Talk:J. Ezra Merkin/Archive 1

Archive 1

POV

90% of his bio concerns the Madoff scandal. Looks like a hit job to me. --brewcrewer (yada, yada) 22:16, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

• We'll have to see how the scandal plays out. Today's NYT article [1] places Merkin near the heart of the scandal: " Some of the most prominent Jewish figures in high finance and industry began to court Bernie Madoff — and, through them, he reached a new orbit of wealth. He could not have had a more effective recruiter than Jacob Ezra Merkin, a lion of Wall Street who would be president of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue. ... some of his clients are stunned, and angry, to learn what Mr. Merkin did with their millions, while collecting an annual management fee of 1.5 percent of the assets for his services. ... Behind a wall of lawyers, Mr. Merkin did not take calls this week." --John Nagle (talk) 16:38, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

Irrelevant to the POV problem.--brewcrewer (yada, yada) 18:29, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

Until December 19, he wasn't notable enough for an article. Now he has 1800 hits in Google News. Until this debacle, there were about 80 hits in Google News for "Ezra Merkin"; about half of those were for his father, and the others were brief mentions in various financial articles. His role in the scam generated far more notability than his entire previous life. --John Nagle (talk) 04:49, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

Not sure what you're getting at. My problem is the POV, not his lack of notability per WP:BLP1E. --brewcrewer (yada, yada) 05:00, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

The point is that 90% of his notability is due to the scandal. That's news, not a "hit piece". --John Nagle (talk) 02:27, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

Okay, fine. But you just make the strongest argument for deletion per WP:BLP1E, which was enacted for just this type of situation - a BLP of someone inherently unnotable. --brewcrewer (yada, yada) 03:11, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

What is the problem? Before the Madoff scandal he was (arguably) unnotable, despite serving on two Universities' Boards, one of which is nationally renowned (Columbia). But now, he has indeed become notable, so he rates an article. Madoff himself may have been considered unnotable until now, but that too has changed. One of the prime advantages of having a Reference like Wiki is precisely that it is modified every day, to keep current with the latest information. The article does not seem to smack of POV, unless you feel it necessary to mention many of Merkin's previous philanthropic activities or some fininacial information on the Hedge Funds which he manages. 66.108.7.225 (talk) 05:17, 22 December 2008 (UTC) Nash's Owner

See WP:BLP1E. --brewcrewer (yada, yada) 05:18, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

Merkin "essentially remains a low-profile individual"? This is far too big for that. You can propose deletion if you disagree, of course. --John Nagle (talk) 21:46, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

I noticed there were some details pertaining to Mr. Merkin's involvement in that scandal that were not present in Madoff article so I say we take "wait and see" attitude. This is just beginning of a process in developing an article just like any others. I think we will have more stuff added here in near and far future as we can find more information about subject in question from other sources to add to his biography. As with any other biographical articles, I recommend adding personal life section and other usual sections commonly found in biography articles elsewhere on Wikipedia. --Legion (talk) 02:14, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

Agreed. There are various investigations and lawsuits pending, and either he'll be cleared, or eventually he'll have a Federal prisoner number, like Madoff. --John Nagle (talk) 19:09, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Calls for resignation at GMAC

Merkin is still CEO of GMAC, which was unable to get private refinancing last week and just turned itself into a bank so it can get into the TARP program. There are concerns about Merkin remaining at GMAC and calls for his resignation.[2]. --John Nagle (talk) 17:13, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

The U.S. Treasury is becoming GMAC's biggest shareholder, and Merkin looks to be on the way out, according to Business Week. "You can t be chairman of a finance company when you have been publicly crucified for not doing due diligence."[3] --John Nagle (talk) 03:53, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

The Financial Times now also says Merkin is on the way out. [4]. --John Nagle (talk) 05:36, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

So does Bloomberg. [5] --John Nagle (talk) 03:43, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

He resigned. --John Nagle (talk) 19:30, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Non Madoff info. - for anyone maintaining this page.

• Is Merkin related to the founder of modern orthodox jewery, perhaps this person Azriel Hildesheimer? He is the grandson of Isaac Breuer and the great great grandson of Samson Raphael Hirsch

• Branch and node graph of Merkin. [6]

• He lives in the posh and (in)famous 740 Park Avenue [http://www.amazon.com/740-Park-Richest-Apartment-Building/dp/B000XU8EJ6][7]

• Contributed to Security Analysis: Sixth Edition, Foreword by Warren Buffett [8]. LOL Geo8rge (talk) 18:57, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

Teicher and Yuppie 5

Teicher was never Madoff's partner, nor was he one of the Yuppie 5. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.56.70.26 (talk) 17:21, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

That seems to be correct. The NYT cite didn't support the claim that Merkin was involved with the Yuppie Five or Teicher, and a quick search didn't turn up such a connection. So it's been removed from the article. --John Nagle (talk) 16:30, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

Hopfully users John Nagle and 96.56.70.26 will note that the truth eventually comes out. Why cover up this kind of thing? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.225.231.98 (talk) 00:02, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Found a connection to Teicher and the Yuppie Five, in New York Magazine.[9]. --John Nagle (talk) 05:06, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Charged with civil fraud

Merkin has just been charged with civil fraud.[10]. The article has been updated accordingly. --John Nagle (talk) 16:42, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Sloppy editing

Please, when editing, use proper {{cite news}} templates. I just deleted a mess with unbalanced "ref" tags. All the Madoff-related articles suffer from sloppy linking, and it's taken a major effort to clean up Bernard Madoff and Madoff investment scandal, which have hundreds of references. If you put in a reference, do it right. Thanks. --John Nagle (talk) 16:48, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Ezra Merkin a "Renaissance man"???

I have taken out the reference to Merkin as being a "Renaissance man" - only one guy has said that - some rabbi friend of his that got quoted. At best, it could be said that "Rabbi so-and-so considers Merkin to be a Renaissance man...." - but even then, why should a quote from this one guy (the rabbi) be put in. I can't see this phrase being put in as fact until we see more people claiming that Merkin is a "Renaissance man". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.158.54.161 (talk) 18:03, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

I have also reverted your edits. his knowledge of the arts and philosophy are well-documented if you want to take the time to research rather than just make an opinionated arrogant deletion. the rabbi did use the term, but that's the reputation he had by all his peers. that is why he was a successful salesman. do some work and you will find it!! i have. threatening other writers is poor form. why not start your own page? it's better for your blood pressure....

Furtive admirer (talk) 01:26, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

Not convicted yet

As far as I can tell he hasn't been convicted of anything as of 5/10/09, so he's still an "alleged" fraudster. Some of the quotations sound like they're actually paraphrases and shouldn't have quote marks around them. Would those who put in the quotations please do a quick check? Also, I don't think the "Renaissance man" stuff belongs here, at least the way it's written now, but I'll leave it for the partisans to fight over. Mrwriter (talk) 17:19, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Correct. Per WP:BLP, we have to be careful about that. Wait for the indictments and arrests. --John Nagle (talk) 20:26, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Neutrality tag

Is this still needed? As I understood the original objection it was because of his being tied to Madoff in the article. Since he clearly is tied to Madoff, I don't see the need for the tag. Would anyone object if I remove it?--JohnnyB256 (talk) 20:32, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:J. Ezra Merkin/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Comment(s)

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Victor Teicher "Imprisoned Felon Was Adviser to Madoff Investor" This was a title of an article in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/business/14merkin.html?scp=3&sq=teicher&st=cse However, Teicher disputes some of the statements in this article as detailed in this online-wall street journal article http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090215-702850.html?mod= “Charles A. Stillman, a lawyer for Teicher, said Sunday that Teicher wasn’t actively managing the fund’s assets, but acting more in an advisory role. After he was convicted, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sought to bar Teicher from associating with any registered or unregistered investment advisers. Teicher was permitted to continue advising unregistered investment advisers, such as Merkin, until a final, unappealable court ruling on the SEC’s bar request under an agreement with the SEC, Stillman said. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the SEC in 2000, Teicher immediately stopped advising Merkin, Stillman said.”

Last edited at 15:21, 17 February 2009 (UTC). Substituted at 15:03, 1 May 2016 (UTC)

Ethnicity

I think this justifies inclusion in the lead based on notability under WP:MOSBIO. See also John Nagle's comments on the Bernard Madoff article.

I don't see how. Pls quote the relevant language. Tx.--Epeefleche (talk) 22:31, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

I agree with BeganLocal and John Nagle. John Nagle says

I'd say no for Madoff, who wasn't very observant, but yes for J. Ezra Merkin. Merkin was head of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue and a number of other Jewish organizations. His participation in the fraud involved getting many prominent Jewish organizations and members of his synagogue to invest in Madoff's scam. So there, it's relevant. It's still an open question as to whether Merkin was a sucker or an accomplice, but as the court cases unwind, that will become clear. --John Nagle (talk) 16:53, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

If this man did indeed use his position as a synagogue leader to solicit scams, then it is relevant that he is a Jew. I don't know the language, but BeganLocal seems to be wikilawyering anyway. I vote that we change back to Jewish American due to his involvement with the synagogues and charities. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.69.34.132 (talk) 21:45, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

It's obvious from the article that he's Jewish. It doesn't need to be in the lead. Orpheus (talk) 07:50, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

It's relevant because Merkin was so prominent as a Jewish leader. But we don't have to decide yet. The lawsuits and investigations are proceeding, and more hard info should be available over the next few months. We still don't have a clear answer on whether Merkin was an accomplice of Madoff, or just, as one source puts it, "really stupid". Soon, we'll have more data about the relationship between his leadership roles in major Jewish institutions and how money got from those institutions to Madoff. --John Nagle (talk) 03:58, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

I think that his religion is relevant for the body of the article, but placing it in the lead doesn't seem quite necessary. Since there doesn't seem to be a consensus to add it, I've taken it out.--JohnnyB256 (talk) 20:26, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

The whole affinity fraud makes it relevant. We don't know if we have a consensus or not. I am in favour of having it in the lede, as is John Nagle. Apparently you are not in favour. That isn't a consensus either way. Can we get some neutral editors involved? Beganlocal (talk) 22:35, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

It looks about even, and I think you need a clear consensus to add something contentious such as an ethnic mention in an article. I'd suggest posting a note in Wikiproject Business. But be forewarned: the chances of anyone responding are nill. Maybe the BLP noticeboard? I understand your point about affinity fraud, and that this is a closer question than Madoff. Even so, I think that placing ethnicity in the lead is a questionable idea generally, and should be done only when clearly necessary. --JohnnyB256 (talk) 23:28, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

I see that it was replaced by an IP on the basis of his father's bio, to be "consistent." But his father was notable because of his Jewish philanthropy. The son is notable because of his involvement with Madoff and legal entanglements. So I've taken out per WP:MOSBIO. --JohnnyB256 (talk) 14:00, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Good spot. I've made a grammatical change so it reads "is a money manager" rather than "is money manager". I see Sam Fuld was fixed also. Cheers Beganlocal (talk) 14:15, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. Beganlocal, just for the record, pls correct me if I'm wrong, I do believe you've changed your previous position on this. --JohnnyB256 (talk) 14:27, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

First judgment against Merkin

The first judgment against Merkin, from an arbitration, just came in. Merkin has to pay $1.75 million to a New Jersey pediatrician who lost money in Ascot Partners. "Merkin intentionally breached his fiduciary duty by not disclosing Madoff’s role in the fund" - arbitrators. Article updated. More of Merkin's many lawsuits should be decided this year. --John Nagle (talk) 20:13, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Merkin's trial is slowly, very slowly, moving forward. Some pre-trial motions this week: "New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo asked a judge to rule without trial that Ezra Merkin and his Gabriel Capital Corp. engaged in fraud by secretly placing client funds with swindler Bernard Madoff." [11] --John Nagle (talk) 16:27, 2 November 2010 (UTC)