A federal judge sentenced Bernard L. Madoff to 150 years in prison on Monday for operating a huge Ponzi scheme that devastated thousands of people, calling his crimes “extraordinarily evil.”

In pronouncing the sentence — the maximum he could have handed down — Judge Denny Chin turned aside Mr. Madoff’s own assertions of remorse and rejected the suggestion from Mr. Madoff’s lawyers that there was a sense of “mob vengeance” surrounding calls for a long prison term.

“Objectively speaking, the fraud here was staggering,” the judge said. “It spanned more than 20 years.”

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Stock Market • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

1. MikeS wrote: This crime was worse than Enron or the other business swindles 8-10 years ago? June 29, 2:19 pm | [comment link]

2. Jeffersonian wrote: Ahhh…he’ll only do half of it, at best. June 29, 3:01 pm | [comment link]

3. Jon wrote: If he only does a fifth of it, he’ll be 120 years old when he’s released. June 29, 6:42 pm | [comment link]

4. Sick & Tired of Nuance wrote: This is absurd.  Why not just sentence him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole?  I don’t get the “150” years thing. As my nom de plume indicates…I am so sick and tired of this sort of mealy-mouthed language.  I have a visceral reaction to it.  It is positively Orwellian.  The double speak and thought crime that pervades our society must have an end.  I will be so glad when the Lord of Truth returns. June 30, 7:10 pm | [comment link]

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