The man acting in Bernie Madoff’s name has gotten a Supreme green light to go island-hopping in search of the Ponzi mastermind’s stolen billions. The man himself will not be following suit, as it turns out the judge who sentenced him to 150 years in prison did not expect him to live to be 221.
Prison authorities had determined Madoff was likely to die within 18 months of kidney disease. Sample had argued that Madoff was confined to a wheelchair and wanted to contest claims by prosecutors that he has failed to show remorse…. [U.S. District Judge Denny] Chin said in his written decision Thursday that in 2009 “it was fully my intent that he live out the rest of his life in prison.”
He noted that Madoff’s lawyers then had asked for a sentence of as little as a dozen years, hoping their client would again see “the light of day.”/“I was not persuaded,” Chin said. “I did not believe that Mr. Madoff was deserving of that hope. Nothing has happened in the 11 years since to change my thinking.”
Bernie’s lawyers, every bit as tireless and dogged as Madoff trustee Irving Picard, plan to once again ask President Trump to spring their client. Given how the president feels about his fellow scam artist, however, that seems a bit of a longshot. Which leaves old Bern with one last hope of breathing free one last time: His fellow Democrat Joe Biden.
Here’s a winning platform position for a Democrat who wants to be president: If elected, I’ll commute the sentences of Bernie Madoff…. Biden’s complete statement: “Nobody should be in jail for a nonviolent crime. As — when we were in the White House, we released 36,000 people from the federal prison system. Nobody should be in jail for a drug problem. They should be going directly to a rehabilitation. We build more rehabilitation centers, not prisons.”
Judge denies early release for Bernie Madoff, says he deserves to die behind bars [MarketWatch]