Mark Madoff, son of ponzi schemer Bernie, dead in suicide

Th 46-year-old elder son of fraudster Bernie Madoff was found dead earlier this morning, hanging from a pipe in his Mercer Street apartment in Manhattan.

Mark Madoff, alone in the SoHo home with his two-year-old son, had hanged himself from a pipe on the two-year anniversary of the revelation of his father’s massive fraud. Madoff was discovered just before 7:30 this morning by his father-in-law after his wife, Stephanie, received cryptic e-mails saying he loved her and to send someone to look after their small son. The child was found unharmed in the apartment.

A lawyer for Mark Madoff said his client was another innocent victim of his father’s now infamous investment scheme:

“It’s a terrible and unnecessary tragedy,” said Mark Madoff’s lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum.

“Mark was an innocent victim of his father’s monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo.”

Mark and his brother Andrew were sued again this week in Manhattan by trustees for the victims of Bernie Madoff’s scheme, in an attempt to recover funds thought to have been transferred to Madoff family members.