Peacenik doesn't have any sympathy for Bernie Madoff. And Peacenik doesnt' have any sympathy for some of the people who lost money with Bernie. Investments too good to be true, probably aren't true.
Peacenik has said it before. Wall St. is a casino. Any money anyone invests in Wall St. is gambling money. The laws governing Wall St. are not being enforced. The game is rigged. It is laughable that this huge Ponzi scheme has resulted in only one prosecution. Why aren't the laws and regulations being enforced? Because the guilty have bribed and bought the regulators. And also because the whole of Wall St. has become a Ponzi scheme. To regulate it is to blow down the house of cards. But the house of cards is coming down anyways. Peacenik says cash out and hunker down.
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
by Richard Adams
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 from selling 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.
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