Daniel Bonventre, Madoff's former operations manager, questioned word definitions and said he could not answer one-word answers to several yes-or-no questions during the start of what's expected to be extended cross-examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Jackson.
The 67-year-old Manhattan resident had difficulty answering such seemingly simple questions as whether he had been "close friends" with Annette Bongiorno, one of the three other former Madoff employees standing trial with him on fraud charges.
"We were working colleagues and we were friendly to each other," said Bonventre after several exchanges with Jackson.
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Similarly, Bonventre labored to explain why he'd used three different titles during his 40-year career working for Madoff: controller, director of operations and chief operating officer. Bonventre's previous testimony showed Madoff disapproved of employee titles and once told him to get new business cards without one.
Bonventre also denied telling anyone that he closed his Madoff financial account — withdrawing more than $1 million in the 2006 transaction — because he was leery about the consistently high investment gains his boss reported. A prosecution witness testified earlier this month that Bonventre answered a question about the withdrawal by saying he'd had a "queasy feeling" about the seemingly improbable returns.
"The answer was somewhat different," said Bonventre Wednesday, adding that his decision was based on more general concern over financial market conditions.
The exchanges highlighted the risk inherent in the surprise decision to scrap his earlier plan to forgo testifying and instead expose himself to prosecution questioning. Although appearin! g before the Manhattan federal court jury with his own words theoretically could boost his credibility, unexplained contradictions between his account and other evidence could undercut it.
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Bonventre and his co-defendants face lengthy prison terms if they're convicted on charges they knowingly participated in and profited from the Madoff scam that stole as much as $20 billion from thousands of ordinary investors, celebrities, charities, financial funds and others.
The case is the first Madoff-related proceeding to be weighed by a jury because the disgraced financier pleaded guilty in 2009 without standing trial. He's now serving a 150-year prison term. The trial is set to continue Thursday.
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