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Bernie Madoff sentenced to 150 years in prison
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Disgraced Bernie Madoff will spend the rest of his life in jail.
Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum penalty for his unprecedented investment frauds. The decision was handed down today in New York by US District Judge Denny Chin. Prosecutors had asked for this maximum sentence to be imposed, while his defense requested 12 years. Chin is reported to have said that Madoff’s fraud is "staggering" and spanned over two decades.
Bernie Madoff, 71, was arrested in December 2008 for securities fraud. Federal authorities were informed of his crimes after he confessed them to his two sons – Mark and Andrew – who, in turn, alerted them; in March, he pleaded guilty to 11 federal charges, including securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, international money laundering, perjury and theft from an employee benefit plan. Collectively, Madoff faced up to 150 years in prison, along with millions in fines, for his actions. After defrauding investors of up to $65 billion, Madoff was charged for running the largest known ponzi-scheme in world history.
Madoff’s career on Wall Street started nearly 50 years ago; in 1960, at age 22, he launched Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC with $5,000 saved from performing odd jobs. Over several decades, he rose in prominence and eventually went on to chair NASDAQ from 1990-1993. Needless to say, after years in business, Madoff developed many powerful relationships within the investment community, particularly among political and corporate elites. Many investors – both individual and institutional – greatly trusted him as a result.
It is believed, by many, that Madoff – and others closely associated with him – misused their very powerful connections, both in the US and abroad, to keep the lid on the true nature of his criminal operations. Accusations of him committing fraud date back to the late 1980’s, and possibly even earlier. One accuser, Harry Markopolos, unsuccessfully pressured the Securities and Exhange Commission (SEC) to investigate Madoff for nearly one decade; he testified to Congress in February that he feared for his life as a result, while eluding to internal corruption within the SEC as a reason for why his claims were never rightfully investigated.
Wayne Madsen, a veteran D.C. investigative journalist, revealed the depth of Madoff’s worldwide political connections later that month. In an contributing article at Online Journal, Madsen states that the Madoff ponzi scheme was “part of a much larger operation, one involving top officials of both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, as well as the notorious Russian-Israeli Mafia.” These shocking allegations, which have not garnished so much as one mention in the mainstream media, have never been further clarified. In the interests of US national security, Madsen’s accusations must be investigated for substantiation, or debunking.
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