Thaindian News

By Meena Kar
Nov 15, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The auction of Bernie Madoff’s spoils recovered from his penthouses in New York and Long Island has fetched a whopping $2 million. Though the amount looks meager compared to the swindler’s actual loot, most of the items exceeded their pre-sale estimate by a fair margin. The auction was handled by US Marshals Service and more than 200 collectors and dealers competed in the event. Some bid for the items to collect them as a souvenir for Bernie Madoff’s multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme and some might have done it out of pure lust for the exclusive items on display.

The bidders snapped up almost everything in the auction which included Bernie Madoff’s underwear, socks and hundreds of shoes. A very expensive ring which is rumored to be Ruth Madoff’s engagement ring was also picked up by one of the bidders but he has so far refused to disclose his identity. It sold for a whopping $550,000 after having a pre-sale estimate of $200,000. Another item that has made news is a master-bed that the new owner claims is bigger than her living room. Tally Weiner, who worked for a company that had invested in the Ponzi scheme, said that she bought the bed to aid the victims of the scamster. She also added that she is game to re-auction the 16 lots that she bought and even seek out Ruth Madoff to offer her the bed in case she wants it.

Designer boxers of Bernie Madoff yet to be worn were picked up by an unidentified man for $1700 and empty photo frames and albums raised another $1000. A leather footstool in the form of a bull fetched an eye-popping $3300 which is more than 9 times the pre-sale estimate of $360.