Dead thieves tell no tales

A convenient death to help keep the secrets of where the money went.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The death of Jeffry Picower, accused of profiting more than $7 billion from the investment schemes of his longtime friend Bernard Madoff, will make it more difficult for suing investors to recoup their money, attorneys said.

Jerry Reisman, an attorney representing about 26 victims, said Picower's death does make it more difficult for the trustee to recoup some of the money.

"We won't be able to hear from his own words whether he was complicit," Reisman said. {more}

Taking some pressure off of Madoff.....The media will run with this angle.

Some investigators considered Picower to have been the actual mastermind of Madoff's massive con, or at least an equal "partner in crime."

"He made 30 times what Madoff did from the scam and about a third of the missing money went to Picower," said one of the investigators on the case Sunday.{more}