Picture This: Top Slideshows of 2009
The most popular pictures on the Blotter this year.
Dec. 30, 2009— -- From photos of convicted Ponzi scammer Bernie Madoff's multimillion dollar yachts to graphic images of private security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul holding naked pool parties, slideshows were one of the most popular multimedia elements on the Blotter this year.
These pictures from ABC News' Investigative Team take you inside the stories that are making headlines.
The most popular slideshows on the Blotter this year are:
1) Bernard Madoff's Luxuries - Click here to see.
The most popular slideshow of the year was a fascinating visual tour of Bernie Madoff's life of luxury, from his multimillion dollar residences to the top vehicles he drove. Readers saw his homes, including a Manhattan penthouse and French Riviera chateau, and some of the items purchased with money from his massive fraud scheme.
2) Inside Palm Beach: The Secret World of Bernie Madoff - Click here to see.
The exclusive world of Palm Beach, where Bernie Madoff, one of the most talked about criminals of the year, spent much of his time and stolen millions, is the setting for the second most popular slideshow on the Blotter in 2009. Go behind the town's tall hedges and security gates for a glimpse of sprawling mansions, high society events and grand parties, where Madoff and his wife Ruth lived for 15 years.
3) Lewd Hazing at Kabul Embassy - Click here to see.
Pictures from the Project on Government Oversight showed private security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul barely clothed and naked, in what one of guard told ABC News was a situation where the guards were pressured to participate in naked pool parties to gain promotions or assignment to preferable shifts.
4) The Madoff Family Album - Click here to see.
From his high school photo to a Mexican vacation to the inner sanctum of the Manhattan office from which Bernie Madoff orchestrated his massive Ponzi scheme, this slideshow is a family album of the Madoff family. See Madoff and his wife Ruth dancing the night away and some of the couple's family that also lost money in the scam.
