Madoff Asks Judge For 12-Year Sentence
CNN just reported that Bernie Madoff's lawyer has submitted a letter to the judge who will be sentencing him next week, asking for a 12-year sentence.
"Mr. Madoff is currently 71 years old and has an approximate life expectancy of 13 years," wrote Sorkin, whose letter was released on Tuesday. "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."
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Okay Bernie - how about people ask for 3/4's back of what you stole from them? That should properly address their retirement needs, etc.
Heck, I'd say he's been shamed enough. Let him off with time served...
...as soon as he has paid back all his "investors" every cent they gave him.
This man needs to rot in prison for the rest of his life. The amount of lives he has destroyed by his own greed is appaling. Last I heard at least 2 people had committed suicide because of the amount of money they lost due to this jackass, and he has the balls to ask for only 12 years.
He lived the life of luxury for many many years, he should serve the same amount of time in prison as he did living like a king.
Yes, 12 years is an appropriate sentence. 12 years plus life, that is.
He needs to die in a sh!thole prison. What is he expecting? Leniency, pathos and sympathy? Let him rot.
Let him walk. I'd be willing to bet the people he robbed will make sure that life expectancy is way off.....
"life expectancy of 13 years": Wonder how Sorkin figured that one out.
Madoff has some real mental issues. He can't get past his view that he is entitled to things no matter what. He seems to have zero guilt for what he has done to so many people and to a bunch of charities.
The guy is a pox on society and needs to be put away for life based on both his crimes and how extensive he damaged people and society.
Sorkin also wrote that "we seek neither mercy nor sympathy"
Really? Asking for less than the max isn't seeking mercy nor sympathy? It's not like you're arguing that he doesn't deserve the punishment. Jeez.
That is a bogus request as he would get out far earlier with all this time served and good behavior crap. Plus that would also qualify him for a club fed as opposed to club-pound-you-in-the...
Also would he use this logic if he were say 33 and ask for a 50 year sentence?
Is there a way that I can write a letter to the judge asking for no leniency?
You sound angry. Did Bernie bamboozle someone close?
I agree that he lived a lavish life for many years and that he should spend the rest of life in prison. But I just want to touch on something related to your comment that some people lost everything with him.
I'm not a wealthy investor but First Rule I was taught about Investing(gambling) is that you use money that you can afford to lose. For the people who lost everything by handing it over to Madoff, yes it's unfortunate, but they should have known better.
@Gaurav Dalal: there are probably many studies showing the life expectancy of humans and how it's been changing over the centuries.. it's not hard to find the numbers.. probably would have taken me less time to find that average on google than to respond to you so now i don't want to look it up.. just like you didn't.. geez
This is unbelievable. How many people's lives did he ruin? How many NPO's went under because of him? He affected thousands by swindling their money, and he wants only 12 years? Why is it that thieves get off so easily? Especially on this scale? Andy Fastow from Enron got 10 years and he was just a blip on the radar compared to Skilling and Lay. Skilling got nearly 25 years. I don't see why Madoff should get any less.
The guy is a financial terrorist, he has no rights. Let him rot in REAL jail forever.
You could... But if you're just a member of the general public it wouldn't do any good (it probably would get tossed right away). If, however, you were materially affected by his schemes then yes, you can, probably with some effect.
Gosh. Well, so long as he said that he's SORRY...
@downwithmonstercable: Correction - Fastow got 6 years. Still, 6 years for a blip compared to a mastermind $50 billion thief. At that proportion he should be tortured and executed...
Yes there is, and while your at it, tell him they can recoup some of the peoples money by ripping out his wifes fillings. They need to drag her through the gutter while he rots in prison. I'd ask the judge for a 16 year sentance, that would really stick it to him, with no early release for good behavior in a "pound me in the ass prison"
remit him to a Mexican Fedaralli prison, 12 years would be a stretch for his soft ass
To put his crime in perspective (RIAA aside) if you add up all the theft in the history of say Connecticut I don't think you come up with a dollar amount as large as his. That is all the car thefts, robberies, muggings, break-ins, fraud, and everything put together since 1492. This calculation can probably be applied to 40 or more of the states.
@Michael Ortega: oh christ...new political buzz-word alert.
FINANCIAL TERRORIST
So....off to Gitmo with him?
I wonder if the FTC will instate a color-coded Threat Level like DHS has?
I agree that Madoff should be granted a 12 year prison sentence, with the condition that he be released into the custody of the people who he ripped off. Specifically, the ones who have failed anger management classes.
I for one like to hear from someone who agrees with Madoff's lawyers. Surely there a perfectly rational explanation for the preposterous-sounding suggestion that 12 years is sufficient? That someone could explain it in a way that would make the rest of us not care to use him or her as a posting punching bag?
@LatinoGeek: so if you equate investing to gambling, how do you propose people save for retirement?? They weren't playing the stock market here - they were involved in what they thought was a legitimate plan to build their wealth. If vanguard, BoA, Ed Jones, etc. just up and said "F*** ya, putting your retirement money with us was the same as taking it to a casino. You lose, the end".
Were the investors naiive? Yes, to an extent. But they were also duped by what was, on the surface, a large multi-national financial operation, the same as any of the institutions the rest of us trust with our life savings.
The only "effective" life sentence is one resulting in him dying in jail.
if we really wanted to repay his investors, we should charge people $100 each to kick him in the nuts. I'd probably be in for 3 or 4 kicks. maybe put the whole thing on pay per view, let Don King promote it and that'd probably raise another $50 million easy.
He can only have a 12 year sentence if his wife and other family members who were involved get 25 years each.
@bohemian: What most people don't realize is Maddoff is a sociopath with narcissistic tendencies. To him nothing he did was wrong.
What more people need to realize is that a large majority of CEO's, politicians, and people in leadership positions are the same way. They see the world as it suits them and if you don't conform or get out of the way you are expendable.
@Rectilinear Propagation: Surely you're not suggesting that whenever a judge gives less than the maximum possible sentence they're showing mercy? The maximum sentence shouldn't be the default, if anything the minimum should be the default and they can move upwards from there.
How about 12 years for each person he ripped off.
I think he should be cryogenically preserved now, so when biomedical science gives us the ability to prolong lifespans into the hundreds of years, he can be thawed, treated, and sentenced to no fewer than 1,000 years in jail. Something nice, futuristic, and Riddick-esque, preferrably.
If I were one of the people who'd been screwed out of their money by this guy, I wouldn't want him to go to jail. If he was able to orchestrate something this elaborate, he obviously has some marketable skills. I'd rather he works the highest paying job he can get and gives, say 75% of what he makes to those he scammed. Even if I were to get $5, it's better than nothing. Obviously this would have to be done with some sort of supervision, but I don't think he's too dangerous that he needs to be in prison.
@LatinoGeek: There's quite a difference between investing and flat out stealing, which is what this character did.
Let him rot in prison for the rest of his life. I have absolutely zero mercy for those who didn't take mercy on others.
@Skeetz: There's also these people called doctors, who can evaluate a person's health and make reasonable estimates on how long they might have to live (likely getting more accurate the older a person gets). In this kind of trial you can be damm sure there was a medical report, not just the defense counsel doing a google search for "life expectancy"
How about an international lottery to see who can give the order to draw and quarter him? 1 free ticket to everyone that got scammed, 50.00 each for everyone else. Put the money towards a fund to help those ripped off.
@Gaurav Dalal: [www54.wolframalpha.com]
WAlpha says he should live to be 84.18 years. That's a 13.18 year life expectancy.
Sure. 12 years in a Mexican prison.
This guy should be released... and forced to live his life in a high crime, low income neighborhood (without any welfare benefits) instead of having taxpayers pay for his prison cell, food, and clothing for the next 15 or so years.
A life without the luxuries he was accustomed to is far worse than letting him rot in jail on our dime.
Given that Federal judges are corrupt scumbags, there will probably be a deposit in the judge's Caymans account to grease the wheels of justice.
Sorkin is a very good lawyer who is trying to set a parameter for sentencing. I'm sure he doesn't expect 12 years based on the severity of the crime, but he's trying to get the judge into a mindset where Madoff will not be sentence to 400 years breaking rocks. I hope he (Sorkin) doesn't succeed because his client deserves to spend the rest of his life in the worst prison on earth, together with his co-conspirators (listening Mrs. Madoff?)
I'm usually not a classist kind of person; if you found a way to get rich (legally), God bless. However, two things really piss me off: poor people get worse schools and worse criminal justice. Well, if not 'worse,' certainly more harsh. You are a fucking criminal, Bernie. This is what happens to criminals, sometimes even rich criminals.
12 years... what, that means he will be out in 2 for good behavior?
@Rectilinear Propagation: If I was the judge, I'd tell the lawyer that that is good.
Because his client is going to rot in prison until he qualifies as Guiness' oldest living person.
He ruined peoples lives (one of my neighbors was one of them) and he expects to not get a life sentence? That would be a slap in the face to all of his victims.