Proshares Ultra Financials (UYG)

[*~1Best~*]

Paradoxically, we are seeing the same, but since Madoff is an individual, he is not getting away with it.

"must-know" information his comment on Cap-n-Trade bill on p.24.


To download

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16868596/How-Goldman-Sachs-Pumped-and-Dumped-US-Economy


To read in full screen

http://www.scribd.com/full/16868596?access_key=key-k5z6qsr8uyarm9jnbi8

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Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years, Sending Strong Signal

CNBC.com
| 29 Jun 2009 | 12:04 PM ET

Swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years, a federal judge ruled Monday, calling his claims less than compelling.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said Madoff's breach of trust was massive, and that he lied to investors and to the SEC to buy homes, yachts and pay country club fees. He called the maximum sentence symbolic.

"Not a single letter was submitted in support of Madoff," Chin said. "Not friends, not family. That is telling."

The sentence is in line with the judgment that prosectors were seeking for the multi-billion dollar fraud scheme.

Madoff's attorney Ira Sorkin had tried to argue that sentence was excessive.

While Madoff, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and tie, sat with his head down and his back to his victims as they delivered their testimony, he stood and faced them during his statement and apologized.

"I cannot offer an excuse for my behavior," Madoff said. "How do you excuse deceiving investors and 200 employees? How do you excuse lying to my sons and two brothers? How do you excuse lying to a wife who stood by me for 50 years and still stands by me? There is no excuse for that. I made a terrible mistake."

He went on to say he left a legacy of shame for his family.

Nine victims offered heart-wrenching testimonies earlier in the day, asking for the judge to deliver the maximum sentence. Said Burt Ross, who lost $5 million in the scheme, "Commit Madoff to prison for the rest of his life. May Satan grow a fourth mouth where Madoff can spend the rest of eternity."



Ruth Madoff is expected to deliver a statement later in the day.

The jailed Madoff already has taken a severe financial hit: Last week, a judge issued a preliminary $171 billion forfeiture order stripping Madoff of all his personal property, including real estate, investments, and $80 million in assets his wife Ruth had claimed were hers. The order left her with $2.5 million.
# CNBC Special Report: The Bernard Madoff Story
# CNBC Slideshow: Gallery of Rogues

The terms require the Madoffs to sell a $7 million Manhattan apartment where Ruth Madoff still lives. An $11 million estate in Palm Beach, Fla., a $4 million home in Montauk and a $2.2 million boat will be put on the market as well.

Before Madoff became a symbol of Wall Street greed, he had earned a reputation as a trusted money manager with a Midas touch. Even as the market fluctuated, clients of his secretive investment advisory business — from Florida retirees to celebrities such as Steven Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon and Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax — for decades enjoyed steady double-digit returns.

But late last year, Madoff made a dramatic confession: Authorities say he pulled his sons aside and told them it was "all just one big lie."

Madoff pleaded guilty in March to securities fraud and other charges, saying he was "deeply sorry and ashamed." He insisted that he acted alone, describing a separate wholesale stock-trading firm run by his sons and brother as honest and legitimate.
© 2009 CNBC.com

URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/31610169/