Madoff Pleads Guilty as Investigators Shift Focus to Possible Accomplices
Mar 16th, 2009 • Posted in: NewsSidebar: At business college near Madoff’s old stomping grounds, ethics is now the topic on everyone’s mind
NEW YORK and WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.
Bernard Madoff last week entered a guilty plea to charges that he masterminded one of the biggest swindles in history, and appears likely to spend years — possibly the rest of his life — in federal prison.
The presiding judge has not yet indicated what kind of sentence he will impose, but experts interviewed by Reuters said Madoff faces up to 150 years behind bars, and it is likely that any sentence handed down will span decades.
Madoff told the judge that he was “so deeply sorry and ashamed” as he pleaded guilty and was sent to jail to await sentencing, the Financial Times reports.
“I felt compelled to satisfy my clients’ expectations at any cost,” the once-revered New York broker told the packed courtroom, according to the FT. “When I began the Ponzi scheme, I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients.”
Now the focus is shifting to whether Madoff acted alone, reports the Times of London. Because Madoff entered a guilty plea without making any sort of sentence-reducing deal, he is not obligated to cooperate with investigators.
Madoff has said consistently that he acted alone, but prosecutors are setting their sights on others who may have helped in the massive fraud, including his wife, sons, and brother, according to CBS News. None yet has been charged.
As a sidebar to the scandal, MSNBC reports from Florida’s West Palm Beach, a community where Madoff did much of his recruiting of investors. At Northwood University, a local business college, the Madoff story was topic number one in every class and every conversation.
“There’s that huge attitude that people have that it’s okay until I get caught,” Dr. Cheryl Pridgeon, who founded the Center for Ethics and Business on campus, told MSNBC.
The Madoff scandal is resonating with students, Pridgeon added. “A lot of people want to teach ethics from the back end: This has gone wrong, this is what you don’t do,” Pridgeon said. “But the trick is to know before you get into the situation, that you are in gray area.”
Every student at Northwood is required to take an ethics course, notes the report.
Sources: Times of London, Mar. 15 — Reuters, Mar. 14 — MSNBC, Mar. 13 — Financial Times, Mar. 13.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Mar. 2 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 2 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 26 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 26 — Related Newsline Commentary, Jan. 19.
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