Illustration by Jane RosenbergYesterday, convicted-swindler and Ponzi cretin, Bernard Madoff was sentenced to die in federal prison. There is no parole for federal sentences and so barring any change on appeal, Madoff will spend his remaining days rotting on a stained, prison cot and eating shitty food.
The sentence of 150 years was the maximum allowable and included a stern message from judge Denny Chin:
"Symbolism is important," Chin said as he hit Madoff with the maximum possible term -- by far the largest ever for a white-collar crime, imposed for offenses the judge called "staggering" in size and scope.
"Here, the message must be sent that Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil," the judge said. "This is not a bloodless financial crime that occurred only on paper, but one that took a staggering human toll."
No Madoff family members attended the sentencing hearing; Bernie was alone yesterday facing the judge and victims.
The victims' statements to the court are HERE in PDF form. All the quotes you might want can be found in links here, here and here.
Additionally yesterday, Madoff's wife, Ruth broke her silence and issued the following statement, which I am excerpting:
"In the end, to say that I feel devastated for the many whom my husband has destroyed is truly inadequate. Nothing I can say seems sufficient regarding the daily suffering that all those innocent people are enduring because of my husband. But if it matters to them at all, please know that not a day goes by when I dont ache over the stories that I have heard and read."
And finally this morning, we have word through an anonymous AP source that prosecutors hope to charge ten Madoff conspirators before the probe is complete. There is no word if that group of targets includes his sons and wife, or Walter Noel of Fairfield Greenwich Group.
Editor's note: I have avoided coverage on Madoff from the beginning and debated whether to report on the sentencing here, but decided to do so in the interest of providing a complete record of the bailout era of American politics, finance and crime.
This gesture crystallizes our thoughts rather succinctly, but there's much more inside.
No More of the Good Life
