U.S. & World News

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Ruth Madoff, the wife of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, issued a statement on Monday afternoon following her husband's sentencing of 150 years in prison for building the largest Ponzi scheme in history, CBS station WCBS-TVa reported.

In her first public comments since her husband's arrest in December, Ruth Madoff said she was both embarrassed and confused by the man who she had known and loved for most of her life.

I am breaking my silence now, because my reluctance to speak has been interpreted as indifference or lack of sympathy for the victims of my husband Bernie's crime, which is exactly the opposite of the truth.

From the moment I learned from my husband that he had committed an enormous fraud, I have had two thoughts -- first, that so many people who trusted him would be ruined financially and emotionally, and second, that my life with the man I have known for over 50 years was over. Many of my husband's investors were my close friends and family. And in the days since December, I have read, with immense pain, the wrenching stories of people whose life savings have evaporated because of his crime.

My husband was the one we (and I include myself) respected and trusted with our lives and our livelihoods, often for many, many years, and who was respected in the securities industry as well. Then there is the other man who stunned us all with his confession and is responsible for this terrible situation in which so many now find themselves. Lives have been upended and futures have been taken away. All those touched by this fraud feel betrayed; disbelieving the nightmare they woke to. I am embarrassed and ashamed. Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused. The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years.

In the end, to say that I feel devastated for the many whom my husband has destroyed is truly inadequate. Nothing I can say seems sufficient regarding the daily suffering that all those innocent people are enduring because of my husband. But if it matters to them at all, please know that not a day goes by when I don't ache over the stories that I have heard and read.

Bernard  Madoff, who by his own admission sometime 18 years ago concocted a devious plan that would turn into the world's biggest and most diabolical financial fraud in history, will spend the remainder of his existence in prison.

Inside a U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday morning, a judge sentenced the former Wall Street bigwig to 150 years behind bars for his crimes, the maximum possible sentence.

The courtroom erupted into a chorus of loud cheering and applause after the sentence was read.

In one of the most anticipated rulings this year, U.S. Judge Denny Chin decided upon the sentence after hearing the requests for no mercy from prosecutors and many of the victims whom the 71-year-old Madoff wiped out.

Chin spoke for about five minutes, calling the fraud "staggering" and noted that it spanned more than 20 years. He said "the breach of trust was massive" and said that any sentence above 15 or 20 years would be symbolic.

"I am deeply sorry," Chin told the victims.

Madoff, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a tie, sat and listened as emotional witnesses described how he spoiled their security, and they urged Chin to send him to prison for life.

"Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can't wake from," said Carla Hirshhorn.

"He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values," said Tom Fitzmaurice. "He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife Ruth could live a life of luxury beyond belief."

Dominic Ambrosino called it an "indescribably heinous crime" and urged a long prison sentence so "will know he is imprisoned in much the same way he imprisoned us and others."

He added: "In a sense, I would like somebody in the court today to tell me how long is my sentence."

One woman talked about how she's been forced to begin collecting cans and turning them in for deposit money.

Afterwards, Madoff spoke and apologized to his family and to the victims, saying "I dug myself deeper into a hole" as the scheme progressed and that he made an "error in judgment ... I could not accept that for once in my life, I failed," he said.

"Saying I'm sorry is not enough I will live with this pain, this torment, for the rest of my life," he added. Then Madoff turned to face his victims and said: "I turn to face you, I know this will not help. I'm sorry."

In his ruling, though, Chin said he didn't believe Madoff was sincere in his apology. He also said he knew that any sentence he gave would not bring back the money the victims lost in the scheme, but he hoped that it would bring some bit of healing.

While a vast segment of Madoff's victims wrote to Chin to tell of the ruin that's become their lives, the judge said not one member of Madoff's family wrote him to say why Madoff should receive leniency.

It's estimated that Madoff crushed the financial security of about 8,000 victims. The former NASDAQ chairman bilked his investors of what's been figured to be $65 billion, the largest Ponzi scheme ever. He pleaded guilty to 11 criminal counts, including charges of securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, false statements, perjury, making false filings with the SEC, and theft from an employee benefit plan.

For some who've lost everything, it's no longer about the man who cheated them.

"I don't care. We don't care what happens to Madoff. We'd just like to get our money back," victim Lawrence Cohen said in a recent interview.

Madoff's attorney, Ira Sorkin, had sent Chin a letter requesting the sentence to be a mere 12 years, calling that a "humane" punishment.

"Mr. Madoff is currently 71 years old and has an approximate life expectancy of 13 years," wrote Sorkin. "A prison term of 12 years -- just short of an effective life sentence -- will sufficiently address the goals of deterrence, protecting the public and promoting respect for the law."

That notion sickened those who suffered at the hands of Madoff.

"I would like to see him get a lifetime imprisonment, and not in one of the fancy country club jails," victim Rose Less says.

Rose and Jack Less claimed they're out $800,000 because of Madoff. What made their case more heartbreaking is the Securities Investor Protection Corporation will hand out money to other Madoff victims, but not to them. The SIPC has a formula that excludes the Less' because they withdrew money over the years.

"They were victimized obviously by Madoff, and now seemingly they are victimized again by the SIPC trustee, and essentially the SEC too," Less family attorney Barry Lax says.

"We started to sell our furniture, some of our things that we value, so we should have some money immediately," Rose says.

On Friday, a federal judge ordered Madoff to forfeit $170 billion in assets. His wife, Ruth, must also give up $80 million of her assets, including her Manhattan penthouse, but that still leaves her with $2.5 million.

Madoff was arrested in December and spent several months on house arrest before he was ordered to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. At the time of Madoff's arrest, fictitious account statements showed thousands of clients had $65 billion. But investigators say he never traded securities, and instead used money from new investors to pay returns to existing clients.

Prosecutors said Friday that the total losses, which span decades, haven't been calculated. But 1,341 accounts opened since December 1995 alone suffered loses of $13.2 billion, they said.

 

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)