Reply #28: Bernard Madoff avoids jail

[blendermax]

Source: Guardian UK

Bernard Madoff avoids jail
Monday 12 January 2009

Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street financier accused of running a massive swindle that fleeced investors of up to $50bn, is to remain in his lavish Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park after a federal judge today rejected prosecution calls for him to be jailed.

The decision to allow Madoff to stay under house arrest in the $7m penthouse, rather than transfer him to the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in lower Manhattan, astonished and further angered victims of the scandal. Judge Ronald Ellis refused to revoke his $10m bail, ruling that the prosecution had failed to make its case that Madoff could cause more harm if he remained at large.

Victims and their lawyers reacted angrily to the decision to allow Madoff to remain free. Larry Leif from Palm Beach, Florida, who lost his life savings of $8m, told CNBC: "If I had commited this crime personally, I would be in jail."

Jeffrey Zwerling, a lawyer representing individual and institutional Madoff victims around the world, said his clients would be outraged. "They have just lost their entire life savings, are losing their homes, can no longer pay their health insurance, and here is Madoff living in a triplex overlooking Central Park."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/13/madoff-bail-decision

---

White collar criminals get away with murder in this country, even when caught. So they just continue committing their financial crimes, knowing full well the justice system will protect them, or even aid and abet their activities (ie: the SEC turned a blind eye on Madoff's scheme for more than 2 decades despite thousands of complaints).