she used to get foil highlights every six weeks — her shade is soft baby blonde, and she was religious about color — but the last time she called her manhattan salon, pierre michel on east 57th street, she was told not to return. “i understand,” she said, according to the salon’s co-owner.
the amagansett florist who decorated her husband’s annual corporate party in montauk with lismachia, queen anne’s lace and thistles has banned her as a client, saying she will not associate with the wife of one of history’s most notorious financial scoundrels.
even her sons, mark and andrew, who have not been charged by prosecutors but are banned by their lawyers from contact with their parents, have begun to refer to “mom” and “dad” as “ruth” and “bernie,” according to family friends.
ruth madoff, 68, has not been charged with any crime or even questioned by prosecutors. but she has become perhaps the most vilified spouse of a financial rogue in history. when her husband, bernard madoff, divulged his ponzi scheme, a $65-billion fraud for which he awaits sentencing later this month, mrs. madoff’s life was also ruined. although no evidence has emerged to date that she conspired or even knew about her husband’s crimes, her plight has evoked no apparent public sympathy. she has been pilloried and turned into a pariah.
the wives of other notorious criminals, like ivan boesky, michael milken and nicholas leeson, endured rough social sledding but eventually emerged with new careers and new friends. it’s not as if they couldn’t still go out and have their hair done. there wasn’t quite the same pack of gleeful tabloid photographers as there was, say, when mrs. madoff bought cheese in the supermarket a few months ago.
by contrast, the public reaction to mrs. madoff has been white hot and vitriolic. rightly or wrongly, she is viewed as an unrepentant beneficiary of ill-gotten wealth, a petite and well-dressed embodiment of the collective, bloated greed that helped topple the stock market and the housing industry.
“she’s perceived as the succubus to bernie’s incubus,” said prof. richard a. shweder, a cultural anthropologist at the university of chicago. “she was inside a circle of people whose wealth has been sucked out of the system.”
even seema boesky, whose ex-husband’s name became synonymous with insider trading and the excesses of the 1980s, feels conflicted.
“my immediate reaction was utter sympathy for this woman,” mrs. boesky said in a telephone interview, adding that she does not know mrs. madoff. “i wanted to write her a letter, reach out to her, take her out to lunch. but my lawyer said, ‘no.’ ”
ever since prosecutors accused mr. madoff, 71, in december of orchestrating a scheme that fleeced thousands of investors and foundations — including beloved charities, universities and the holocaust survivor elie wiesel — mrs. madoff has been taking it on the chin. the reaction has been so negative compared with other wives in the same position partly, it seems, because her husband’s crimes grievously harmed individuals rather than a bank or faceless institution.
her unusual closeness to her husband, too, in a world where wives are often on the sidelines is among the things working against her. mrs. madoff had been a director at her husband’s firm and had stood inseparably beside him through 49 years of marriage.
then there is the lack of public contrition by mrs. madoff, and her move days before the scandal to shift $15.5 million out of an investment account and to transfer watches, cuff links and other jewelry to her children. one day after she left the manhattan jail where her husband has been held, an abc camera crew asked her what her message was to the victims. she said, “i have no response to you.”
by contrast, neither mrs. boesky nor lisa leeson (the ex-wife of the guy who brought down barings bank) nor lori milken (spouse of the once-disgraced junk-bond king) was viewed as complicit in their husbands’ crimes. nor was denise rich, the former wife of the fugitive financier marc rich, who was pardoned by president bill clinton (and who himself lost money to mr. madoff).
mrs. rich has thrived in recent years as a socialite, philanthropist and songwriter. mrs. milken threw herself into fund-raising for prostate cancer, which her husband suffered from while in prison. mrs. leeson was in her 20s when her husband’s crimes came to light; while in prison, he wrote an autobiography, “rogue trader,” which she promoted even as she apologized for his actions. none of these three women would comment for this article.
mrs. boesky said she fought hard to preserve her reputation. “i knew that i had to be an ambassador for my name,” she said. “that i had to forge ahead, be proud and do good deeds. i was determined to convert all who had prejudged me.” she writes “seema says ...,” a column for the wag, a giveaway fashion and party magazine in westchester county.
as for mrs. madoff, “she hasn’t said, ‘i had no idea,’ ” said samantha von sperling, a manhattan social-image consultant. “all we see is her living in a world of stolen money. if i were her, i’d devote my life to charity — an orphanage or a pet shelter would be a good place to start.”
alexandra lebenthal, who is a friend of one of the madoff sons, andrew, as well as a fixture in manhattan financial and social circles, said that mrs. madoff has not taken any steps that might rehabilitate her image. “in america, we love tearing people down and then bringing them back, but she hasn’t played the game,” she said.
interviews in recent weeks with people close to mrs. madoff portray her as a woman-turned-outcast, anguished over the lack of contact with her children and grandchildren. most people declined to speak for the record, citing the criminal investigation of her husband.
ira lee sorkin, a lawyer who represents mr. madoff, said that his client’s wife “has great sympathy for the victims of her husband’s misconduct, and is deeply concerned about her husband’s physical and emotional condition.” but he added that “there is no question there’s an image problem.”
two top lawyers who are former federal prosecutors and who represent some of the victims said mrs. madoff had invoked the legal doctrine of marital privilege and declined to testify against her husband.
before the scandal, mrs. madoff radiated an understated sense of taste. she favored slim black pants, fine-gauge white cotton crew necks, susan bennis warren edwards crocodile-leather flats and classic gold jewelry, according to a friend of the family who saw her regularly at gatherings.
now mrs. madoff spends her days largely confined to the two-story four-bedroom penthouse on 64th street near lexington avenue, dressed in jeans and an oxford-style shirt, according to someone who is in touch with her regularly. she often talks on the telephone to one of the few friends who has stuck by her, a high school classmate named cynthia lieberbaum. mrs. lieberbaum, who lives in westport, conn., with her husband, michael, declined to comment.
these days mrs. madoff’s life is circumscribed by the federal prosecutors who are trying to unravel how her husband’s extensive fraud took place — and who else took part. she recently submitted to a voluntary freeze on all spending, except for essentials like food.
her home in palm beach, fla., has been surrendered to the authorities. now she leaves her upper east side apartment mainly to visit her husband in jail, every couple of weeks (most recently in mid-may) or to buy food nearby or to visit her lawyer, peter chavkin, at his midtown offices. mr. chavkin declined to comment and said that mrs. madoff would not comment, either.
mrs. madoff’s opportunities to redeem her image — for instance, through charity — appear limited. she was active with the gift of life bone marrow foundation, whose gala her husband was chairman of in 2006, the year that roger, a nephew, died of leukemia. but the foundation lost at least $2 million in the ponzi scheme; its executive director, jay feinberg, declined to comment.
the other charities she supported also seem to be distancing themselves.
eating at the chic manhattan restaurants she used to frequent is also out of the question. marco proietti, the general manager at bella blu, an italian restaurant on lexington near 70th street, said she would likely be declared unwelcome. “people definitely think she knew what was going on,” he said. plus, “one of our customers lost $10 million.”
asked if she would accept mrs. madoff again as a client, beth eckhardt, who runs amagansett flowers by beth on long island, said: “are you kidding? no way! no way! no way! i mean, really.”
oriente mania, the general manager of sette mezzo, an italian restaurant on lexington near 70th street, said he would open his doors to mrs. madoff only if she paid $160 due from a meal she and her husband had in december. while mr. madoff had written a check to cover the bill, prosecutors had blocked it from being cashed, he said.
she no longer goes to her gym, equinox, one block south of her penthouse, where she paid $1,200 a month for a membership; representatives of the gym would not comment.
as for her salon, pierre michel, mrs. madoff had dropped in every six weeks over the last 10 years. one morning in march, she was told that she could no longer enjoy her routine of sitting with a glass of poland spring water while giselle, a colorist often cited in vogue and allure, wielded the foils. pierre ouaknine, an owner of the salon, broke the news, according to kelly brady, a spokeswoman for the salon.
the salon also refused to send a stylist to her apartment, a few blocks away, ms. brady said. too many clients at the salon had been swindled, and the owners did not want their image further harmed, she explained.
even in her exile, mrs. madoff’s world is rapidly getting smaller. victims of the scheme are pushing the bankruptcy trustee and federal prosecutors to sell anything they can, including the couple’s penthouse, which was used to help secure mr. madoff’s bail; it could be seized after mr. madoff’s sentencing, which is scheduled for june 29.
the place is decorated with greek- and roman-type statuary and impressionist-style paintings, said michael skakun, a journalist hired by mrs. madoff a few years ago to make a scrapbook for her husband’s 65th birthday (she canceled the project before he started it). “i felt like i’d walked into a consulate,” mr. skakun recalled.
for now — and from afar — mrs. boesky has a message for mrs. madoff. “if you are honest,” she said, “don’t let the world put you on a spit and turn you over.”
她每隔六周就会给头发做一次漂染。她有着一头像婴儿一样柔软的金色头发。她对种这颜色衷爱有佳。但她最后一将次访问她在曼哈顿以东五十七街区的皮埃尔．米歇尔美发沙龙时，她被告知不要再来了。据店主说，她回答道：“我理解。”
阿玛赫斯特花店的花商曾经用珍珠草、安妮女王蕾丝花、和蓟装饰过她丈夫在蒙托克年度企业年会的会场。但是花店现在拒绝为她服务，还说她不想和历史上最臭名昭著的金融骗子的妻子有任何瓜葛
据她的朋友们说，即使她的两个儿子，马克和安德鲁，已经开始提及“妈妈”和“爸爸”为“露丝”和“伯尼 ”。虽然他们未受到任何指控，但却禁止和他们的父母有任何来往。
现年68岁的露丝．麦道夫 ， 并未受到任何指 ， 甚至没有受到法官的质讯。但是，她已成为历史上受人诋毁的金融流氓的配偶。当她的丈夫，伯纳德．麦道夫，泄露了他的65亿美元的 庞氏诈骗计划即将在本月末等待审判时， 麦道夫夫人的生活也被毁了。尽管没有证据表明迄今为止，她和丈夫合谋，或知道她丈夫的诈骗行为，但她的艰难处境却未引起公众的同情。公众嘲笑她，她变成了弃儿。
其他臭名昭著的罪犯的太太们，像伊万•布斯基， 米歇尔．麦肯 和妮可．李森，都忍受社会的鞭责 ， 但最终又有了自己的事业和新朋友，并出现在公众面前。现在，他们继续外出，继续打理头发。他们也不会像麦道夫的太太一样，几个月前当她上超市买乳酪时，一大群兴灾乐祸的小报记者紧随其后。
相比之下，公众对麦道夫夫人的反应已近白热化并且尖酸刻薄。无论对错与否，她被看作是一个死不悔改的、不义之财的受益者，一个娇小的、衣冠楚楚的，代表人类共有的、无比贪婪的恶念的化身，它帮助推倒了股票市场和住宅产业。
美国芝加哥大学的文化人类学教授理查德．Ａ．施吾德说：“她被认为是向伯尼梦魇中的妖女。 我们的财富被美国这种社会制度席间一空，她就和我们这种人生活在同一屋檐下。”
即使西玛．博斯基的内心也感到了冲突。她前夫的名字成了20世纪80年代内幕交易和过度消费的代名词。
“我的第一反应是完全同情这个女人， ”博斯基太太在电话采访中说。她并不认识麦道夫太太。“我想给她写一封信，向她伸出援手，和她一起吃顿饭。但律师却说，不能这样做。”
自从十一月份，71岁的麦道夫被检方指控精心策划诈骗上千名投资者和基金会，其中还包括一些慈善组织、大学和大屠杀幸存者伊利．威塞尔。麦道夫太太却对这些闭口不谈。她的反应和其他处于同样处境的太太相比，非常消极。可能她认为她的丈夫的罪行只是损害了个人利益，而不是银行或不知名的机构。
她和丈夫不寻常的亲密关系，也使她倍受公众反感。这种情况下，妻子通常只适合做个旁观者。麦道夫太太曾经是她丈夫公司的一个主管。49年的婚姻，她形影不离地站在她丈夫身旁。
其次是麦道夫太太并未向公众道歉。她在丑闻发生时的所做所为，只是把一千五百万美元的巨款从投资账户中转移，把手表，链扣和其他一些珠宝转移到她的孩子名下。有一天，她从丈夫被关押的监狱离开时，美国广播公司摄制组问她想要和受害者说些什么时，她只是说：“我没什么好说的。”
相比之下，无论是博里斯基的太太或丽莎．里森（搞垮巴林银行的那个家伙），或劳瑞．麦肯（无耻的垃圾债券之王的配偶）都不会被视为同其丈夫串通一气。甚至逃跑的金融家马克．瑞奇的前妻丹妮丝．瑞奇（她自己的钱也被麦道夫糟蹋了），连克林顿总统也原谅了她。
瑞奇太太现在是社交活动家、慈善家、作曲家，生活的多姿多彩。梅肯太太完全投入为前列腺癌捐款的工作。她的丈夫在监狱中就受到这种病的折磨。里森太太丈夫的罪行曝光时，她只有二十几岁。当她的丈夫在监狱中撰写了自传“流氓交易员” ，她甚至还为丈夫的行为道歉，这样做却大大的提升了她的形象。这三个女人并未对这篇文章作出任何评论。
博理斯基太太说，她努力的维护着自己的声誉。“我知道，为了自己的荣誉，我要成为一个宣传大使。我必须锐意进取，有尊严的生活，行善，做好事。我决定使那些对我有偏见的人改变想法。 ”她为温彻斯特郡的一家免费时尚、社交杂志《摇摆》写专栏——西玛说。
曼哈顿的社会形象顾问萨玛莎说，至于麦道夫太太，“她不应该说我不知道。我们看到的是她一直和偷窃别人钱的人生活在一起。如果我是她，我会做一些善事。一个孤儿院，宠物避难所，这都是很好的开始。“
亚历山德拉．里本萨是麦道夫的儿子，安德鲁的一个朋友，在曼哈顿的金融和社会各界拥有一席之地。她说，麦道夫太太并没有努力恢复自己的形象。“在美国，我们喜欢把我们不喜欢的推下地狱，随后将他们拉回来，但她没有以此规则行事。 ”
根据最近几周的采访，麦道夫太太身边的人都把她描绘成被遗弃的女人，和她的孩子和孙子们失去联系也让她很焦急。大多数人都不愿谈论调查她丈夫罪行的细节。
麦道夫的代表律师，艾尔．李．萨瑞克说，他的当事人的妻子“对他丈夫的不当行为的受害者深表同情，并且非常关心她丈夫的身体和心理状况。”但是他补充说， “这和形象问题毫无关系 ”
为受害者辩护的前联邦检察官两位资深律师说，麦道夫的太太援引婚姻特权的法律原则拒绝作证指控自己的丈夫。
丑闻之前，麦道夫太太表现出不俗的品味。据经常看见她参加聚会的朋友说，她喜欢合体的黑色长裤、细白棉花水手领、苏珊．班尼斯．华伦．爱德华兹鳄鱼皮革平底鞋、和佩戴经典黄金首饰。
根据和她经常接触的人说，现在，她在列克星敦大道第64街附近的二层四间公寓，身穿牛仔裤和牛津式衬衫，足不出户。她常常和自己喜欢的朋友辛西娅．莱博瑞姆，她的一个高中同学通电话。住在康涅狄格州，韦斯特波特的莱博瑞姆太太与她的丈夫迈克尔拒绝就此发表评论。
这些天来麦道夫太太的生活周围尽是些联邦检察官。他们一直想解开她丈夫是如何预谋这场大骗局之谜并希望找到其同伙。她最近自愿申请冻结所有支出，除了食品等必需品。
她位于佛罗里达州棕榈滩的房产，已移交给当局。现在，每隔几个星期（最近一次是在5月中旬） ，她会离开阳光上东公寓，主要是探视监狱里的丈夫，或在食品店附近买食物，或访问她的律师彼得．查夫在中城的办公室。查夫先生拒绝发表评论，并说，麦道夫太太也不会有任何评论。
麦道夫太太希望挽回形象的机会，例如慈善行为，看来是没有机会了。她曾经积极参与骨髓基金会慈善捐款，2006年还举行了一个慈善会，她丈夫还是主席。这一年她的侄子罗杰死于白血病。但基金会参与的庞氏计划至少使它损失200万美元。其执行主任杰伊．费因伯格拒绝就此发表评论。
她支持的其他慈善事业，似乎对她也尽而远之。
她经常光临的曼哈顿时尚餐厅，如果想要再去也是不可能了。贝拉蓝光是坐落在第70街，列克星敦附近的一个意大利餐厅。经理马克．帕瑞厄蒂说，她会是一个不受欢迎的客人。“人们肯定认为她知道发生了什么事情。”另外， “我们的一个客户在她丈夫那损失了1000万美元。 ”
在长岛经营阿麦哥斯特＆花儿餐厅的贝丝．伊克哈帝特当被问到，她是否会接受麦道夫太太再次成为他的客人时说： “你在开玩笑吧？绝不！绝不！绝不！我的意思是，我是认真的。”
在第70街附近的列克星敦东方玛妮意大利餐厅的经理赛特．麦佐说，除非她把１２月份和她丈夫在这就餐的１６０美元还给他，否则她别想能进门。当时麦道夫先生写了一张支票，但却不能兑现，因为账户已经被法官冻结了。
她不能再去公寓南边只有一街区远的伊葵尼克斯健身房去健身。每月她需要支付1200美元的会费。健身房的代表没有任何评论。
至于她在过去１０年间经常去的皮埃尔．米歇尔夫人沙龙美发店呢？３月份的一天早上，她被告知再也不能在美发店享受喝着波兰矿泉水，时尚圈里有名的色彩理发师吉赛尔給她弄头发的待遇。
沙龙还拒绝派一个设计师到几个街区外的公寓为她服务。她解释说，美发厅里很多的客户被骗，店主不希望自己的形象进一步受损。
即使流亡国外，麦道夫夫人的世界正在迅速变得越来越小。诈骗计划的受害者正在申请破产管财人，并要求联邦检察官出售麦道夫的所有财产，也包括这对夫妇的公寓。这笔钱是麦道夫保释金，但好像保不住了。他定于6月29日宣判。
几年前，麦道夫太太雇佣记者米歇尔．斯克坤为她丈夫的６５岁生日制做剪贴簿（在工作开始前，计划就取消了）。他回忆说，这套公寓装饰着希腊和古罗马式的雕像，墙上挂着印象派风格的绘画。“我觉得自已走进一个领事馆。 ”
住在其他城市的博斯基太太给麦道夫太太捎来一个口信，“如果你是清白的，不要让其他人的唾沫淹着你，使你不得翻身。”