Bernard Madoff

Bernie Gets the Max

While it will not bring an extra penny back to the thousands of victims of Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme, US District Judge Denny Chin has sentenced him to 150 years in prison, the maximum requested by the prosecution. His lawyer, Ike Sorkin, had suggested 12 years, which is apparently Madoff’s current life expectancy. The 71-year old Queens native got the max because the judge cited the “extraordinary evil” it took to do this, according to Yahoo News.

As mentioned in previous entries, this closes only but one chapter in this saga which has much more to play out. Bernie’s wife Ruth issued a statement expressing her sadness for her husband’s victims. It is not clear what she did or did not know, and Madoff’s secretary had indicated that Ruth was very sharp and ran all their personal finances.

So where will it go next? More “funnelers” of investor money? Any insiders? It seems crazy not to think that other people had to be involved, as we can’t imagine Bernie sitting at a computer printing up phony account statements all by himself. And maybe that will help get more money for the victims.

Some of the victims are my friends, some are incredible talents like Elie Weisel and his foundation, and some previously comfortable retirees are taking jobs waiting tables to keep a roof over their heads. So yes, I guess it made sense to make clear that Bernie will not be getting out of prison.