Bernie Madoff's man to see

Sometimes, a reporter is welcomed into a subject's home, offered a cup of camomile and granted a lengthy, free-wheeling interview. Sometimes she is dismissed with a "no comment." The latter is what Jenn Abelson faced when she headed to Palm Beach and tried to talk with Bob Jaffe, the apparent middleman for Bernie Madoff.

Still, as a good reporter, Abelson pulls off a multi-faceted portrait of the 64-year-old Newton native.

I won't give away all the goods, but I like this section:

Jaffe later developed a taste for luxury labels available at Louis, such as Brioni, Zegna, and Kiton. He even described himself as a clotheshorse in a 1998 story for Daily News Record, a men's fashion publication.

"The clothing I wear is more - dare I say - cutting-edge. It's a few years ahead of the pack," he said at the time. "Once you've had filet mignon, you don't want to go back."

Robert Jaffe in his vintage MG from the Palm Beach Daily News annual selection of stylish Palm Beachers. (Greer Gattuso/Palm Beach Daily News - file)