Irving H. Picard v. Saul B. Katz et al

Filing 151

DECLARATION of David J. Sheehan in Support re: 150 SECOND MOTION in Limine To Exclude All Evidence And Arguments Relating To The Inaction And/Or Failures Of The United States Securities And Exchange Commission.. Document filed by Irving H. Picard. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2)(Sheehan, David)

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C O N F I D E N T I A L

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
11-CV-03605(JSR)(HBP)

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IRVING H. PICARD, Trustee for
the Liquidation of Bernard L.
Madoff Investment Securities LLC,

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Videotaped
Deposition of:

Plaintiff,
v.

FRED WILPON

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SAUL B. KATZ, et al.,
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Defendants.
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TRANSCRIPT of testimony as taken by and before

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NANCY C. BENDISH, Certified Court Reporter, RMR, CRR

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and Notary Public of the States of New York and New

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Jersey, at the offices of Baker & Hostetler, 45

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Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York on Tuesday,

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January 10, 2012, commencing at 9:28 a.m.

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PICARD v. KATZ, et al.

CONFIDENTIAL

FRED WILPON 1/10/12
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A P P E A R A N C E S:

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BAKER & HOSTETLER, LLP
45 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10111
BY: DAVID J. SHEEHAN, ESQ.
KATHRYN M. ZUNNO, ESQ.
For Plaintiff, Irving Picard, Trustee

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DAVIS POLK & WARDWELL, LLP
450 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017
BY: ROBERT F. WISE, JR., ESQ.
KAREN E. WAGNER, ESQ.
ROBERT B. FISKE, JR., ESQ.
For Sterling Equities, certain
affiliated entities, and the Witness

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ALSO PRESENT:

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GREGORY P. NERO, ESQ., Sterling Equities
DANIEL McCLUTCHY, Videographer

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PICARD v. KATZ, et al.

CONFIDENTIAL

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about it.

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investments with the individuals, partners made some

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investments with Madoff.

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a constant kind of thing, that we were constantly

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hearing, thinking, you know, observing how Bernie

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Madoff performed, how others performed, and so it

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was -- it was a sort of, if I may use, it was a

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motion picture, you know, in terms of a learning

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process.

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Q.

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In '85 we decided to make some

And as time went on it was

Right.

A.

And there was a time when, I don't

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know the year, but the stock market went down

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significantly.

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investments came through that.

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when some Florida investors were sanctioned or

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something by the SEC.

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lawyers at Squadron at the time, he was the

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former -- I think he was the former head of the SEC

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in New York.

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And it was, Bernie Madoff was -- his
There was a time

Ike Sorkin was one of the

Something -- someone we knew.
And I remember being at their offices

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that day and describing what happened, that the SEC

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came and -- and did an analysis of that particular

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situation.

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particular situation.

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people in Florida, and they said that the Madoff

I don't know how far they went, but that
And they sanctioned the two

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said something, he used some words, clean bill of

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health or something like that, with respect to that.

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And I remember that the newspapers reported and --

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that they had sent the money back.

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Q.

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A.

Okay.
That Bernie Madoff had sent the money

back.
Q.

Using that as a point in time,

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whether it's '92 or some other year, using that as a

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point in time, did there come a time after that when

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you became aware of any other SEC investigation of

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Mr. Madoff?

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A.

Now, I'm -- I would answer yes, but

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I'm going to give you a qualification, that I'm not

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sure I remember when -- when I knew of this versus

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what I've read afterwards.

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publicity that's been about this.

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that Madoff was, I thought the word "regularly,"

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maybe regularly like everybody else, but regularly

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was -- was, I'm going to use the word "monitored," I

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don't know if that's the right word, by the -- by

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certain regulatory bodies, like NASDAQ or the SEC or

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other government agencies.

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Q.

Because there's so much
But I did know

When you said that -- is that an

assumption on your part, that that happened on a
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regular basis?

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A.

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That was my assumption.

Q.

Did you have any personal knowledge

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that investigations by the SEC were taking place

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after the one that you testified to here earlier

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today?

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A.

My recollection is that -- that I was

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told that.

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told that a number of times, that -- that Bernie

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Madoff was cleared with the SEC.

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Q.

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Do you -- you have no recollection of

who that was that told you that?

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I can't tell you who told me, but I was

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time.

I know Ike Sorkin said it that one

I don't remember who else.
Q.

Okay.

Do you remember when that

would have transpired that somebody told you that?
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Q.

I really don't.
Okay.

The -- we talked a little bit

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earlier today, still in the context of the SEC,

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about Mr. Madoff registering as an investment

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adviser.

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A.
Q.

Do you recall that?
Yes.
All right.

Do you recall whether or

not he registered because the SEC made him register?
A.

My recollection is that -- that there
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