Madoff fallout dashes dreams of attending Obama inauguration

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At least two dozen people in California and other states have lost out on inauguration packages to Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony, which they had believed would also give them a chance to meet the new president.
Their hopes became snagged in a bizarre web involving a New York investment firm said to be reeling under the weight of the Bernard Madoff financial scandal and a Chicago-based children's charity, which announced Friday it has temporarily shut down.
Dr. Donna Pachorek, a Santa Rosa Valley, Calif. resident who owns a medical practice in Thousand Oaks, and Bill Dundas of Camarillo, Calif. were among those who bid on the packages through an e-Bay auction that was to benefit the children's charity December Rain. Each of them paid $5,500.
December Rain said it purchased the packages through Fairfield Greenwich Group, a New York investment firm that is said to have direct ties to Madoff's securities firm. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Fairfield Greenwich appears to be the biggest casualty in Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
December Rain Executive Director Paul Saulnier was critical of Fairfield Greenwich in an interview last week, saying he never received the promised ticket packages.
But when contacted for a response, Fairfield Greenwich said in a terse statement late Thursday that it "has never heard of this charity, nor have we ever worked with this charity."
A call to Saulnier at his Chicago office Friday netted only a short recording: "December Rain has currently suspended operations while we address the extreme situation and matters that have arisen from the cancellation of planned events. We apologize for the temporary closure. December Rain will continue to resolve these issues and hopes to be back in operation shortly."
Pachorek, Dundas and others are supposedly not out any money -- December Rain, as outlined in Saulnier's e-mail, is offering full refunds to those affected, including airfare and hotels. But the mess has left people devastated and livid that they won't be going to Washington for the Obama inauguration.
"We're all extremely bummed out," said Pachorek, a pediatrician. "This is really strange. I never thought I'd be part of that debacle."
Pachorek had looked forward to it in part because she had attended Occidental College during the early 1980s at the same time as Obama and remembered him there.
Dundas purchased the package in February. "I'm extremely disappointed, having prepared for this for almost a year, making plans," he said.
Dundas is siding with the charity, saying, "I sincerely believe December Rain had good intentions and is a victim just like we are. I truly believe there are no shenanigans on its part."
He also said he spoke to Saulnier on Thursday and was told the refunds would be going out Friday.
Saulnier said in a Wednesday interview that he found out about the gravity of the situation last week, "and it just really imploded on us."
"To be honest with you, I don't know where the ticket packages went," he said. "It's no longer an option for us."
Saulnier, who was upset during the interview, added: "It's like a house of cards over at Fairfield Greenwich. I can't get phone calls returned. It's been devastating."
On its Web site, Fairfield Greenwich -- the target of at least three investor lawsuits -- acknowledged that it had $6.9 billion invested in "vehicles connected to" Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. The Wall Street Journal and others estimated that amount was slightly more.
Saulnier said he contacted the New York State Attorney General's Office and was told officials there couldn't help him because it's a civil matter. He added that it may take weeks to sort out the mess.
"I'm really in damage control right now," Saulnier said. "Many people are angry at December Rain over this."
Pachorek and Dundas paid $5,500 each for the packages. Others paid up to $6,500 for the packages, said Saulnier, who added that the charity had sold 15 of them (for 30 people) throughout the year.