the avellino's bought this $4.5 million house in palm beach, and stocked it with paintings by degas, dekooning, hopper, and bacon, paintings worth tens of millions of dollars. the bienes' became major donors to charities throughout broward county. in 2002, bienes accepted an award from a local business college. >> with wisdom and grace, this modern day renaissance man has left an indelible mark on our community. michael bienes. >> smith: in the '90s, madoff didn't really need avellino and bienes anymore. he had moved on to bigger pools of money. >> there are two pieces to a ponzi scheme: you always have to attract new investment, and you have to make sure that all... you don't have a sudden outflow. the key is stability. >> smith: by the '90s, madoff had already formed alliances with financiers like ezra merkin, president of new york's prestigious fifth avenue synagogue; stanley chais of beverly hills, who worked the hollywood crowd; and bob jaffe of boston and palm beach. >> people who had access to madoff, whether they were advisors or accountants or attorneys or... or fund-to-fund