Madoff cornered the prison's hot chocolate market

[Pekelo]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ne...-but-a-product-of-a-corrupt-system-2017-01-12

"“At one point, he cornered the hot chocolate market. He bought up every package of Swiss Miss from the commissary and sold it for a profit in the prison yard. He monopolized hot chocolate! He made it so that, if you wanted any, you had to go through Bernie.”"

There is also a new interview series with him on Audible:

"That’s one of the sure-to-be-controversial conclusions of “Ponzi Supernova,” a new Audible audio series built around extensive interviews with the now-jailed Madoff and hours of previously unheard testimony where he discusses his crimes in his own words.
The first four episodes of the six-part series made its debut Thursday. The final two parts will be released in the coming weeks."

If you have Amazon Prime, you can use Audible for free... The parts are 20-25 mins long...

Edit: The HBO movie with DeNiro as Madoff is coming out in May...

 

[Xela]

"“At one point, he cornered the hot chocolate market.

I know he's an appalling man and a horrible criminal who has destroyed the lives of large numbers of people, but (although I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it) I bet I'm not alone in thinking that there's also a pretty amusing side to that revelation!

 

[Pekelo]

"Madoff “was a gifted con man, but he really wasn’t a criminal genius,” Fishman said. “His Ponzi scheme operations used dot-matrix printers and computers from the 80s. A lot of his workers had high school diplomas. He made mistakes [in creating fraudulent statements] and if someone found one, his back office would just correct the mistake. Apparently, this didn’t seem suspicious to anyone.”"

 

[MagicMike]

I can't help feeling some admiration for Uncle Bernie... he plays the game well

 

[cdcaveman]

He isn't worse then the fed

 

[Xela]

He isn't worse then the fed

I think that when making observations like this (with which many here will doubtless agree), it's very worthwhile differentiating - in using the word "worse" - between "worse in outcome" and "worse in intention".

You're kind of making a moral point (I'm not criticising that, needless to say!) and in a moral context, we tend to judge by intention at least as much as by outcome, you know? I don't think many people would seriously contend that the Fed is "worse than Madoff" in intention?!

 

[vanzandt]

I can't help feeling some admiration for Uncle Bernie... he plays the game well

If he was really bad assed, he would have cornered the cigarette market in there. Much more profit.

 

[zdreg]

If he was really bad assed, he would have cornered the cigarette market in there. Much more profit.

the currency of choice is now the ramen.
Why Ramen Is the New Currency in U.S. Prisons - Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/...ramen...currency.../6DA28CBF-B11E-4BE4-AECF-98EE98F204CF.ht...
Aug 24, 2016 - Cigarettes are no longer the most valuable commodity in prisons, a new study shows. Their replacement? Instant ramen noodles. Here's why.

a trader has to keep up to date on black markets.

 

[vanzandt]

the currency of choice is now the ramen.
Why Ramen Is the New Currency in U.S. Prisons - Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/...ramen...currency.../6DA28CBF-B11E-4BE4-AECF-98EE98F204CF.ht...
Aug 24, 2016 - Cigarettes are no longer the most valuable commodity in prisons, a new study shows. Their replacement? Instant ramen noodles. Here's why.

a trader has to keep up to date on black markets.

Interesting. High profit margin on them too I would suspect. Kinda bulky though, hard to hide.
If I were there, I'd go into brokering internet time at the prison library. No inventory. Pure profit.
Maybe Bernie posts here.
You out there B-man?
Throw Zandy a bone. I could use a good trade.

 

[cdcaveman]

I think that when making observations like this (with which many here will doubtless agree), it's very worthwhile differentiating - in using the word "worse" - between "worse in outcome" and "worse in intention".

You're kind of making a moral point (I'm not criticising that, needless to say!) and in a moral context, we tend to judge by intention at least as much as by outcome, you know? I don't think many people would seriously contend that the Fed is "worse than Madoff" in intention?!

There motto is do no harm.. how farce is that.. if they do believe that then they are as stupid you can get... Intentions aren't what is measured. Hitler intended on bettering humanity. So did Stalin by all the propoganda they put out. Just like fed propoganda.