Five years ago, on a dark rainy evening I got a call from my photo editor at Bloomberg News.
He said can you run over to the Manhattan Federal Courthouse, and cover the arraignment of a defendant who was accused of a 20 billion dollar fraud. That took me back, and I asked him, did you just say billion??
Equally stunned, he said, "yes".
During that day I had drawn Marc Dreier who was accused of a 300 hundred million dollar fraud, but something in the billions, and that many billions was shocking.
After that day, Bernard Madoff became a nationally known criminal, who ran the longest and largest Ponzi scheme in history. Currently his right hand man, Frank DiPascali is on the stand in Manhattan Federal Court disclosing details on how the fraud and scheme was carried out.
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| AUSA Marc Litt outlining Madoff's fraud with his victims seated left March 2009 |
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| Bernard Madoff with his attorney Ira Sorkin before he was cuffed and sent to prison. By Elizabeth Willliams |
Wall Street Journal> Madoff 5 years later
Beautiful work, Elizabeth. Excellent drawing, mood and detail.
ReplyDeleteThank you, the illustration above of Madoff with his attorney, was right before the judge ordered Madoff remanded. Immediately after that, the US Marshals walked up and slapped the hand cuffs on him and lead him into the lock up.
ReplyDeleteIt was one of my most memorable moments and one of the quickest. I managed a very quick drawing of that handcuff scene, that image is in the upcoming book.