Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff's son Mark committed suicide on the second anniversary of his father's arrest. INSIDE EDITION has the details.
In the blink of an eye, Mark Madoff went from being the happy son of an incredibly wealthy man to the son of the most notorious swindler in U.S. history.
INSIDE EDITION's Paul Boyd spoke Andrew Kirtzman, author of Betrayal: The Life and Lies of Bernie Madoff, who says that after Bernie Madoff's arrest Mark's suffering was endless.
"Mark Madoff must have been under a tremendous amount pressure," observes INSIDE EDITION's Paul Boyd.
"Mark Madoff had everything to live for, until this all came crashing down," says Kirtzman. "He was subject to ridicule and ostracism and basically Mark Madoff's life had become a living hell, he was a pariah, his wife even had to change the kids' last names because the Madoff name is radioactive."
The suicide of Mark Madoff is an ending nobody could have foreseen, especially the way he did it, hanging himself with his dog's leash after sending heart-rending e-mails in his final hours of life.
"No one wants to hear the truth," he wrote to his lawyer. "Please take care of my family."
"Send someone to take care of Nick," he told his wife, Stephanie, who was vacationing in Disney World with their 4-year-old daughter. Nick, their 2-year-old, was staying with Mark.
Nick was asleep in the apartment when his dad took his own life.
Mark Madoff's wife rushed home from her vacation to take care of her husband's funeral arrangements. The woed from federal authorities is that Bernie Madoff will not be allowed to attend the funeral.
Now the spotlight has shifted to his younger brother Andrew. Neither brother has had contact with their father or their mother Ruth in two years. Both brothers maintain their innocence in the Madoff scandal.
"Andy was known as quieter, more cerebral, brooding. Mark was the back-slapping type, very charismatic, seemed a much happier person. But obviously was also much more sensitive to the shame," says Kirtzman.
Nick Casale was Bernie Madoff's bodyguard. He recalls how the people Madoff swindled would stand outside his high-rise apartment and urge him to kill himself.
"There were people waving signs [that said] 'Jump, Bernie!' " Casale tells Boyd.
Mark Madoff killed himself on the second anniversary of his father's arrest.
"What do you make of the timing of the suicide?" Boyd asks Casale.
Casale says, "I would say it was a strong message being sent that 'For what has happened, this is my outcry. Now feel guilty for me.' "
Mark Madoff's suicide is the fourth suicide to be directly linked to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
