Courtesy AP
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How many years will he get?
Saying he was “deeply sorry and ashamed,” Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty Thursday to pulling off perhaps the biggest swindle in Wall Street history and was immediately led off to jail in handcuffs after his seething victims applauded in the courtroom.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin denied bail for Madoff, 70, and ordered him to jail, noting that he had the means to flee and an incentive to do so because of his age.
“I am actually grateful for this opportunity to publicly comment about my crimes, for which I am deeply sorry and ashamed,” he said.
“As the years went by, I realized my risk and this day would inevitably come. I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for my crimes.”
“I don’t think he has a sincere bone in his body,” said DeWitt [Baker], who noted that prison time would be too good for Madoff. “I’d stone him to death,” he said.
Madoff did not look at any of the three investors who spoke at the hearing, even when one turned in his direction and tried to address him.
The fraud, which prosecutors say may have totaled nearly $65 billion, turned a revered money man into an overnight global disgrace whose name became synonymous with the current economic meltdown.
$65 billion? Chump change when compared with the Obama bailout that may have been partially a result of this.
troll, troll, troll your boat…
Shocking Video Unearthed Democrats in their own words Covering up the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Scam that caused our Economic Crisis
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs
Regulation was clearly the issue. Were laws in place to prevent this? Yes.
The role of the executive is to enforce the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judicial system.
Bush failed. In time, history will show how his “business-friendly” attitude got in the way of his constitutional role. Historians will also point out that the chant of “less regulation” was a hoax perpetuated by the conservative media.
#41 How lame.
Still waiting for a right-winger to explain how this Madoff mess could have been prevented by less regulation…
crickets…
# 44 pedro said, “#41 How lame.”
Yeah, well don’t expect Fido to comment on the video showing the Dems yelling for less oversight & regs on Fanny & Freddie… LOL.
#46 I’m still laughing.
#47 Here’s more on one of the Dem criminals in congress. You can see her on the video I posted trying to block House banking oversight.
http://foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/13/rep-waters-fires-times-report-bailout-controversy/
#45, Education.
Instead of trying to protect everyone, why not educate them on the pitfalls of listening to confidence men.
Teach them how to stand up for themselves.
Teach them to come up with original ideas and how to work for a living instead of trying to mooch off of someone else.
Teach them to produce.
#27, Chuck,
Quite correct.
This whole thing reminds me of when someone gets busted for drugs. The police have a habit of doubling the price that would have been realized if the drugs were sold at the smallest and most expensive amount possible.
*
Without defending the guy, I do admire him in a certain Robin Hood kind of way. He only took money from those who could afford it. He never advertised and people had to ask him to invest. Those that did get caught should have known better, they weren’t as unsophisticated as regular investors.
The other part I didn’t mention is how it all fell apart.
Madoff decided it had gone too long. So he told his sons who had known nothing about how this worked. The sons then contacted the FBI the next day with Madoff’s blessing. When the FBI visited him at home, he confessed, then invited the FBI into his apartment, served coffee, and answered their questions.
#49, LibertyPoser,
Instead of trying to protect everyone, why not educate them on the pitfalls of listening to confidence men.
Typical right wing nut Liebertarian fall back.
Not everyone can be an expert in everything. So, collectively through our government, we regulate businesses.
Very few people are expert enough in pathogens to check their peanut butter or “fresh” hamburg. Not everyone is expert enough to inspect a new car for safety issues. Not everyone is expert enough to fly an airplane or determine its airworthiness. Not everyone is expert enough to determine a new drug’s efficacy or side effects.
All those and many more are the reasons society regulates itself. Since all of us are not experts in all things, society also hires experts to validate that businesses are following the regulations.
Teach them to come up with original ideas and how to work for a living instead of trying to mooch off of someone else.
Spoken like the poser you are. You don’t have a job and my bet is you have never worked at anything bigger than Cow-Patty’s poopcycle stand.
I really like how those who are still in High School think they know it all.
#50–Fusion==”Without defending the guy, I do admire him in a certain Robin Hood kind of way.” //// I’m a liberal tax the rich anti Liberty Poser anti-LIE-BERTARIAN sort of guy, but I don’t think Maddoff’s crime is any less odious because he robbed innocent/trusting rich folks. I can modify what you say to make it more defensible, but thats your job.
That said (to parallel your own construction) I have read references to the notion that “certain” of his investors thought that the unbelievable high rate of return was based on a belief that Madoff was trading or or manipulating stock prices with insider information.
I don’t know if that is true==only that for those who thought they were on the inside track, yes, they were a con man’s legendary mark. Most investors are not that venal. Just uniformed/UNSOPHISTICATED people who happened to have a lot of money to invest.
#52, Poison Twin,
Not everyone can be an expert in everything. So, collectively through our government, we regulate businesses.
How’s that been working out for ya the last 100 years or so? Is your dollar still worth what it was?
Very few people are expert enough in pathogens to check their peanut butter or “fresh” hamburg. Not everyone is expert enough to inspect a new car for safety issues. Not everyone is expert enough to fly an airplane or determine its airworthiness. Not everyone is expert enough to determine a new drug’s efficacy or side effects.
And these can’t be handled by multiple private third party companies why?
UL is a classic example just in case you didn’t know that.
He hid money away all over the place, trying to make the crime pay for his wife & kids. Some of it is still unaccounted for.
And these can’t be handled by multiple private third party companies why?
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Maybe it’s just me, but I think preventing U.S. citizens from being poisoned by bad medicine, killed by bad surgery, or die in a fiery car crash in a defective car — I think those fall under “promote the general Welfare”. So those are appropriate things for the federal government to do.
But I’m kidding myself, I’m talking to a libertarian.
# 56 Phydeau said, “Maybe it’s just me, but I think preventing U.S. citizens from being poisoned by bad medicine, killed by bad surgery, or die in a fiery car crash in a defective car — I think those fall under “promote the general Welfare”.”
It’s just you. You confuse “promote” with “provide”. Try a dictionary.
Paddy O’Troll, you do occasionally say something coherent. This is not one of those occasions, but thanks for trolling.
#53, Bobbo,
I see where you are coming from, but I am not venerating the man. Even Robin Hood was a criminal. As was John Wilkes Booth, William Tell, Jesse James, and Guy Fawkes. Yet they all have their admirers.
If Madoff wanted to just be a shit he would have opened up his scheme to anyone that came knocking. He didn’t. He crafted it so those who should have been sophisticated enough and could afford it were the ones he took advantage of. Regardless, he stole with flair and will end up doing time for it. Most likely the rest of his life.
#56, Phydeau,
Good reply. It is the comments like this that I am glad to see beat me to it.