JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

Madoff gets 150 years (update)

By Jacob Berkman · June 29, 2009

Bernard Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in jail, the maximum sentence allowed for his crimes.

U.S. Judge Denny Chin gave sentence to Madoff, who had confessed to bilking investors in his Ponzi scheme from up to $65 billion, this morning at around 11:30.

He called Madoff’s crimes “staggering,” according to the Washington Post.

The 150 year sentence is what prosecutors in the case had been asking for, while Madoff’s lawyers had asked for leniency and a 12-year sentence for the 71 year old Madoff.

Chin noted that not one of Madoff’s friends or family members asked for leniency for Madoff and that Madoff had not fully cooperated in the investigation into his crime, according to the Post.

Before the sentencing, nine of Madoff's victims addressed the court. Here is some of the account from Bloomberg news.

Madoff “discarded me like road kill,” said Mirian Siegman, of Stamford, Connecticut, today at the hearing in Manhattan. She now relies on food stamps, collecting recyclable bottles and digging through Dumpsters.

Nine victims told their stories to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin, who will sentence Madoff today. Madoff’s lawyer has recommended a sentence of 12 years, while prosecutors urge 150. The federal probation service recommended 50 years, twice the penalty for the convicted chief executives of Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc.

Madoff “shattered my dreams” when he lost her mother’s inheritance, said Sharon Lissauer, a model who lives in Manhattan. Victim Sheryl Weinstein, of Manhattan, said she was a longtime friend of the money manager, calling him “a beast” for losing her investment.