Why is Madoff on "house arrest"?

[SHRED]

---

Shouldn't he be in a jail due to flight risk?

Or would he miss his caviar too much?
:sarcasm:

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[Bozita]

1. $$$$ $$$$$ $$$ $$$$$ $$$!

[MindMatter]

30. If we're really nice to him, maybe he will tell us where the $50,000,000,000 is hidden

Of course, most of it is gone because it was a Ponzi scheme that paid over-market earnings back to his "investors". That is part of why I have very little sympathy for those "investors". The ones who did this with endowment funds should be on trial just like Madoff.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. If you or I got into some kind of minor troubles, you know as well as I do

it wouldn't be house arrest.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. God's Will™? n/t

[w4rma]

4. Under Republicans, you go to prison when you steal small amounts, not huge amounts. (nt)

[sam sarrha]

5. because rich people are "Special", they are god's favorites.. they deserve privilege >>link>>

http://doggo.tripod.com/doggchrisdomin.html
"..snip...This article is the documented story of how a political religious movement called Dominionism gained control of the Republican Party, then took over Congress, then took over the White House, and now is sealing the conversion of America to a theocracy by taking over the American Judiciary. It’s the story of why and how 'the wrath of God Almighty' will be unleashed against the middle class, against the poor, and against the elderly and sick of this nation by George W. Bush and his army of Republican Dominionist “rulers.”

As Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court explained a few months later, the Bible teaches and Christians believe '… that government …derives its moral authority from God. Government is the "minister of God" with powers to "revenge", to "execute wrath", including even wrath by the sword…
...snip"

"snip...Leo Strauss was born in 1899 and died in 1973. ... He is most famous for resuscitating Machiavelli and introducing his principles as the guiding philosophy of the neo-conservative movement. ... More than any other man, Strauss breathed upon conservatism, inspiring it to rise from its atrophied condition and its natural dislike of change and to embrace an unbounded new political ideology that rides on the back of a revolutionary steed, hailing even radical change; hence the name Neo-Conservatives.

Significantly, Dominionism is a form of Social Darwinism.<48> It inherently includes the religious belief that wealth-power is a sign of God’s election. That is, out of the masses of people and the multitude of nations, wealth, in and of itself, is thought to indicate God’s approval on men and nations whereas poverty and sickness reflect God’s disapproval.

(It was not until I read this article that I realized that this is a fundamental tenet of Dominionists.

Worldly wealth and power are signs of God's favor -- to attempt to limit or decrease one's wealth and power is to disrespect God.

On the contrary, God's elect on Earth are called upon to increase their wealth and power.

It is not sufficient for a man to be a millionaire, or for a country to have sovereignty within its borders -- a man must strive to increase his wealth as much as possible, and a Dominionist government's behavior toward its neighbors must be "invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity".

Furthermore, any attempt to decrease a person's or a country's wealth and power -- to take from the rich to give to the poor, to reduce military spending and power -- is a direct attack on God.)

If “Secular Humanists are the greatest threat to Christianity the world has ever known,” as theologian Francis Schaeffer claimed, then who are the Humanists? According to Dominionists, humanists are the folks who allow or encourage licentious behavior in America. They are the undisciplined revelers.

Put all the enemies of the Dominionists together, boil them down to liquid and bake them into the one single most highly derided and contaminated individual known to man, and you will have before you an image of the quintessential “liberal” -- one of those folks who wants to give liberally to the poor and needy -- who desires the welfare and happiness of all Americans -- who insists on safety regulations for your protection and who desires the preservation of your values -- those damnable people are the folks that must be reduced to powerlessness -- or worse: extinction. ...snip

[meow2u3]

37. Did they delete that passage in the Bible about God and mammon?

This one (Luke 16:13, NAB) -- 13
No servant can serve two masters. 8 He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."


I think this passage is missing in the Dominionist Bible.

[Peregrine Took]

6. "Guilty until proven rich." n/t

[leftstreet]

8. ...

:spray:

[lutherj]

7. Apparently you are under the illusion that all are equal under the law.

Have you not been paying attention these last eight years?

:sarcasm:

[CoffeeCat]

9. No kidding...

This man's crimes are horrendous enough to warrant keeping him in jail until his trial. The man
is the Jeffrey Dahmer of the financial world. is the Jeffrey Dahmer of the financial world.

He also has the money and resources to escape and never be heard from again...

[Junkdrawer]

10. Former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market...Such types NEVER see prison walls....

no matter what the crime...

We are a nation of Privilege, not Laws...

[dysfunctional press]

11. where's he going to fly off to? venezuela?

he's royally fucked A LOT of wealthy people all around the world. he's probably under house arrest in a big part for his own protection as well.
although- they could hold him in protective custody like they do with other high profile detainees.

[earth mom]

12. Meanwhile they threw Martha Stewart in jail for much lessor crimes.

:grr:

[chucktaylor]

14. Not until after the trial. He has not been tried.

[Baby Snooks]

15. And should have given her life!!!!

And people talked about Leona Helmsley being a bitch?

[earth mom]

25. Life?! Are you serious? WTF?!

They made an example of Martha because she was a woman who made more money than she was allowed to.

Meanwhile, a few months ago, the criminals of Wall Street were rewarded with a BILLION dollar bailout!

Which is why Madoff will get his hand smacked for being in the cookie jar, but that's all he'll get. Watch & See.

[Festivito]

24. Actually, they would not give her an appeal, FOR YEARS.

She just determined it would be in her best interest to finish a jail term, than to wait for an appeal from a corrupt department of justice.

[Baby Snooks]

13. Actually they hope he takes flight...

They hope he takes flight. Off the balcony of his penthouse. Before he figures it out. The man was in the business for almost 50 years. He had a stellar reputation. You don't run a Ponzi scheme for almost 50 years.

I think someone set him up. Look at all the wealthy Jews that are now bankrupted. Look at all the liberal causes they funded that are no longer funded. I think he liquidated equities and started playing the speculative markets. And was doing quite well. There were several hedge funds that he in fact handled. That has surprised a number of people. And then suddenly he wasn't doing so well. And then suddenly he wasn't doing well at all. And suddenly wasn't doing anything at all.

No one will say if there are any assets left. Some believe about $150 million. Out of $50 billion. And that's $50 billion that they know of. 150 million divided by 50 billion is how much? Add maybe $100 million in personal assets if the government seizes them at some point. 250 million divided by 50 billion is how much?

This ain't Enron. Although most of the Enron investors are finding they are getting very little back. The big boys get the big chunk. Along with the attorneys. The rest is divied up among the rest of the investors.

That isn't going to happen here. There is nothing to divide. And people are only fooling themselves believing otherwise.

[earth mom]

27. Madoff ADMITTED the scam to his sons! How in the hell is that a setup?

Madoff ran a ponzi scheme for 50 years because there was always new money he could add to the scheme. When the stock market crashed so hard this year, he was out of people to sell his scam to.

Madoff did this to HIMSELF. Otherwise, he would go to the media who is chomping at the bit to interview him (no doubt) and spill the beans that he was set up.

But he hasn't & he won't because he's guilty as hell.

Which is why your "theory" holds no water. :crazy:

[riverdeep]

16. Now compare what cops do after a drug ARREST,

repeat simple ARREST, not even conviction, in the war on (some) drugs.

In King County last year, authorities seized $2.2 million in drug-related assets. But even though four out of 10 criminal cases either never got off the ground or fell apart, the bulk of the cars, cash, cellular phones, stereos and other goods grabbed from those suspects were never returned, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has found.

One out of five people whose property was seized were never charged with a crime. When people were charged, the cases were dropped about 23 percent of the time, according to records obtained from the state Treasurer's Office and a search of computerized court documents.

"There's a huge financial incentive for police to be taking property," said Jerry Sheehan, legislative director of the ACLU of Washington. "That they can do that without any charges ever being brought, let alone any conviction gained, is very troubling."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/50450_assets13.shtml

So, steal $50 billion, you're going home tonight and getting a trial with good lawyers, and the best they can do is say 'pretty please' and tell us where the money is hidden. Get caught with 'too much' weed, and your life is often immediately ruined. Sounds fair. I don't see why the proletariat is so upset these days...

[Luminous Animal]

23. So shouldn't we be advocating

for justice for all rather than decrying Madoff's "special" treatment?

[Skink]

17. The whole system collapsed taking Madoff down with it.

There should be some after shocks working there way up to the surface any day now.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

18. Because he's very "important".

[Greyhound]

19. Because some animals are more equal than others. n/t

[TroubleMan]

20. Chappelle's skit about this was spot on.

FIF!!

[Golden Raisin]

21. Unless it turns out he is

dying of cancer and only has days to live he should be in jail. And not one of those white-collar, country-club jails. The judge who allowed house arrest should be debarred and forced off the bench.

[Luminous Animal]

22. Um... because he hasn't been convicted?

And he posted bail? I'm just guessing here but I pretty sure we still living under the system of innocent until proven guilty.

[TWiley]

26. It is Legal for Republicans to Pillage Nations

It is illegal for you to sell $10 worth of pot because your baby needs pablum, and there are no jobs in your ghetto.

[AZ Criminal JD]

32. Nothing to do with Republican or Democrat

It is whether you a rich or not. Madoff is a Democrat and has been a big contributor to Democratic candidates.

[KharmaTrain]

28. From The Penthouse To The Doghouse

As others have stated here, it appears Madoff had never been arrested for a previous offense and the judge felt he should be treated like many other first time offenders.

Of course it's always important, yet not very popular around here to mention one is INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. Trial by corporate media doesn't count...the one in a real court of law does. None of us know what was presented to the judge or the agreements between the lawyers.

No matter what, this dude's caviar munching days will be over. If it's not from the Feds (I'm still waiting for the first of these robber barrons to go on trial...I suspect we're going to hear a lot more dirt than is already out there), it'll be angry investors looking for either their money back or a pound of flesh. While technically "free", the man is a prisoner in his own world right now...and my bets its a pretty lonely place. No one returns the phone calls, his business and fortune in shatters and a lot of angry people out there wanting answers.

I have no pity for this speculator, but many who threw their money at him knew or should have known better. There were warnings for years about the "high risk" investments this dude and others (Madoff is not alone) were peddling. Those who threw all their money or a big chunk of it at him made a good buck for many years (at least on paper), they sure didn't question then...now when the bottom falls out and they foolishly didn't diversify, they deserve what they're getting.

[no_hypocrisy]

29. Three reasons:

1. Madoff's attorney asked for it.
2. The prosecutor signed off on the request.
3. The judge went along with it.

[MindMatter]

34. Not buyin' it

If a serial rapist is apprehended, no prosecutor will allow him to run free because he is a danger to society.

This guy is a $50,000,000,000 danger to society. And while he's out, he's in a position to move some of his loot around to put it out of the reach of claimants.

This guy should be locked down hard.

[no_hypocrisy]

38. Ah, in a perfect world, your contentions are true.

In this world, there is political pressure that guides both prosecutors and judges. Justice is a relative term.

[ProudDad]

31. Ok, I'll bite

'Cause he's rich...

By the by, He's also screwed the ACLU out of $850,000 of foundation grants and Human Rights first out of a million dollars.

[leftofthedial]

33. he has the dinero,

so the rules don't apply to him.

he's too...rich...to be in jail.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

35. He is actually

a very nice guy who accidently stole billions and billions and billions of O.P.M. --- He couldn't help it. He was just borrowing the money.

:)

[meow2u3]

36. If the inmates at Riker's kill him in jail

then his ill-gotten gains will go to his equally crooked family, and the government won't be able to touch it, AFAIK.

[bklyncowgirl]

39. White collar crime is not as scary to society than some guy with a gun knocking over a 7/ll. nt

[spanone]

40. why did the banks get 700 bil with no questions asked?