Spousal Privilege

Consider Kathy Fuld, wife of Dick Fuld, former CEO of Lehman Brothers. She's not just a secret shopper, but is also an estate bargain hunter. Last November, right after Lehman imploded, she scooped up a $13.75 million oceanfront property on Florida's exclusive Jupiter Island for $100. Alas, Kathy was no real estate prodigy. She nominally "purchased" the home from her husband, in an effort to divest him of assets and help him outrun any legal reckoning coming his way.

And what to make of Ruth Madoff, fake author and wife of the vilified Bernie? She helped her husband with bookkeeping, and was also the keeper of the velvet rope to his fund. More personable than her aloof, wizardly husband, she both humanized him and helped maintain his mystique, which in turn helped him fleece billions.

I've always wondered about the women behind the disgraced, high-profile men, and not just the ones who are forced to stand like mute props next to their husbands at press conference confessionals for marital indiscretions. I'm talking about the ones who get behind a spouse who has committed offensive acts against the public-at-large, either by his own hand (serial killer) or fiat (politician, CEO goon), and whose actions resulted in a rippling outward of wave upon wave of victims. If they truly had no idea, some might argue that their loyalty is honorable and that they are even victims themselves. But what if they did have an inkling?

The scale of the transgression matters too, or should. It's one thing to say, "I love him even though I knew in my heart those office supplies he kept bringing home didn't really come from Staples." It's quite another to say, "I love him even though he started two foreign wars, knowingly caused the deaths of thousands of people, condoned torture and drove the world's economy into a ditch. He's my Bubba, and he meant well."

In the case of Ruth Madoff and Kathy Fuld, did they really just lend their moral support to their husbands, or were they somehow complicit in those greedy pursuits -- if not legally, then at least ethically? If you had a $5k-$10k per week Hermès habit, wouldn't it be in your interest to help perpetuate your husband's behavior, accustomed as you were to living high off the hog? When Kathy Fuld "bought" their Florida home, after Lehman fell, wasn't she essentially slipping behind the wheel of a getaway vehicle? And although Bernie swears Ruth knew nothing about his Ponzi scheme (how chivalrous!), investigators are not so sure. She kept his books for a spell, and it seems unlikely that he stole the equivalent of the GDP of Bulgaria, all by himself. Of course it's only speculation, and no one is saying she was involved, but the 20 million documents recently discovered in a warehouse in Queens may shed some light as to who did know.