Sorry Can Be A Hollow Word

Federal Judge Denny Chin is not a household name. But, to Ponzi scam artist Bernie Madoff, Judge Chin is etched in his memory for the remainder of his natural life. Judge Chin presided over the Governments trial of Mr. Madoff and upon conviction, sentenced the new federal prisoner to one hundred and fifty years of incarceration. Upon his conviction, Bernie Madoff apologized to the victims of his elaborate Ponzi scheme, who were in the courtroom, the day of his sentencing. But, to many who have lost their life savings, sorry had a very hollow meaning.

Though, it is said, the losses may not be as great as reported. But, there are some people who have life stories altered because of Mr. Madoff’s actions. The following is an article that appeared in the Miami Herald and online. Written by Brittany Levine, this is the plight of three of Bernie Madoff’s clients;
http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/1128728.html
Three South Florida victims of Bernard L. Madoff tell their stories
Three South Floridians revealed how they were victimized by Bernard Madoff. One is 'ashamed' because he got his friends and family involved.
The human toll in the Bernard L. Madoff scandal stretches from England to California, but few places have been hit harder than South Florida.
Three local residents, who are victims, offered their own variations on a theme of fraud and deceit in the days after Madoff was sentenced to 150 years for the long-running Ponzi scheme:
RICHARD SPRING
About 20 years ago, Bernie Madoff sat next to Richard Spring, of Boca Raton, on a New York subway. The two chatted about investments.
Now Spring wishes they never met.
Spring, 70, invested most of his savings with Madoff, according to his attorney Kenneth Lipman. The former stockbroker told his wife, his cousins, and his friends to invest with Madoff, too. He thought it was a safe bet, and for years he saw his investments grow by leaps and bounds.
Then it all crumbled as federal investigators exposed the massive Ponzi scheme. Spring has since become a virtual hermit, rarely leaving the house. He doesn't like to talk about his loss because he's ''ashamed'' he got his friends and family involved, Lipman said.
''It's been a tremendous blow to him. He used to be an optimistic, happy person. Not anymore,'' Lipman said.
He's cut back on spending, especially on luxuries such as his golf membership. His wife is ill and he has to pay her medical bills.
''Like everyone else, he thought he had a great deal of money that he could live off of for the remainder of his natural life,'' Lipman said. ``But he's a changed man.''
GUIDO PARENTE
It was his cousin, Bernie Madoff's longtime secretary, who convinced Guido Parente to invest. He said he ended up losing $1.2 million.
Parente calls himself a ''hands-on kind of guy'' who ''never understood how shuffling money around made more money.'' But Annette Bongiorno, his cousin through marriage, always bragged about her boss' stellar investments.
So Parente, who owns a glass manufacturing company in Plantation, got hooked. His daughter, who owns a children's gym in Fort Lauderdale, also invested $100,000 with Madoff.
Bongiorno, he said, made a commission off the investments. She could not be reached for a comment.
Parente, 66, planned to retire last year and spend time with his family in Benevento, a small town in southern Italy known for its yellow liqueur and hazelnut candy.
But he's back to work. Since the Madoff scheme unraveled, he has been rebuilding his savings and has a ''safe'' Morgan Stanley account.
Parente's hobby is building big houses with marble floors and Tuscan-style roofs. With his extra cash, he would build million-dollar homes on acre lots in Plantation. A few years ago, he sold a house and planned to pay off other mortgages with the profit.
But Bongiorno, 60, convinced him to invest it with Madoff, he said. The slow real-estate market has stalled the sale of the 7,000-square-foot house with an asking price of $2.9 million, and Parente is stuck paying the mortgage.
LORI SIROTKIN
Lori Sirotkin invested more than $1 million, including her children's college funds, with Bernie Madoff. And now the 52-year-old's world has been turned upside down.
She moved recently to Boca Raton from New Jersey to be closer to her mother. Her father died earlier this year. She's divorced, receives no alimony and is currently looking for a job in the medical profession.
Back in New Jersey she tried to cut costs. Only one light was allowed per room. She turned down the thermostat and layered her two teenage daughters in sweaters. If her daughters needed new clothes, ''they just had to squeeze into'' the old ones.
''I was broke,'' she said. ``My kids grew up thinking they could go to whatever college, whatever graduate school they wanted. Now I'm praying for scholarships.''
She said she knew nothing about finances -- her husband took care of the books -- but she trusted Madoff.
Recently, she joined a Madoff Google group, an online network of victims who share information. She's learning about finances and trying to protect herself for the future.
She has no retirement fund because she has always worked part-time.
For now, she waits for payment from the Securities Investor Protection Corp., the government-chartered corporation that compensates customers of failed brokerages for up to $500,000.
''When the money comes through, I'll be able to sleep at night,'' she said.
``Right now, I'm still very scared.''

No doubt Mr. Madoff is trying to take complete responsibility so no one else is prosecuted. But, let us face it, his wife and fellow family members, as well as, close employment allies had to know what was going on. I am sure he will have to cut more deals or he might find his prison cell becoming awfully crowded. The Government continues to pursue his wife Ruth and has confiscated all but 2.5 million of her assets. Other family members are being investigated as well as employees of his company. This investigation could take a few years before everything is sorted out. The SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) needs to look at itself as well considering this scam took place right under their noses. Who really knows how far reaching this case may become.

Personally, I do not think the prison sentence will stop future scam artists. I believe Judge Chin had good intentions, on sending a message, about how behavior like Mr. Madoff’s will not be tolerated. But, in the end, someone will come along and think they will get away with it. The reason, they believe they will not make the same mistakes as Bernie Madoff did. More than likely, it will not be the same mistakes. But, they will eventually get caught. After initial success, their greed will be too tempting to stop themselves.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1893837_1894189,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/business/25bernie.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/1128728.html
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Madoff/story?id=8041942&page=1
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1757090