March 15, 2009

Law and Order

Susan Estrich on Why Madoff "Pled Out"

Monique Chartier

It wasn't to escape jail time.

Madoff, who is 70, is looking at a life sentence for his crimes. He had to know that coming into the courthouse to plead guilty.

* * *

By pleading guilty, Madoff cut his losses, not in the way most defendants do, by getting rid of a couple of counts or getting the charges reduced or getting a deal for a lower sentence based on cooperation, but in the only way he could: He limited the time he will spend in the spotlight, limited the opportunity for public outcry, deprived his victims of a daily ritual for the weeks or months the trial might have lasted. We who might have liked to see him squirm, to watch his face as the mountains of lies were laid bare, will be deprived of that opportunity. We will not see him suffer.

11:33 PM
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Nonesense.
He could have easily stayed in his penthouse 18 months before a trial.
A deal was cut to not prosecute his family and let them keep millions of the stolen loot.

Posted by: Mike at March 16, 2009 8:32 AM

It looks like the government is going to freeze the assets of Madoff's wife-she couldn't have been ignorant of what he did.his whole immediate family was probably involved.
It's nice to know he's miserable.I wouldn't be surprised if he got shanked or met some other misfortune in prison.Now wouldn't that be a terrible thing?
On the bright side,he bankrupted some liberal foundations that funded the ACLU.

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 16, 2009 8:52 AM

Joe-

Why would Bernie specifically get shanked in prison? What happened to honor among thieves? He's a thief, that's all. He's not much different than a guy who steals a bunch of cars, only the valuables he stole was a lot more than anyone else in the prison. Probably more than all of them put together. It's not like he's a baby rapist or something that should get a guy some "street justice". He's a thief, that's all.

Posted by: Patrick at March 16, 2009 10:41 AM

I'm not saying it would happen because he was a pedophile or something like that.It's because anyone who can make $65 billion disappear has to know a lot of stuff that those in power don't want revealed.There are people in positions of authority in this country who can arrange stuff like prison homicides.I am not wearing a tinfoil hat either.

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 16, 2009 11:47 AM

Madoff pleading guilty is to prevent any examination of the rabbit hole. It is impossible for a single person to disappear 50+ billion dollars.

Posted by: PDM at March 16, 2009 1:50 PM