The Madoff Case Turns Oedipal

[WSJ_law_blog]

It’s a real downer having successful parents, what with their heightened expectations that you’ll be a chip off the old block. And then there are the conflicting business relationships.

Richard Zabel, the newly anointed head of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan (above), has learned first hand the burdens of being born to privilege.

Zabel’s father is William Zabel, of Schulte, Roth & Zabel. Do you already sense the possible conflict here?

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office is overseeing the investigation into the Madoff Ponzi Scheme. Zabel père represents Jeffry Picower, a philanthropist who invested heavily with Madoff and is now also being scrutinized by the U.S Attorney’s Office.

Federal investigators, as we set out in this blog post, have gathered evidence they think will show that Picower told Madoff how much in returns he wanted and that his accounts soon would reflect those amounts.

Picower has denied wrongdoing.

The possible Zabel v. Zabel subplot, it appears, has now been tidily wrapped up.

Richard Zabel, ABC News reports, has recused himself from any involvement in the Madoff matter.

Zabel the elder told ABC that his son’s decision to take himself off the Madoff case “is entirely appropriate, because of the appearance of a conflict of interest.”

“The Trustee’s villainous portrayal of Mr. Picower is unsupported by facts,” Zabel the elder said in a recent court filing.

The entire Madoff family should be arrested! And their assets confiscated.