What Madoff Really Needs is Company, and Lots of It
Don't get Madoff, get even: Bernie Madoff may deserve his 150-year jail sentence – but he wasn't the biggest crook on Wall Street
Richard Adams, The Guardian | UK, in Common Dreams
Everyone knew that Bernie Madoff was going down – since he had already pleaded guilty to running a fake investment scheme worth between $65bn and $171bn. So there was none of the drama that accompanied fraud trials like that of Jeffrey Skilling, who maintained his innocence even after he was convicted for his part in the collapse of Enron. The only question today was how long inside Madoff would get. His lawyers suggested – in a spirit of optimism only paid advocates could muster – that Madoff deserved just 12 years in jail. The judge gave him the maximum 150. So, with time off for good behaviour, Bernie will be out in time to celebrate his 146th birthday in 2084.
In other words, barring a judicial miracle, the 71-year-old Madoff will spend the rest of his life behind bars. In terms of discouraging others fromselling their souls in return for enjoying 20 years of wealth and prestige, Madoff's sentence is a good thing. And it is tempting to indulge in schadenfreude at Madoff's expense, after he had indulged in riches and privilege at the expense of others. But the worst result of Madoff's life sentence is that he becomes the face of the circa-2008 financial tsunami – and that he doesn't deserve, even if he deserves to rot behind bars.
Related:
The Madoff Sentence: Swindle the Rich? Get 150 Years. Swindle the Poor? Who Cares? Melissa McEwan, Shakesville, in AlterNet
Surely I'm not the only one who sees this as just the sort of ridiculously excessive sentence that's reserved for scapegoats.
Bernie Madoff, Scapegoat, Michael Moore, Huffington Post
Will the head of Goldman Sachs reveal what he was doing at the meetings with the Fed chairman and the Treasury secretary before the bailout? Will Bank of America please tell us what they've spent $45 billion of our TARP money on?
Special Report | Bailout, David Culver, ed, Evergreene Digest
Insiders can easily game the system created by Geithner and Summers, costing taxpayers up to a trillion dollars or more.
