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Victims Seek Voice at Madoff Sentencing

By TOM HAYS and LARRY NEUMEISTER
,
AP
posted: 132 DAYS 13 HOURS AGO
Text SizeAAA
NEW YORK (June 29) - It was a crime of epic proportions: a multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out fortunes, drained retirement nest eggs, ruined charities and foundations, and even pushed some investors to commit suicide.
Six months after the scandal came to light, the battle lines over Bernard Madoff's punishment have been drawn. His lawyer insists 12 years in prison is enough. Prosecutors demand a 150-year sentence that would guarantee the 71-year-old spends his final days behind bars.
Some victims were expected to call for harsh punishment at the disgraced financier's sentencing Monday in federal court in Manhattan. Ten have told U.S. District Judge Denny Chin they wish to speak out in court.
Madoff also "will speak to the shame he has felt and to the pain he has caused," his attorney, Ira Sorkin, said in court papers.
"We seek neither mercy nor sympathy," Sorkin wrote. But the lawyer urged Chin to "set aside the emotion and hysteria attendant to this case" as he determines the sentence.
There was no shortage of emotion in recent e-mails and letters to the judge by victims.
Carla and Stanley Hirschhorn wrote that they lost their life savings
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-06-29 06:51:30
COMMENTS ( 76 )
Page 1 of 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>
Sebens7
1:00PM Jun 29 2009 
You dumb bastard, he sold all of his Haliburton stock before he took office. And he did something with the money none of the liberals that always attack him ever do. He donated the proceeds to charity. Of course you get your news from NBC so you would never know this.
REPLY RATING
(1 RATINGS)
 
BASSN 55
11:54AM Jun 29 2009 
Hey ( cashman ) are you a paid republican poster ? you are all over these boards with you ignorant ranting . Keep up the good work , it's people like you that made me vote democrat .................
REPLY RATING
(6 RATINGS)
 
BoyerArt
11:50AM Jun 29 2009 
Direct your inquiries to the Republican National Comittee. Or maybe Dick Cheney can tell you where the money went? since he's the guy who authorized taking and spending it on his war profiteer bonanza with Halliburton.
REPLY RATING
(5 RATINGS)
 
RedRoses941
11:49AM Jun 29 2009 
150 years is about right. This is how some of the rich, kep getting richer. I hope this sends a message to those kinds of people.
They justice system worked in this case.
REPLY RATING
(2 RATINGS)
 
BoyerArt
11:47AM Jun 29 2009 
Except that you have to include the former administration as they are chiefly responsible for the economic nosedive. No one ever talks about what an epic and exceptionally costly disaster the Iraq war was/is. Who championed the de-regulation of our financial systems? Wasn't that the same Phil Gramm whose wife Wendy was a major player in the Enron debacle?? And whose Gramm Leachy Bliley Act set the stage for the present banking crisis?
Funny how republicans are never held accountable when they fail spectacularly.
REPLY RATING
(5 RATINGS)
 
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