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Madoff pleads guilty to all 11 charges
Bernard Madoff's freedom came to an end Thursday with the definitive "click-click" of handcuffs closing around his wrists, just moments after he pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of $65 billion in a transatlantic pyramid scheme. The disgraced financier told a packed Manhattan courtroom that he was "deeply sorry" for robbing and in many cases bankrupting thousands of unwitting clients, including a number of large Jewish charities and institutions, in a scam of unprecedented size and scale. "I knew what I was doing was wrong and criminal," Madoff, 70, said in a clear voice after entering guilty pleas on 11 criminal counts, ranging from securities and investment fraud to money laundering. Madoff, who had been living under house arrest at his posh $7 million penthouse apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side since he was charged in December, was taken to a federal detention center in lower Manhattan immediately after the hearing. He faces up to 150 years in prison when sentenced, possibly as early as June. Prosecutors estimate he handled more than $170b. in deposits and faked returns over the course of the swindle, skimming off millions to finance a lifestyle that included vacation homes in Palm Beach and Montauk, and lavish gifts to family and friends. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-13 |
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