Madoff - go straight to jail, do not collect billions [they're your wife's now]

Bernie Madoff is heading straight to jail—where he arguably should have been all along. While that won’t make it any easier for the almost 5,000 people who may have lost close to $65 billion (only $1 billion has been recovered so far), it will likely give the public some comfort. The thought of Madoff returning to his $7 million apartment — or rather, his wife’s apartment as she is now claiming close to $70 million in assets as her own — had stoked outrage.

NVDL: Look, it's laughable that just one man gets indicted when 5000 people are owed money and his wife has $70 million in her bank account. Did she earn that money? If not, that money should go back to the investors. Apparently Kevin Bacon was one of them; another was Kyra Segewick.

clipped from www.businessweek.com There were a few moments of lightness in the courtroom—especially when Madoff’s lawyer noted how his client “at his wife’s own expense,” had paid for security, presumably to make sure he didn’t escape. That prompted a burst of laughter from the spectators. Other questions remain: What about the conspiracy charge? Madoff refused to admit to conspiracy, as that would have meant implicating other people. Right now, his top motivation seems to be (a) to protect as many assets as possible for his family and (b) to make sure no one else takes the fall. Who else is under suspicion? Prosecutors are looking closely at Ruth Madoff, Bernie’s wife, who withdrew millions shortly before his crimes became public. How will the victims recover the money? With the Madoff name now associated with the largest Ponzi scheme in history, one wonders if some family members might feel tempted at times to change their name.