This story in the Boston Globe from this weekend gets into some of the damage Madoff did to Boston’s Jewish community.
His clients include philanthropists Carl and Ruth Shapiro, major donors to the Museum of Fine Arts, Brandeis University, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The Shapiro family foundation lost almost half its money, or about $145 million, to Madoff. Other clients include Avram and Carol Goldberg, former owners of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain, and Stephen A. Fine, president of Biltrite Corp. in Waltham.
The story also gets into some of the details about how Madoff made his inroads:
Carl Shapiro, 95, and Madoff have been friends for decades. Shapiro was among the original investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, according to several people who know them both.
And Madoff’s chief recruiter of clients in Boston, Robert Jaffe, is married to one of the Shapiros’ daughter’s, Ellen. Robert Jaffe, a socialite who golfs at Pine Brook Country Club in Weston and at Palm Beach Country Club, drew many clients in the clubby wealthy Jewish circles in which he travels, according to clients and people who know him.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
