Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison -- the maximum amount possible -- for his role in a massive Ponzi scheme.
"I'm sorry," Madoff told victims in the New York City courtroom who had delivered harrowing impact statements. "I know that doesn't help you."
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said the fraud committed by Madoff over two decades was "staggering" and "extraordinarily evil."
There were cheers and applause when he handed down the sentence, while Madoff stood facing the judge with his hands clasped in front of him. He had pleaded guilty to 11 fraud-related counts for bilking hundreds of people out of billions of dollars.
The prosecution wanted Madoff to spend the rest of his life behind bars, arguing that he must pay a high price for stealing "ruthlessly and without remorse."
Madoff's defence team had argued for a 12-year sentence, saying prison would effectively be a life sentence for the 71-year-old former Nasdaq chairman. They also said the maximum sentence would reflect vengeance, not justice.
"Vengeance is not the goal of punishment," said lawyer Ira Lee Sorkin.
But Chin noted that not a single friend or relative had written on behalf of Madoff to ask for lenience. Even Madoff's wife, Ruth, was absent during sentencing. She later issued a statement.
"All those touched by this fraud feel betrayed, disbelieving the nightmare they woke to," she said. "I am embarrassed and ashamed. Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused. The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years."
A number of those defrauded by Madoff supplied victim impact statements to the court, explaining the crushing impact his crimes had on their finances and their lives. More than 100 victims had sent letters to the judge requesting the chance to address Madoff, but in the end, nine were asked to speak.
"Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can't wake from," said Carla Hirshhorn.
"He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values," said Tom Fitzmaurice. "He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife Ruth could live a life of luxury beyond belief."
Another victim compared Madoff to one of the tormented souls in Dante's Inferno.
Retired corrections officer Dominic Ambrosino said Madoff had committed an "indescribably heinous crime" and should know "he is imprisoned in much the same way he imprisoned us and others."
Many of the victims called for a harsh punishment for Madoff, and Chin acknowledged the suffering of the victims when he delivered his sentence.
"Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll," Chin said.
When asked whether he had anything to say, Madoff rose and spoke for about 10 minutes, saying he and his wife were "tormented" by what they had done.
"I'm responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain, I understand that," he said.
"I live in a tormented state now, knowing all of the pain and suffering that I've created. I've left a legacy of shame, as some of my victims have pointed out, to my family and my grandchildren."
Report on Business reporter Doug Steiner, who first met Madoff more than 20 years ago, said he was "a very charming man -- when you try to raise the type of money he raised, you have to be a charming person. All good con artists are."
But now he believes Madoff is "a bit of a psychopath."
"If he could sleep at night and do what he did, the man isn't normal," Steiner told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel.
