Mukasey Recusal From Madoff Case In Part Because of Ties To Defrauded Jewish Organizations

In yet another twist, reported yesterday by the New York Times and Cityfile, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has recused himself from all Justice Department investigations into the massive Bernard Madoff securities fraud. One reason is that Mukasey's son, Marc, is a defense attorney representing Frank DiPascali, a top financial officer at Madoff's investment firm. (AP). However there are other reasons as well. Mukasey had close ties to two non-profit organizations that were victims of the Ponzi scheme. Mukasey's synagogue, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side of New York, had invested $3.5 million with Madoff. Its affiliated Jewish day school, Ramaz, had $6.5 million invested with Madoff. According to Wikipedia, Mukasey was a 1959 graduate of Ramaz. At a later date, Mukasey's wife, Susan, was a teacher and headmistress of the Ramaz lower school. Also both of the Mukasey children attended the school. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Above the Law for the lead.]