestrated the greatest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history is behind bars with a 150-year prison term, and now many of his belongings also have new homes.

About 200 items formerly owned by Bernard and Ruth Madoff went on the block Saturday at a Manhattan hotel. The auction fetched a total of about $1 million, twice as much as the auctioneers had hoped for.

The fallen financier's blue satin New York Mets baseball jacket with his surname stitched on the back was valued at up to $720. It sold for $14,500. Madoff's Hofstra College ring, estimated at $360, went for $6,000.

The prices were glitzy, but the display looked more like a garage sale as items sat propped against foldaway hotel tables. "It's like anybody else's stuff," said bankruptcy lawyer Bob Bernstein. By strange coincidence, a convention of bankruptcy lawyers was meeting down the hall from the auction.

"Despite the fact that there is a lot of stuff in this room, it really doesn't — to me — convey the impression of how much money he really went through, or how much money he really had, because there aren't yachts in there, there aren't any cars in there, and there aren't any apartments in there, and I think that's where a lot of the money went," said Bernstein — money from a scam that involved more than $20 billion.

Three boats, a yacht and a Mercedes will be auctioned in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Tuesday. Most of the Madoffs' clothing will be auctioned another time. Two of the houses have been sold; two more wait.

Among the items at Saturday's auction were 17 Rolexes, jewelry, Native American prints, and odd things like a milking stool, a creamer in the shape of a cow, and a worn white boogie board with the name Madoff written on it. The U.S. Marshals Service ran the event, which made it a very different affair from most auctions.

"These pieces of property were involved in relation to a crime of some sort," said Deputy Marshal Roland Ubaldo. "They were acquired and purchased through ill-gotten gains." The proceeds, he added, would go directly to the Justice Department fund to benefit Madoff victims.

Ubaldo and the rest of the marshals were clearly aware that this auction was somewhat historic. "I mean, let's face it, this is the biggest Ponzi scheme in American history," he said. "When that last item hits the auction block, it's good to see the items and the proceeds go towards something good for once."

Michael Karlin, a trader by profession, looked at the Rolexes on display. "A watch for $75,000," he scoffed. "That is not his money, and he cheated people for it. It's just disgusting." So why did Karlin come?

"Because it's just interesting to see what a lowlife like that owns and what he is trying to sell," Karlin said. He considered bidding on a few small-ticket items. "Just to show my kids some day."

That Rolex, by the way, went for $65,000, but many watches went for double their estimates. It cost $250 to bid in person, $1,000 to bid online. When the auction began, it wasn't the kind of staid affair you might experience at Sotheby's or Christie's. Auctioneers and other workers shouted constantly. When the Mets jacket came up, the bidding became frenzied.

The jacket carried particular irony. It was given to Madoff by the owners of the New York Mets, who like so many others, fell victim to his schemes.