Baseball Mediation: Cuomo as Mets-Madoff Mediator

While his son, Andrew, celebrates obtaining a NY budget with time to spare, Mario Cuomo is coming off a victory of sorts of his own-- having successfully mediated the controversy with the Madoff trustee in time for baseball season. Originally appointed as mediator in the bankruptcy case seeking more than a billion dollars from the franchise, Cuomo got the Mets owners to pay $162 million in fictitious profits, which could be offset by their claims as victims of the massive fraud. Judge Rakoff acknowledged Cuomo's role in mediating the settlement before trial and attorneys involved said it couldn't have been done without Cuomo's help. Cuomo, now 79, still serves as of counsel for a major law firm and is listed on a register of mediators for the federal court. The former politician said he brings the negotiating skills he honed as NY governor to the task. "A mediator makes sure the process is going forward," Cuomo said. "He meets. He cajoles. He argues." See articles on the case Picard v. Katz et al., U.S. District Court, SDNY, No. 11-03605 http://es.pn/H5e2Ks and http://bit.ly/H8Z7b9