Second Madoff witness defies Galvin subpoena Cohmad Marcia Cohn

Second Madoff witness defies Galvin subpoena
By Jerry Kronenberg
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - Added 17h ago

A second witness tied to Wall Street’s Bernard Madoff scandal has defied a subpoena to testify before Massachusetts securities regulators.

State lawyers disclosed in court today that Marcia Cohn, an executive with Madoff subsidiary Cohmad Securities, failed to comply with a subpoena compelling her to appear yesterday.

Cohn is the daughter of Maurice “Sonny” Cohn, a longtime Madoff friend and business partner.

The two men and their family members co-own Cohmad, a firm that reportedly invested many of its clients’ funds with Madoff, who’s charged with running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

Cohn, who could not be immediately reached for comment, is also the second Cohmad executive who’s declined to testify before investigators for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin.

Galvin, whose office regulates securities sales in Massachusetts, is trying to recoup money for Madoff’s local victims.

Robert Jaffe, a Cohmad vice president and son-in-law of Boston philanthropist and alleged Madoff victim Carl Shapiro, is fighting a similar subpoena from Galvin.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Stephen Neel heard arguments today from Jaffe’s lawyers on why the court should throw out the subpoena.

Galvin’s office expects Neel to rule on the matter on Monday.