在麥道夫一手炮制的“龐氏騙局”中蒙受了巨大損失的投資者們現在有出氣的對象了。上周日在紐約開展的美國國際玩具展上，一款身著紅色西服、手持干草叉，面帶微笑的麥道夫玩偶正式亮相。這款玩偶售價99.95美元，隨其同時出售的還有一把金色的錘子，購買者可以把這個玩偶當成麥道夫本人的代替品，并且可以在生氣時將它砸得粉碎。

The small doll features a smiling Mr. Madoff in a red devil suit with a pitchfork. It comes with a gold “commemorative” hammer, for the purpose of pulverizing Mr. Madoff in effigy.

Victims of the disgraced financier Bernard L. Madoff collectively lost billions of dollars in his suspected Ponzi scheme. For another $99.95 or so (plus shipping and handling), they can let off some steam.

That is the going price for the Smash-Me Bernie doll, which was introduced at this year’s American International Toy Fair in New York. The small doll features a smiling Mr. Madoff in a red devil suit with a pitchfork. It comes with a gold “commemorative” hammer, for the purpose of pulverizing Mr. Madoff in effigy.

While hardly likely to become the next Tickle Me Elmo or Furby, the doll got a lot of notice at the fair, which began Sunday and continues through Wednesday.

The doll is made by Mini-Me ModelWorks, which takes photos sent in by customers and creates custom-made dolls made out of a tough plastic resin. Graeme Warring, the president, said that he was inspired to make the Bernie Madoff doll after a friend said he lost money investing in a fund that fed cash to Mr. Madoff.

“I made this friend of mine a Bernie doll with a devil body and I sent him a hammer and I said ‘Here, take a whack at this to make you feel better,’” Mr. Warring said an interview. “He told some of his mates, and before I knew it I had 50 orders for the thing.”

At last count the doll had more than 1,000 orders, Mr. Warring said.

But Mr. Madoff won’t be the only Wall Street character in the Mini-Me catalog. The company just received an order for 50 dolls that look like Merrill Lynch’s former chief executive, John A. Thain. The new doll features Mr. Thain sitting on a golden toilet, in reference to the more than $1 million he spent refurbishing his office when he took over.

(Agencies)

（英語點津 Helen 編輯）