The 6 Worst Dads In New York History
This Father's Day, CBSNewYork is taking a look at some of the worst fathers the Tri-State area has seen in recent years, from movie stars to murderers.
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Bernie Madoff
Aside from committing an $18 billion Ponzi scheme, Madoff had his sons Mark and Andrew join the family business. At the time of Madoff's arrest, Mark and Andrew owed their parents nearly $22 million and $10 million respectively. Two years to the day after his father's arrest Mark was found dead in his New York apartment by apparent suicide. Andrew is still being investigated for tax fraud.
Michael Lohan
Like daughter Lindsay Lohan, her dad has popped up in and out of rehab, prison and courtrooms for drug and assault charges. When his now infamous daughter landed her first major role, Lohan was in a New York prison for insider trading. Lindsay and Michael do not speak and the starlet has said she spends most of her life trying to "get through the trauma" her father has caused her.
John Gotti
Rising to prominence as the head of one of New York's biggest crime families, Gotti committed several crimes over his long reign as the Gambino family boss. In 1992, Gotti was convicted of five murders, racketeering, and extortion among other charges. Gotti passed the business on to his children and son John. A. Gotti was sentenced to six years in prison in 1999. He died in 2002.
Eddie Murphy
After funny man Murphy divorced his wife and left his five children in Long Island, former Spice Girl Melanie Brown became pregnant with the comedian's sixth child. An embarrassing public denial of the child's paternity ensued with a DNA test finally proving Murphy as the father of Brown's baby girl. Murphy still questions his paternity and has no relationship with his daughter with Brown.
Alec Baldwin
"30 Rock" star Alec Baldwin let his daughter Ireland (and the world) know what he thought of her after a nasty voice mail he left on her cell phone was released in 2007. In addition to name-calling and the inability to recall his daughter's age, Baldwin said "I'm a good father, and you're a pig. I don't give a [expletive]." Baldwin later apologized saying "obviously calling your child a pig or anything else is improper and inappropriate and I apologize to my daughter for that."
Woody Allen
Legendary New York screenwriter Woody Allen married 3 times and made headlines with his latest love interest, Soon-Yi Previn, his adopted step-daughter with ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow. Allen and Previn began their relationship when she was 22 and he was 56. The public considered it a father-daughter relationship and Allen's three other children refused to see him. Allen and Farrow's biological son Ronan Seamus said, "he's my father, married to my sister. That makes me his son and his brother-in-law. That is such a moral transgression."
