Bernie Madoff gets 150 years

Bernie Madoff, the New York financial fraudster who swindled $65bn out of thousands of investors in a giant Ponzi scheme discovered last year, was today sentenced to 150 years in jail. Judge Denny Chin said the crime was "staggering" and "the breach of trust was massive".

Camera crews from around the world were waiting outside the federal district courthouse on Pearl Street when 71-year-old Madoff arrived from his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Lower Manhattan. He wore a dark suit, white shirt and tie.

Given the chance to address the judge, Madoff said he had made a terrible mistake and was tormented by what had happened: "I cannot make an excuse for my behaviour". He said his wife Ruth cried herself to sleep every night and claimed that reports that he and his wife were unsympathetic to his victims were "untrue".

He has now returned to his cell where he will stay until federal prison officials decide where he should serve his sentence - probably in a medium-security jail in upstate New York or New Jersey.

"There will be people who think that Bernie can give them stock tips, but I don't see anyone being his big pal," said Larry Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants who served 10 years for his ties to organised crime. "I believe he'll be treated like an outcast," Levine told CNN.

Many of his victims were in court today to talk about the pain they went through as a result of Madoff's fraud. "How could someone do this to us?" asked Donald Ambrosino, a retired New York City corrections officer who was the first victim to give evidence. Ambrosino lost his life savings with Madoff. "We worked honestly and so hard," he told reporters before the hearing.

"We're hoping for a big sentence only as a deterrent," said another victim, Cynthia Friedman, who also lost her life savings with Madoff. Mrs Friedman was one of the many in court who applauded when Judge Chin handed down the maximum sentence possible. He said there had been no letters submitted in support of Madoff's character.

As The First Post reports in a photo special today, many celebrities lost millions with Madoff. They include the Hollywood stars John Malkovich and Kevin Bacon and the Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar. A charity run by Steven Spielberg called the Wunderkind Foundation is thought to have lost 70 per cent of its assets.

Victims of the fraud will have to wait up to another three months for the judge to make a decision on repaying them after prosecutors requested more time to go through the financier's records. ·