Investors filled three rows of seats in Courtroom 24B, where Madoff said he was “deeply ashamed and sorry” for defrauding individuals, charities, trusts, pensions and hedge funds. At the hearing on March 12, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin asked victims to say whether he should reject Madoff’s guilty plea to 11 counts, including fraud, perjury and money laundering.
“If we go to trial, we will show people in this struggling country and the world who look to us as the global moral leader, that we will hold all people accountable,” investor Maureen Ebel told Chin. “We can show the world that all crimes, all crimes, including crimes of greed, can be dissected, ruled upon and punished.”
Ebel and two other investors spoke to Chin before he accepted Madoff’s plea and set sentencing for June 16, when he could impose a prison term as long as 150 years. The judge then revoked Madoff’s bail and ordered him to jail, prompting U.S. marshals to handcuff him and lead him out of the courtroom. Investors applauded and one said: “Bye, bye Bernie.”
At the start of the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt detailed the legal elements of each of crime, prompting a seated Madoff to interlock his fingers and look down.
‘Look at the Victims’
Chin then invited investors to speak. George Nierenberg stood at the podium and stared at Madoff, who wore a charcoal gray suit and tie, and rimless glasses.
“I don’t know whether you had a chance to turn around and look at the victims,” said Nierenberg, who took a step toward Madoff. The judge admonished Nierenberg to remain at the podium.
Madoff, whose silver hair was swept back, finally leaned back in his chair and cast a glance in Nierenberg’s direction.
Another victim, Ronnie Sue Ambrosino, said she objected to the plea, saying the judge had a chance to “find out information as to where the money is and to find out who else may be involved in this crime.”
After Ambrosino spoke, Ebel said: “At trial we can hear and bear witness to the pain that Mr. Madoff has inflicted on the young, the old and the infirm. No man, no matter who he knows or who he is able to influence, is above the law.”
Deeply Sorry and Ashamed
The judge said that victims couldn’t talk about what effect Madoff’s crimes had upon them.
“Victims will have a chance to speak at sentencing,” Chin said.
Madoff, who was arrested Dec. 11, spoke for the first time about his crimes. He stood at the defense table and spent about 12 minutes reading from a double-spaced typed statement.
“I am actually grateful for this opportunity to publicly speak about my crimes, for which I am so deeply sorry and ashamed,” Madoff told a hushed courtroom. “As I engaged in my fraud, I knew what I was doing was wrong, indeed criminal.”
Madoff described how he “deeply hurt many, many people, including the members of my family, my closest friends, business associates, and the thousands of clients who gave me money.”
At several points as he told of his deceits, Madoff blinked his eyes rapidly. Later in the hearing, he stood as Chin asked him how he pleaded to each of 11 counts filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. Madoff pressed his thumbs and fists into the defense table as he said “guilty” 11 times.
Victims’ Laughter
Chin rejected a request by defense attorney Ira Sorkin to allow Madoff to remain confined to his Manhattan apartment on $10 million bail, with a private security firm watching him. When Sorkin began to say that Madoff’s wife, Ruth, had paid for the guards with her own money, victims burst into laughter.
“Would the audience remain quiet,” Chin said.
After Madoff was led away, investors applauded. One said: “Thank you, Mr. Litt.”
Outside the courtroom, attorney Helen Chaitman, an investor who also represents 300 Madoff customers seeking to recover money, said she was glad to see him in person.
“He doesn’t have four heads,” Chaitman said. “It’s hard to imagine swindling his best friends. You can understand someone stealing from strangers. But you can’t understand someone stealing from their friends.”
Lost Millions
Several investors said they believe Madoff couldn’t have acted alone.
“I don’t think for a minute that he has any remorse,” said Bennett Goldworth. “He’s a psychopath.”
Goldworth, 52, said he invested with Madoff for about 10 years and lost 97 percent of his investment.
“I’ve lost millions,” said Goldworth, a senior vice president at the Corcoran Group, a real estate brokerage company. “I’m happy that he went to prison.”
Outside the courtroom, another investor, Adriane Biondo, said she and her family members were angry at Madoff.
“I think it’s quite appropriate that he goes to jail,” said Biondo, 41, a concert promoter from Los Angeles. She said some family members had been denied food stamps.
Asked if the guilty plea gave her a sense of vindication, she said, “I’m more interested in restitution.”
The case is U.S. v. Madoff, 09-cr-00213, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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