We all know the old saying, “Behind every great man is a great woman.” So, I wondered, what if the man is a sociopathic tool who ruins people’s lives without so much as a fleeting thought--much less remorse--who’s behind him? Answer: Ruth Madoff.

Like hubby Bernie, Ruth decided she wanted to achieve something without actually doing any work. So riding on the backs of well-known chefs and the sweat effort of Karen MacNeil, she and one of her yenta friends donned aprons, slapped their names on the title page and deemed themselves cookbook authors. In a world where even Billy Joel’s child-wife actually (or is that allegedly?) wrote recipes for her cookbook, do you think old Ruth could have stopped spending other people’s money long enough to create a kosher canapé?

Turns out that not only was Ruth too lazy to write it, but she was too lazy to promote it and the book pretty much foundered. No worries though, like Bernie, Ruth doesn’t let the little things get her down.