Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy First Law Firm to Interview Bernie Madoff in Federal Prison
Joseph W. Cotchett and Nancy L. Fineman of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy were the first attorneys to interview Bernard Madoff in a session conducted at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina on July 28, 2009. Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years behind bars for the largest Ponzi scheme ever perpetrated. The interview lasted about four and a half hours.
Cotchett said Madoff was "very articulate, very direct" and did not appear to be holding back anything. "He talked about how he pulled it off, how many years he got away with it," Cotchett said. Cotchett and Fineman were granted the interview after filing actions on behalf of Madoff's victims. "He obviously wanted to speak with us because in his opinion, certain members of his family knew nothing about it, had no involvement of it . . . He cares about Ruth Madoff," said Cotchett. An amended complaint will be filed to include the new information received from this interview. Cotchett said he did not know if he would name Ruth Madoff or Madoff's sons in the lawsuit, but he is sure to name Madoff's brother, Peter, who served as the firm's chief compliance officer.
Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy filed a lawsuit against Madoff in February 2009 for the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out thousands of investors and ruined charities. The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court. Amongst the defendants named were Bernard Madoff, his wife, Ruth Madoff, his two sons, Andrew and Mark Madoff and brother Peter Madoff.
The Butner Federal Correctional Complex is located about 45 miles northwest of Raleigh and includes two medium-security facilities, a low-security facility and a hospital, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Madoff is currently housed in the medium-security facility, mainly because of his 150 year sentence.
CBS News' The Morning Show interviewed Cotchett and Fineman.
ABC WTVD-TV news report on Bernie Madoff also features Cotchett and Fineman.