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Bernard Madoff set for isolation for his own protection
Ben Bailey30 Jun 2009
Bernard Madoff may start his 150 year prison sentence in isolation to protect him from other prisoners, it was suggested today.
The 71-year-old, sentenced to the maximum jail term for the biggest swindle in the history of Wall Street, could become a target for those who want to “make a name for themselves”, an ex-inmate has warned prison officials.
Steve Vincent, a former police officer who was jailed for theft and now runs the Federal Prison Consultant Services in Louisville, Kentucky, said: “If they see an opportunity to take that man out and be in the paper and make a name for themselves, what do they have to lose?”
He said the only way to protect Madoff was to keep him away.
“Wherever he goes, they're going to put him in solitary,” he added.
The Bureau of Prisons has yet to decide where Madoff will serve his time but he is likely to be incarcerated as a medium or high-security prison, probably in the northeastern US, according to lawyers.
The sentence for the former Nasdaq chairman, whose firm once accounted for 10 per cent of the trades on the New York Stock Exchange, will mean he is unlikely to be granted parole and will die behind bars.
Reading the verdict, Judge Denny Chin described his crimes as “extraordinarily evil”.
He said Madoff's $65 billion pyramid scheme exceeded all sentencing guidelines, which stop at frauds of $400 million.
“Objectively speaking, the fraud here is staggering,” he said. “It spanned more than 20 years. The fraud reached thousands of victim. It's off the chart by manifold.”
Those affected by his scam included big companies, banks, the very wealthy and ordinary people who trusted him with their hard-earned cash.
In court, Madoff had sought to explain his behaviour, calling it a “problem”, “an error of judgment” and a “tragic mistake”.
He said that he had originally thought he would be able to pay back investors, but the pyramid scheme got too big.
“The harder I tried, the deeper a hole I dug for myself,” he said.
Reader views (13)
Madoff's skill was not to show outrageous returns, but a steady 10% a year (which should have raised alarms), and not to promote himself excessively: people would join clubs to get close to him, and his 'inside track'. Whether you call it greed or not, they were quite activist victims, on the whole, apart from those who had no idea that others were investing with Madoff on their behalf. But then, the moment you want money to make you money without actually grafting for it, these issues of responsibility and remoteness arise in some form.
- Mdj E10, london uk, 30/06/2009 17:14
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I agree with Nic and John, London. It's amazing that the likes of Fred Goodwin can practically bankrupt a UK bank and still be at liberty, with a nice, fat pension to boot! I know a lot of people lost money, but 150 years? Come on! He played on his investors' greed, so they are, in a way, the authors of their own misfortune.
- Sonia M., St Albans, Herts, 30/06/2009 13:16
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Nick, you are completely wrong. He has ruined the lives of some small investors just looking for moderate returns. Not all investors are greedy. Sure they want a profit, but this guys wasn't delivering high double digit returns. He managed to fool the SEC (clearly not too difficult given the credit crisis they oversaw) so it is not surprising he fooled some investment managers responsible for some relatively small assets.
However, it was rather satisfying to see our very own 'superwoman' Horlick and trendy hedgie 'Arki' Besson get completely duped. Not so smart as the image they like to project!!!
- Investment Banker, London, 30/06/2009 13:06
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I don't think it was 'extraordinarily evil', after all the crime only involved money.
Any type of murder or serious assault should rank above this in evilness.
In mitigation there is also the greed of the investors.
- Nick, London, 30/06/2009 10:15
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Yesterday they reported that US inmates over 65 cannot be made to work and he'll be moved to a low security jail where he can read, watch telly and walk about. Basically a hotel for life at our expense.
- Thomas, London, 30/06/2009 09:50
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The real crooks are in the SEC in New York and the people who made Madoff the presiden of the Nasdaq. What a load of useless incompetents in the US - oops I nearly forgot our FSA farcical people.
- Never Eat Tuna Again, London, 30/06/2009 07:40
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Yet Joseph Chin,the killer of 14 year old Martin Dinnegan received 12 years for taking his life. I dont get why crimes involving money eg. Fraud are taken more seriously than murder?
- Jennifer, london, 30/06/2009 02:56
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Where were the regulators of this fine financial institution? You can't blaim him really, people put money in to gain, he used it! He didn't murder people or threaten others, it's unfortunate but that's it. I feel the taxman maybe doing the same thing, should we bring them to accountability for their actions, they waste more money then anyone, your money!
- Tony Goodwin, Basildon,Essex, 30/06/2009 00:52
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Ironic isn't is. A businessman in America steals lots of money and he gets sent to prison for five times as long as he is likely to live. Meanwhile, back in Britain, somebody stabs an innocent bus passenger to death or kidnaps, rapes and murders a child and they get five years.
- John North, London, UK, 30/06/2009 00:36
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Could we in Britain have a few sentences like this for the MPs who have been caught stealing from the British public, together with a certain Chancellor who managed to give away our gold resrves at rock bottom prices? Whoops. Silly me. They're all mates together, so the chances of any justice is negligible.
- L.Taubler, London / ENGLAND, 29/06/2009 23:56
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Bet he wished he could be tried in the UK, he'd get community service.
- William Ear, Waltham Cross, 29/06/2009 22:40
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er and where are the people who benefited from other peoples money before the scheme collapsed, I can't see them complaining or giving the money back, surely that should be the case......
- Dc, Ealing, London, 29/06/2009 15:09
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Why is it that white collar crime is seen as less damaging than committing murder? When is this country going to understand that so-called white collar crimes destroy lives and therefore the penalties for this should be an automatic life sentence in prison (not at a club Med) and full restitution. The convicted’s family should be stripped of all belongings regardless of whether they new of the crime and I believe that in extreme cases such as Madoff and Stanford the death penalty should be on the table and imposed not by a judge but by a jury. Look at how many lives get ruined in these crimes and how many of them end up on skid row or committing crimes against others to try to survive or worse yet committing suicide. They are nothing but blood sucking scum and the elitist life styles they've been living would not have been possible without the crimes. If they didn’t know of the crimes they should have and should have come forward. Until these crimes are made major by the justice system they will continue to occur as there are always these scum out there that will continue to do these crimes because the penalties do not fit the crimes. Why does Bernie Madoff’s wife deserve to keep 2.5 million USD? I find these crimes to be reprehensible and the penalties are an insult to the victims! Why are Madoff, Dreier, Mozilo, Pang, Nadel, Wissman, Stanford and many more allowed any leniency?
- Treveis, palmetto, fl usa, 29/06/2009 14:13
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