Jaffe appears for Mass. Securities inquiry
Broker Robert Jaffe appeared yesterday under a subpoena before the Massachusetts Securities Division as part of its inquiry into the Bernard L. Madoff investment scandal.
Jaffe had failed to appear at two previous hearings with the division, once citing illness. His lawyers sought to fight the subpoena but lost, after a judge ruled that Secretary of State William F. Galvin's investigative reach as head of the Securities Division was broad enough to require Jaffe to travel to Boston from Palm Beach, Fla., for the meeting.
A statement yesterday from Galvin's office said, "The responsiveness of Mr. Jaffe to the division's subpoena is presently being evaluated as part of the division's ongoing investigation." Jaffe's responses are not immediately being made public, the office said.
The statement also said, "The division remains very focused on this investigation and expects to determine its further course of action promptly."
Jaffe was being questioned in connection with his role at Cohmad Securities Corp., a brokerage firm based in the same midtown Manhattan office building as Madoff's. Cohmad, which also had an office in Boston's Back Bay, counts Madoff among its officers.
Jaffe raised funds for Madoff as a broker, including millions of dollars from Massachusetts investors. His spokesman says Jaffe knew nothing of Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Jaffe and his family say they have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the scandal.
It was unclear yesterday whether Jaffe's attorney had allowed him to answer Galvin's questions. Galvin said the meeting was "not long." In a statement, Jaffe's attorney, Stanley S. Arkin, said the meeting was a confidential proceeding.
Beth Healy can be reached at bhealy@globe.com. 