For the second time this week, a judge is allowing disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff to remain free on bail.
A silver sport utility vehicle pulled out of the driveway in front of Madoff’s home early Wednesday afternoon for his ride to court. Paper on its side windows blocked journalists from confirming whether Madoff was inside it.
Prosecutors hoped once again to overturn a judge’s ruling that Madoff could remain free in his $7 million penthouse despite government claims he was trying to disperse valuable jewelry and watches to close relatives and friends.
Prosecutors argued that besieged financier Bernard Madoff needs to be sent to jail because he cannot be trusted under any set of bail conditions.
Prosecutors made the argument Wednesday as Madoff appeared in court as part of the ongoing fight over his bail package. The government believes he should be jailed for sending more than $1 million in jewelry and gifts to family and friends over the holidays.
But the defense said the government is using “inflammatory rhetoric and hyperbole” to make a flimsy argument. They said the gifts were an innocent mistake.
Madoff did not speak as he was ushered into the courthouse Wednesday. Metal barricades held back a large group of photographers.
(Sources: CBS2 HD / MyFoxNY)
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4 Responses
If he stole 50 billion where is it?
His assets don’t seem to reflect his level of power even if he was totally honest.
The investments were not under FDIC. And any investment that can pay so much dividend comes with risks. So if they gave him that money to invest and he didn’t pocket it himself, he just lost it and paid dividends what makes him different than any other investment manager?
Who knows? If the market didn’t crash maybe they would all continue earning the ten percent.
Most investors lost more than half their assets and anything aggressive such as this that can pay a few points over the market for 20 years must have been some very aggressive marketing and risky stocks so how was he to expect this when the entire country didn’t expect it. And who voted for Anthony Wiener to beg the judge to put him in jail?
Unbelievable! Obviously the more $$ you have the less accountable you are, even if that $$ was “earned” on the blood (literally in Madoff’s case) of others.
The judge should be disbarred: his bias is showing.
American law does require bail for anyone who has not been convicted. Under American law, one is considered innocent until proved guilty. While there are exceptions, none would apply to an old person who would have a hard time fleeing, and who ripped off people (allegedly) in virtually every country that has anyone worth ripping off in (he is accused of ripping off major financial institutions in most western countries-the business with some geezers in Palm Beach and a few charities was a tiny part of the affair).
In our Torah, there is no such thing as punishing someone by jailing him for years.
You either kill him, flog him, or impose a financial penalty, as appropriate. This is common sense and humane treatment of all concerned, victims and perpetrators alike.
The jail system is barbarian. It removes someone from family, and treats him/her worse than an animal, with no real benefit to the victim. It is costly to taxpayers, and just embitters everyone.
How superior our Torah jurisprudence is to this insanity of jail.