Neighbors of Bernie Madoff’s sister and her husband — who died final week in a suspected slay-suicide — stated Monday that the tragic “beautiful” couple couldn’t have been extra totally different than the infamous convicted fraudster.
Sondra Weiner, 87, and her 90-year-old husband Marvin had been found useless from gunshot wounds of their house Thursday afternoon in Boynton Seashore, Fla., authorities stated.
The Weiners had been amongst these financially ruined by Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme.
“They had been very beautiful folks, they had been good neighbors,” stated Henrietta Kleinman, who lives on the identical block because the Wieners, to The Submit.
“There’s nothing unhealthy you possibly can say about them,” she stated.
Sondra cherished to swim at their retirement group’s clubhouse, the resident stated.
“She swam superbly, like Esther Williams,” Kleinman stated, referring to the actress within the Forties and ’50s famend for her swish strokes.
The couple’s demise was a “shock to everybody,” the neighbor added.
The Weiners had moved to the Valencia Lakes group in Boynton Seashore after being pressured to downsize within the aftermath of the Madoff scandal.
“After they moved right here, [Sondra] would have events out on the patio,” stated neighbor Diana Milberg, who didn’t know the couple properly however shared neighborly conversations with them.
“The one time I noticed her was within the grocery retailer. … She despatched her son over to see if I wanted any assist in the final hurricane,” Milberg stated. “I known as her as soon as to see if she’d seen the UPS truck come.”
Milberg stated she would see Marvin taking the trash out to the curb, even at age 90.
“I ponder in the event that they made a suicide pact,” Milberg stated. “It’s unhappy.”
Deputies acquired a name at 12:55 p.m. Thursday concerning the couple being unresponsive of their residence, authorities stated. They had been discovered useless within the storage, according to the Daily Mail.
Police are investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide however haven’t supplied extra particulars, and it isn’t instantly clear who killed whom.
One of many couple’s sons, David, confirmed in 2009 that his dad and mom had suffered financially because of Madoff’s notorious historic fraud.
“Sure, my household’s a sufferer. Extra so than anyone else. It’s very painful,” David advised The Submit on the time.
Earlier than Madoff’s crimes got here to gentle, the Wieners had lived close to his Palm Seashore property in the BallenIsles Nation Membership, a gated enclave house to celebrities corresponding to Serena and Venus Williams.
Madoff, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to the Ponzi scheme, died in a North Carolina jail in April serving a 150-year sentence. He was 82.
