Depending on which culture you belong to, it is a shame to insult or curse the dead. The death of Bernard Maddoff’s son Mark is a shock, but not a surprise. It is difficult to show sympathy to the son of Bernard Maddoff, who was suspected to be part of (or at least aware of) his father’s activities: the biggest Ponzi scheme in US history.

Mark Maddoff has killed himself, leaving many questions behind him. For those who have lost their fortune and are bitter toward the Maddoffs, it is certainly good news. For those of us who think about the little two-year old son left, who will grow without a father, it is a tragedy.

Mark Maddoff was certainly guilty. He was, after all, an executive in the family-run firm Maddoff Investment Securities, LLC. We will never know the whole truth. The dead do not talk. As the Hausa of Niger say, “Silence is an attribute of the dead, he who is alive speaks.”