Hadassah Says It Never Knew Ex-Finance Chief Had Madoff Affair

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America Inc., was “shocked” to learn its former finance chief wrote a book that will say she had an extramarital affair with Bernard Madoff, its president said.

Sheryl Weinstein’s book, “Madoff’s Other Secret: Love, Money, Bernie, and Me,” is set for release this month and will recount intimate details of her affair with the convicted con man, according to John Murphy, a spokesman for the publisher, St. Martin’s Press.

“Hadassah was shocked to hear the news reports of Mrs. Weinstein’s personal admissions regarding this relationship,” Hadassah President Nancy Falchuk wrote Aug. 13 in a memorandum to board members. “We knew nothing of her relationship with Mr. Madoff until today, and her departure was unrelated to Mr. Madoff.”

Hadassah invested $40 million with Madoff, eventually withdrawing $130 million. Weinstein, 60, who also put her assets with the money manager, says she lost everything. She denounced Madoff at his June 29 sentencing in Manhattan federal court, where he received a 150-year prison term for running the largest Ponzi scheme in history. She told the judge she met Madoff 21 years ago when she was Hadassah’s chief financial officer. Weinstein held the post from 1984 to 1997. She didn’t return a call or e-mail seeking comment yesterday.

French Donor

Hadassah, which says its mission is to improve the quality of life for all people in Israel and to strengthen Jewish life in the U.S., got $7 million in 1988 from a French donor who said it should remain with Madoff. The group invested another $33 million with Madoff through 1997. Hadassah withdrew $130 million over the two decades it invested with the money manager, according to a person familiar with the matter. link......