Madoff son8217;s suicide followed battle with trustee

The suicide of Mark Madoff leaves unanswered questions for investors seeking payback for the billions of dollars his father.

For two years,the two sons of jailed financier Bernard Madoff portrayed themselves as honest whistleblowers of their father8217;s historic fraud. A court-appointed trustee depicted them as bungling money managers who did nothing to protect investors.

The suicide of Mark Madoff leaves unanswered questions for investors seeking payback for the billions of dollars his father syphoned 8212; and for criminal investigators who continued to pursue charging Madoff8217;s family for knowing participation in the fraud.

The 46-year-old Madoff,Bernard Madoff8217;s eldest son hanged himself Saturday by a dog leash on a metal ceiling beam in his Manhattan loft apartment,his 2-year-old son asleep in another room.

The death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging on Sunday by the city medical examiner.

He died on the anniversary of his father8217;s arrest two years ago in the largest Ponzi scheme ever recorded. It followed the filing in recent weeks of dozens of lawsuits by trustee Irving Picard as he pursued billions of dollars in damages against those who profited from the multi-decade fraud.

Increasingly,Picard has stepped up his language in lawsuits against those who knew Madoff well,describing an Austrian banker accused in a lawsuit Friday of being Madoff8217;s 8220;criminal soul mate8221; as having acted criminally in her efforts on behalf of Madoff8217;s fraud.

Last Wednesday,he included the brothers as defendants in an USD 80 million lawsuit he brought against the London-based international arm of Madoff8217;s business,saying the overseas operation was used to syphon off money from the fraud for the Madoff family.

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Picard said that for executives in the Madoff business,8221;pretending things do not exist or looking away may have been a well-honed survival strategy.8221; Picard sought USD 200 million from Madoff family members in his lawsuit,which charged that family used the Madoff business like a 8220;piggy bank,8221; spending tens of millions on lavish homes and luxuries.

Mark Madoff and his brother,Andrew,portrayed themselves as heroes who sought to stop their father from committing more fraud.

8220;How ironic it is 8230; to blame the very two individuals who uncovered and reported the fraud,saving the estate more than USD 170 million,for not uncovering it sooner,8221; their lawyer,Martin Flumenbaum,said in court papers earlier this year.

On Sunday,Flumenbaum continued to portray the brothers as innocent of their father8217;s crimes.