It is a small world. Who should I come across in Manhattan this evening but Bernie Madoff?

Actually, that is not strictly true. I had to hang around for five minutes or so to see him appear at his apartment building, returning from his day in court at which prosecutors tried to have his bail revoked.

It was still an unreal experience. I left our office in midtown Manhattan to go to an appointment on the Upper East Side just as CNBC showed Madoff being driven away from the courtroom, chased by photographers. Fifteen minutes later, I was walking along Lexington when, at 64th Street, I passed another throng of photographers next to what was clearly his building.

Within a few minutes, the same car I had seen on television appeared and was chased by the throng up to a side entrance, where the gates were firmly shut behind him. I caught a glimpse of the alleged fraudster’s head, but no more, as he disappeared inside.

It was quite a festive scene, with a few passers-by shouting at him as he got out of the car. One of them said something unrepeatable about what would happen to him if he went to a federal prison. Two news helicopters hovered overhead.

Apart from that, my one observation is that Madoff’s “Park Avenue apartment” which is supposedly worth $7m is actually on the edge of Lex. But that does not sound so good, I suppose.

Eliot Spitzer, Bernie Madoff . . . one only has to hang around in Manhattan and all sort of characters pass by.

January 6, 2009 3:24am in Business | Comment