Madoff victims beg judge for justice ahead of sentencing

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Letters sent from victims of Ponzi scheme swindler Bernie Madoff to the judge who will sentence him June 29 describe how their lives are in ruin and beg for the maximum sentence under the law.

The letters, more than 100 in all, were released today by federal prosecutors in a court document filed with U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan. Many referred to Madoff as one of the worst criminals in history.

Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty in March to defrauding investors in what is believed to be the biggest-ever Ponzi scheme, resulting in losses of as much as $65 billion. He could be sentenced to as many as 150 years in prison.

Many of the letter writers described themselves as elderly and now without any savings, after trusting Madoff for years with all of their financial assets:

--- ‘I am now destitute,’ wrote 76-year-old Allan Goldstein of Woodland Hills. ‘We had to sell our home in upstate New York, at a very reduced price to avoid foreclosure. We are now living in one room in my daughter’s house in California.’

--- ‘I will have to sell my home in a market that is devoid of buyers,’ wrote Norma Hill of Armonk, N.Y. ‘I will not be able to keep my promise to my granddaughter to help her pay for college.’

--- ‘Since Dec. 11, 2008, life has been a living hell,’ wrote Carla and Stanley Hirschhorn of Manalapan, N.J. ‘It feels like a nightmare that we can’t wake up from.’

--- ‘I have been wiped out. I cannot get a job. Who would hire me at my age?’ wrote 86-year-old Adele Fox.

Some of the victims who had taken out some of the money they had with Madoff over the years said they lived in fear of a ‘clawback’ of those payments by the bankruptcy trustee for Madoff’s investment company.

The New York Times has posted a file including all of the letters. Go here to read them.

-- Tom Petruno