Madoff Gets the Max: 150 Years

Hey this is a bit more than the 12 years he asked for! Reply

He wasn't alone in these misdeeds; why aren't others who were involved being held accountable (with prison sentences)? Reply

Bernie, you're a real class act. Now you get to live with the people you deserve to live with, all the people that thought they could live by their own rules. They all have some simple dumb@ss excuse, their own brand of loser logic, as to why the tide of events turned against them. Don't you dare think you are better than them Bernie because you had a yacht or a penthouse. You stole all of those assets, too, with your victim's money. No one respects you anymore and your name will be forever soiled with the stain you and your deeds have created. All your relatives with your last name will feel the shame you brought them. Have a nice life, Bernie, hope your memories are indelible because you have nothing else to look forward to. Reply

Why not the max; in this case 10 years or 150 years will all see Bernie to his grave, and it sends the message the government wanted to send. Too bad that public servants in the executive department appear to be completely immune now to prosecution under the same laws that did Bernie in; but they still did a great job of using the diversion his case lodged in public consciousness to take some of the heat off of the Wall-Street / Washington romance. Reply

Madoff took a few members of his own tribe to the cleaners. What about the dicks on Wall Street who robbed everybody? Where are their life sentences? Reply

so how is he going to seve 150 years? Reply

while all eyes are on bernie who is investigating our own U.S. govt. for operating the exact tye ponzi sheme madoff did. The banks, social security , medicad and the rest , are dependent on your next withholding in order for U.S. to make payments on withholdings that have been long gone. Reply

The Bama just robbed all of your kids for more money than this guy, where is the outcry on that, oh I forgot, you people are still waiting for your "Stimulus" to kick in. HAHAHA. Reply

FISH Reply

I am nobody. I was assigned a serial number more than 4 decades ago when I joined the Navy in service to my country. On June 29th, 2009 I sat in a federal courtroom in NY waiting for a representative of the judicial branch of our government to be of service to me. Judge Chin was about to sentence the perpetrator of the greatest financial crime in the history of this great nation. I waited in great anticipation as Judge Chin described the scope of the crime committed by Madoff. He noted that the fraud went on for more than 20 years and reached thousands of victims. He talked about the lack of cooperation in locating funds to return to the defrauded investors. Finally, and ominously, the judge talked about justice, objectivity and his responsibility to arrive at a proportionate sentence without emotion. My great fear was that the judge was about to sentence Madoff to something less that the maximum permitted by law. Thoughts flashed through my mind about the absolute failure of government agencies to protect me from this massive fraud. I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that yet another branch of our government was about to fail me. While Madoff was never going to actually serve the full 150 years, the magnitude of the crime mandated that the full weight of the justice system be brought to bear. Judge Chin did not disappointment me when he announced that Madoff would be sentenced to the full 150 years. The courtroom exploded upon the announcement with the victims cheering and the reporters running for the doors to announce the sentence to the world. Madoff was an equal opportunity thief. He stole from the rich, the poor and everyone in between. Groups including charities, pension plans, unions, mutual funds and IRAs were targeted. It is beyond belief that he acted alone and I feel that he had partners in this crime. It is very sad that one of his partners was the SEC. I look forward to the SEC report that should be available in August detailing the failures of the SEC investigations of this beast. Madoff looks like us, talks like us and walks like us. But no one who destroyed the financial lives of so many with so little conscience can be human; so he must be a beast. Madoff was given a 150 year prison term. I and the other investors got a life sentence. The only financial winners are the Federal and State departments of revenue. The taxes I paid over 20 years were paid on phantom income. This money never existed. The government has a moral obligation to return those taxes. A government that was created of the people, for the people and by the people cannot keep tax money that was obtained as a result of a criminal activity. Reply

As a crime victim of Madoff I ask for the understanding of my fellow citizens. You may not be willing to accept this truth, but this could easily have happened to you. Can you imagine waking up one morning and finding that your pension, IRA or 401K was worthless? I had faith in the government institutions that were tasked with investigating agencies like Madoff to ensure that it was real. The SEC repeatedly stated that there was no evidence of fraud. With great power comes great responsibility - I believed them, and I will pay for that for the rest of my life. I also want you to recognize that I am not asking for the return of the money I invested with Madoff Investment Securities, nor do I expect to ever see any of the gains I supposedly earned on those many 1099’s over 20 years. I ask only that the taxes paid by a crime victim be returned. The government is not an innocent bystander. It was because of the clean bill of health given by the SEC that I invested in Madoff Securites. It is WRONG for any government to keep these taxes. Madoff was a thief. I would like to believe that the government is not following in his footsteps. To Judge Chin I say “thank you.” To our elected officials I say that it is time for you to step forward and do the right thing”. I am one of several hundred members of a group named Madoff Survivors. We support each other in these very trying times. To the members of my group I say – “The government would like us to go away so they do not have to answer for government complicity in damaging us so severely. We will not go away”. To the American people I say – “I am one of you, I ask for your understanding and support. Do not turn your back on us. Remember that we are fighting for you too. DO NOT let what happened to us happen to you”. As I said earlier “I am nobody – just like you.” By the way, for those of you who accept the argument of the "greedy investors" and the unreasonableness of a 9-11% return - I submit to you that the Fidelity Magellan fund returned 16.42% over the lifetime of the fund and is up over 15% so far this year. In the 20 years I invested with Madoff Investment securities I NEVER got a return in that range. There are some who did get exceptional returns. Mr. Picower for instance got a 950% return in 1999 and is now being sued by the trustee in charge of liquidating Madoff's assets. Most investors are like me - and like you - who found a good money manager and stayed with them for a long time. Of course he was not a money manager - he was a thief. And, thank you many members of the press for taking the time to talk to me about this issue. It is critial that my fellow Americans understand that what happened to me and the tens of thousands of other investors duped by Madoff and the SEC can happen to any other investor in our markets. Suppose for instance, that Madoff Investment securities was renamed Merrill Lynch. The protection of your assests would be the same. Michael De Vita (son) and Emma De... Reply