Author says she was Madoff’s mistress

Bernard Madoff had a two-decade affair with the chief financial officer of a charity that invested tens of millions of dollars with him, a new book says.

Sheryl Weinstein, formerly of Hadassah, a Jewish volunteer organization for women, makes the claim in her memoir, Madoff’s Other Secret: Love, Money, Bernie and Me, to be published by St. Martin’s Press in late August.

Weinstein said in the book she had invested Hadassah’s money with Madoff throughout the affair, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Hadassah invested $40 million. Hadassah withdrew $130 million over the years, but millions more were on the books when the Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was revealed, the Times said.

Hadassah was shocked to hear the news reports of Mrs. Weinstein’s personal admission regarding this relationship, its national president, Nancy Falchuk, said in a letter Thursday to the group’s board. Indeed, we knew nothing of her relationship with Mr. Madoff until today.

Weinstein has been married for 37 years and also invested with her husband in Madoff’s business, she says in the book.

Madoff, 71, is serving 150 years in prison for defrauding investors in a massive Ponzi scheme.