In an effort to determine whether Ruth Madoff made a false statement when she applied for Florida voter registration on November 13, 2006--a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine--we have sent the following e-mail to Florida's Attorney General, Bill McCollum:
Dear Mr. Attorney General,
We are the authors of Catastrophe:The Story of Bernard L. Madoff The Man Who Swindled The World, published in March 2009 by Phoenix Books. We are continuing to follow developments by blogging on our website, www.madoffbreakingnews.com
We are writing at this time to request that you investigate the likelihood that Ruth Madoff made a false declaration on November 13, 2006, when in filing an application for Florida voter registration she listed her Palm Beach property as her legal address.
In fact, the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser denied her application for Florida Homestead Exemption in 2007 on the ground that she was then participating in the New York STAR program, requiring one to maintain a legal address in New York-a decision she appealed and that was denied at that time.
As the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's website states: "To qualify for Florida's Homestead Exemption tax-saving benefit, the property must be the owner's primary residence, must be a permant resident of Florida and cannot hold any residency based benefits in other Florida counties or states."
Thus, as Madoff was deemed not to have been a legal resident of Florida in 2007, she could hardly have had a legal residence in the state on November 13, 2006, when she was still participating in New York's STAR program.
Should your investigation find that Ruth Madoff did make a false statement on her Florida voter registration application, please let us know whether you intend to file charges related to this third degree felony.
Sincerely yours,
Deborah Hart Strober Gerald Strober