Ed. note: Many apologies for the downtime yesterday. As I understand it, the combination of Olympic Fever and President’s Day caused our servers to start the weekend a couple of days early. Fortunately we have our best people on it and the servers have been pistol-whipped back into submission (for now). Please bear with us.
• Prosecutors Set Sights on Madoff Kin [WSJ]
Specifically on brother Peter and spawn Mark and Andy who all still deny knowing anything. The charges are said to be tax-fraud which indicates that history’s worst auditor David Friehling, who also prepared the Madoffs’ tax returns, is giving the prosecutors golden information.
Peter worked as the Chief Compliance officer at BLMIS while Mark and Andy worked in the “market-making division”. In Irving Picard’s suit against Madoff family members, it states that between the three of them they withdrew over $50 million after investing under $2 million.
In other Madoff news, ex-“CFO” Frank DiPascali was released yesterday on bail pending sentencing. He is also cooperating with prosecutors and his attorney said that he was ‘thrilled’, presumably since, you know, he’s out of jail for a few days before he goes back forever.
• Satellite TV sues to end taxes [DMWT]
Purveyors of reality TV and other small screen creations, Dish Network and DirecTV are suing Massachusetts over a “5 percent tax on satellite services”.
Along with suing Mass, the companies have put their lobbyists to work:
A federal bill, H.R. 1019, also is pending in Congress. The State Video Tax Fairness Act would prohibit any state from imposing a discriminatory tax on any “means of providing multichannel video programming distribution services.” As for the term discriminatory tax, the legislation defines it as one where the net tax imposed on one program provider is higher than what is assessed another.
And God knows the satellite TV companies can’t be discriminated against. Apparently these taxes will prevent them from providing hundreds of channels that no one watches. We wouldn’t be able to watch Jersey Shore without these companies. Did you ever think about that?
• Reebok Founder’s Accountant Accused of Stealing $25 Million [FN]
Paul Fireman paid his longtime accountant Arnold Mullen $800,000 a year. Figuring he had more coming to him, Mullen stole $25 million more from Fireman and the Reebok founder’s charity for the homeless. Jesus, man. Try asking for a raise.