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 What does he have to lose? Bernard Madoff's lawyer has asked the judge who will hand down the confessed swindler's fate to jail him for just 12 years -- and to set aside demands for the "mob vengeance" sought by his victims. Ira Sorkin, Madoff's defense lawyer, wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan that a 12-year prison term would be sufficient to address the issue of deterrence and to promote respect for the law. Madoff, 71, who pleaded guilty in March to running a $65 billion fraud, faces as much as 150 years in prison for his crimes. Sorkin noted Madoff's age and said he has an approximate life expectancy of 13 years, "A prison term of 12 years -- just short of an effective life sentence -- will sufficiently address the goals of deterrence, protecting the public and promoting respect for the law." Madoff's lawyer also suggested a compromise, like a sentence of 15-20 years, the kind of penalty that was given to people like Enron's Jeff Skilling and Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski, which did not take age into account. The odds are that Madoff would die in jail, but he would have a small chance of surviving his term. Sorkin also revealed that Madoff would address the judge about "the shame he has felt and ... pain he has caused" at his sentencing hearing on June 29. The lawyer told Judge Chin that many victim statements filed by Madoff investors suggest "a desire for a type of mob vengeance," but "it is the duty of the court to set aside the emotion and hysteria attendant to this case and render a sentence that is just and proportionate." Anything less than a tough sentence may not sit well with the 1,341 Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC account holders who have so far been identified by prosecutors. Those 1,341 holders have collectively suffered losses of more than $13 billion, prosecutors said in a June 19 court filing. The government is expected to file its own presentencing recommendation this week. - Donna Block
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From: Richard Friedman,
You just have to love Ira Sorkin, former NY regional director of the SEC from 1984 - 1986 who allegedly kept Madoff out of trouble for nearly two decades. It really takes quite a character to call the Madoff victims, mostly in their 60's thru their 90's a group of people who have expressed "mob vengeance" against him. Mr. Sorkin should thank the "civilized" legal system for not giving Madoff what he really deserves for destroying so many lives and not caring in the least. To me, nothing less than either solitary confinement (to give him some time to think about what he did) or hard labor (to feel some of the pain thousands of people have felt) would be appropriate for him, with no chance of ever having parole. Now it's time for the Madoff investors to move on to the issues of today. Madoff will soon be irrelevant and the SEC and SIPC have not learned a thing. I can just imagine how the investors in Stanford (the latest Ponzi type scheme to emerge) when they heard about Madoff on 12/11. "Wow, I'm sure glad we are in Stanford and not Madoff. Can you imagine it happening to us?" I can imagine that if the SEC doesn't clean up its act or SIPC doesn't pay the investors claims according to the law that has existed for 39 years, that someone, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people, will be the next victim of a financial scandal. It's time to stop thinking it can't happen to you, because those numbers of scammed investors are increasing daily. There must be change. We must learn from what has happened so that it can stop happening. Don't be an "ostrich."
Posted on:
June 23, 2009 7:12 PM
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It does no good to put Madoff away for the rest of his life. He should be put to work making restitution for his crime. He swindled many. Maybe he can put that shrewdness to work paying back those 1,300 or so account holders.