But it was the global recession which effectively prompted Mr Madoff's demise as investors, hit by the downturn, tried to withdraw about $7bn from his funds and he could not find the money to cover it. That summer he mapped out his career and followed it almost to the letter. Madoff was sent to do what amounted to a life sentence at Butner Federal Correctional Complex, about 45 miles northwest of Raleigh, N.C. . Mr. IRWIN CANTOR: I'm a professional loser, yeah. [9] He was sworn in as a Circuit Judge on April 26, 2010. He cited Mr. Madoffs victims individuals from all walks of life and told the story of the widow who had been reassured by Mr. Madoff. Judge Chin graduated from Princeton University magna cum laude and received his law degree from Fordham Law School. Judge Chin said he was particularly moved by an account of a man who had invested his life savings with Mr. Madoff, then died of a heart attack two weeks later. A defendant should get his just deserts, he remembered thinking. At Madoff's sentencing in June 2009, wrathful former clients stood to demand the maximum punishment. In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said a jury might conclude the network "crossed the line from responsible journalism to irresponsible and reckless intrusion into law. Judge Denny Chin denied Mr Madoff's request, noting many victims were still suffering due to their financial losses. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. He then specialized in employment law at another firm. He recalled when the Houston Rockets came to town, along with the team's new star, Yao Ming, his younger children were excited about going to the game. There was yet another home in the south of France, private jets and a yacht. The purpose of this site is to provide information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government. The ugly truth: No securities were ever bought or sold. Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison for stealing billions of dollars from hundreds of investors over decades in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. Judge Chin then began reading his statement from the bench, adding a few phrases to acknowledge what he had seen and heard in court that morning. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Among them was Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who recalled meeting Madoff years earlier at a dinner where they talked about history, education and Jewish philosophy not money. Good candidates will often lead the question into a conversation. Madoff's other son, Andrew, died from cancer at age 48. It was symbolic. But in truth no securities were ever bought or sold. In 2009, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin sentenced Madoff to 150 years in prison, a verdict he said sent a message his crimes were "extraordinarily evil, and that this kind of manipulation of the . Judge Chin ran with that idea. Madoff's wife, Ruth, is still living. Judge Denny Chin called Madoffs crimes extraordinarily evil. As a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, Judge Denny Chin sees some of the most cutting-edge cases in the country, so much so that three of his cases were used as plots for the popular Law and Ordertelevision series. "One of the best things I did as a judge over the years was to preside over the naturalization ceremony. "But I did not believe he was genuinely remorseful," he recalled. As NPR's Mike Pesca reports, that pain and suffering was evident in the court today. There were several more Asian-American faces in Madison Square Gardens that night too. He is now a United States circuit judge for the Second Circuit. "[6] While a student at Princeton, Chin was a staff writer and later managing editor at The Daily Princetonian. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin called the scope of the fraud "staggering" and gave the 71-year-old financier the maximum sentence allowed, ensuring Madoff would live out his days behind bars. (Its season tickets for the New York Mets went for $38,100.) Im surprised Chin didnt suggest stoning in the public square, he added. [15] PTC and WWE settled out of court and, as part of the settlement agreement, the PTC paid WWF $3.5 million USD and PTC president Bozell issued a public apology. He clerked for the Honorable Henry F. Werker in the Southern District of New York; was associated with the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell; served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; was a founding partner of the law firm Campbell, Patrick & Chin; and was a partner at a firm specializing in labor and employment law, Vladeck, Waldman & Engelhard, P.C. Denny Chin is a United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. US District Judge Denny Chin sentenced Madoff to the maximum possible term. Although the judge did not tell his staff his own views that day, he made it clear that he would not choose a term arbitrarily, nor would he compromise with a number halfway between zero and 150 years. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Circuit Court of Appeals, noted the continuing suffering of Madoff's thousands of victims who lost $17.5 billion when a decades-long scheme that . In his ruling, Chin said the network "placed itself squarely in the middle of a police operation, pushing the police to engage in tactics that were unnecessary and unwise, solely to generate more dramatic footage for a television show.". A federal prison website listed his probable release date as November 11, 2139. But his investment advisory business was exposed in 2008 as a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out people's fortunes and ruined charities and foundations. Please enter valid email address to continue. The Madoffs also took a severe financial hit: A judge issued a $171 billion forfeiture order in June 2009 stripping Madoff of all his personal property, including real estate, investments, and $80 million in assets his wife, Ruth, had claimed were hers. He was soft spoken and an intellectual. Chin described one difficult case, the "Candyman" case, where federal agents had issued subpoenas around the country to anyone who had submitted their email address to a web site that gave access to child pornography once you were made a member through that address. [16], In Fox v. Franken, Chin denied Fox News Channel (who alleged a trademark violation) an injunction against Al Franken's Book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. As Fordham University School of Law's inaugural Lawrence W. Pierce Distinguished Jurist in Residence, Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit says he . "It was a very vigorous job process because once you have the job you have it for life," he added. "He clearly represented something for a lot of people," he said. Don't you get it? Imposing a 150-year sentence in 2009, judge Denny Chin called Madoffs crimes extraordinarily evil. Rather, they are doing what they are supposed to be doing placing their trust in our system of justice.. He had no values, former investor Tom Fitzmaurice told the judge at the sentencing. Then he. Splitting the baby, to me, was sending the wrong message, he said. He was not bound by that figure, and he considered going beneath it, he said. "There's no cure for my type of disease. He also wrote that he had received no letters on Mr. Madoffs behalf: The absence of such support is telling.. There was also Carla Hirshhorn, who said she was thankful that her father died before he realized that his wife's financial security was ruined. On March 23, 2011, Chin rejected Google's plan to digitize every book published, saying the plan violated copyright laws. On October 6, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Chin to the Second Circuit. Madoff responded: "There is no innocent explanation.". I mean, serial killers get a death sentence, but thats virtually what he gave me.. He has taught Asian Americans and the Law at Fordham, Harvard, and Yale Law Schools, and he taught Legal Writing at Fordham for more than thirty years. In her lawsuit, Patricia Conradt claims a police officer at the scene of the shooting told a "Dateline" producer: "That'll make good TV. Madoff raised his profile by using the expertise to help launch Nasdaq, the first electronic stock exchange, and became so respected that he advised the Securities and Exchange Commission on the system. Madoff's chief financial officer, Frank DiPascali, said in a guilty plea in 2009 that the statements detailing trades were "all fake.". Chin dismissed the suit Sam Sloan vs. Paul Truong and Susan Polgar in which Sloan accused Susan Polgar and Paul Truong of posting thousands of obscene "Fake Sam Sloan" remarks in his name over a two-year period in an effort to win election to the board of the United States Chess Federation (Polgar and Truong were elected to the board and Sloan was defeated). The Associated Press contributed to this report. DiPascali recounted for jurors how just before the scheme was exposed, Madoff called him into his office. The scandal also exacted a personal toll on the family: One of his sons, Mark, killed himself on the second anniversary of his father's arrest in 2010. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Judge Denny Chin denied Mr Madoff's request, noting many victims were still suffering due to their financial losses. A spokeswoman for the company did not immediately return a telephone message. In the end, that fraud brought fresh meaning to "Ponzi scheme," named after Charles Ponzi, who was convicted of mail fraud after bilking thousands of people out of a mere $10 million between 1919 and 1920. "They were two struggling kids from Queens. [22] On April 18, 2016, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal. Judge Chin says he understood Mr. Sorkins goal. He would include the story in his draft. Madoff admitted to committing securities fraud via a Ponzi scheme starting in the early 1990s, which involved potentially as much as $65 billion. Last year his lawyers filed court papers to try to get him released from prison during the pandemic, saying he had end-stage renal disease and other chronic medical conditions. And they kind of looked at each other and said yes. They agreed that it was probably not the best thing to do, he said. It collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis. But Chin's position is unique for another reason as well he was the first Asian-American appointed to a federal district court judgeship outside the 9th Circuit, and is now just one of six Asian-American Article III judges today. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. They worked hard," said Thomas Morling, who worked closely with the Madoff brothers in the mid-1980s setting up and running computers that made their firm a trusted leader in off-floor trading. "I think in time we'll get more Asian-American judges as these Asian-American litigators get more experience under their belts," he said. Roadways to the Bench: Who Me? ", She added: "Not a day goes by when I don't ache over the stories that I have heard and read.". He knew he would be arriving at work early. "Often being a woman places you at a disadvantage at many big firms," he said. US District Judge Denny Chin showed no mercy, sentencing Madoff to the maximum 150 years in prison. Frankly, that was not the message I wanted to be sent, he said. Mr. Sorkin also proposed another option: 15 to 20 years. Madoff investor George Nierenberg thought the reason Madoff spoke to the victims might have been something he said at Madoff's plea hearing several months ago. It feels like the nightmare we can't wake from," said Carla Hirshhorn. Another victim, Michael Schwartz, told Madoff he wished a jail cell would be the disgraced financier's coffin. U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Denny Chin, a Chinese immigrant who grew up in a Hell's Kitchen tenement, is the subject of a newly released Pathways to the Bench video profile, the eighth in a video series in which federal judges talk about challenges that helped prepare them to serve justice. At various times, he referred to his monumental fraud as a "problem," "an error of judgment" and "a tragic mistake. He decided to review it again the following day. In the 1950s, he engineered and produced classical music albums for Angel Records. His own son attended Stuyvesant High School, a top public school in New York which bases admittance solely on a test. He was the sixth judge to address a motion to suppress in cases around the country, and he was the first to grant the motion. "It's rare than an institutional client gets handed down to a woman.". As he had from the start, Madoff insisted in his plea that he acted alone something the FBI never believed. Five went on trial in late 2013 and watched DiPascali take the witness stand as the government's star witness. Thanks (I guess) for spinning the wheel in my favor! Judge Chin wrote back. Prosecutors let her keep $2.5m from the the $825m fortune the couple once possessed. Part of the reason life tenure is so important is so that judges will not be unduly influenced by public opinion, he said, although he is careful to consider both sides of an issue in his judgments. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Bernie was by no means perfect. Updated on: April 14, 2021 / 7:00 PM Judge Denny Chin spoke informally to students at an event sponsored by APALSA April 1. Yet symbolism was important, he said, given the enormity of Mr. Madoffs crimes. From 1994 until his appointment to the Second Circuit, he served as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. February 26, 2008 / 5:54 PM The courts probation department had recommended a 50-year term, while the government had requested 150 years. I don't think so," he said. Michael Schwartz counted himself as lucky, at least compared to his disabled twin brother, whose ability to live in a good group home was destroyed by Bernie Madoff. After the meeting, a lawyer for the family contacted regulators, who alerted federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On the other hand, because he is one of few Asian-American federal judges, "I know that I have to do a good job, because I know that if I screw up, it's not just me," it will be the "Chinese judge" that screwed up. This story, "," originally appeared in The New York Times. [8][9], President Bill Clinton nominated Chin to the Southern District bench on March 24, 1994, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. But as he finished for the night, he said, he felt vaguely unsatisfied with the draft, which he saved on his computer at 9:29 p.m. I was still struggling with the reasoning, he recalled. Before the sentence was handed down, Madoff faced the wrath of nine of the hundreds of people he cheated in the fraud that wiped out fortunes large and small. Money launderers 'prey on generation Covid', Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Citing data that showed Mr. Madoff, who was then 71, could expect to live about 13 more years, Mr. Sorkin asked for a term of 12 years just short of an effective life sentence, as he put it suggesting that Mr. Madoff might be allowed a year of freedom before he died. The scam involved an estimated $65bn, a figure that included gains Mr Madoff's clients believed they had made due to fake account statements. "I am embarrassed and ashamed," she said. Before issuing his ruling, Chin said he reviewed a copy of the Feb. 20, 2007 episode. His 8-year-old felt torn and said, "'I love the Knicks, but I love Yao.'" Weeks before Bernard Madoff's December arrest, statements showed that his firm had $56 billion in accounts. Menaka Guruswamy, Arundhati Katju Helped Win Landmark Ruling in India, Consumer Information (ABA Required Disclosures), Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), Jamar Walker 11 Makes History as First LGBT Federal Judge in Virginia, Sean Onwualu 24 Trades in Playbooks for Casebooks, LGBT Rights Litigators To Receive Jefferson Medals in Law, Big Data and War: Can a Cyberattack Warrant an Armed Response? He also responded to the assertion in Mr. Sorkins letter that the unified tone of the victims statements suggested a desire for a type of mob vengeance that would seemingly negate the judges role. The mans widow had met with Mr. Madoff, who had put his arm around her and told her not to worry, that her money was safe with him. With the verdict, Chin said he was sending a message "that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil, and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll.". Bernard Madoffs Manhattan penthouse, Long Island getaway and Florida estate are for sale in the hopes of raising tens of millions of dollars to help reimburse victims of his Ponzi scheme. The order left her with $2.5 million. This contrasted with Madoff's attorney, Ira Sorkin, who spoke in a halting and, at times, qualified language. "I saw what a great job [being a federal judge] was," he said. NYT reporter: Son's suicide gave Madoff sense of contrition, Author: Madoffs kin likely didnt know of scam. [17], Chin also presided over the criminal prosecution of Larry Stewart, the handwriting expert who was accused of committing perjury during the trial of Martha Stewart (no relation). Chin was born in 1954 in Kowloon, Hong Kong and came to the U.S. in 1956. "Life has been a living hell. He stole from the poor. Judge Chin read his passage on retribution, which, after the length of the sentence itself, appeared to have the greatest impact. If the mind can scarcely comprehend a figure so large, the federal sentencing guidelines don't even try. He stole from the poor. Copyright 2009 NPR. Madoff, known as Bernie, was a former chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange, and was regarded for years as an investment sage. "When Peter or Bernie said something that they were going to do, their word was their bond," Morling said in a 2008 interview. Chin said he felt diversity on the bench was a valuable goal, since it may help some plaintiffs or defendants understand that the legal system represents them as well. At both levels, Judge Chin was the first Asian American federal judge outside the Ninth Circuit. Andrew Denney. In another case, Chin tried to offer some off-the-record advice to a young Korean-American lawyer who had turned an attempt to collect on a note into a RICO case. Madoff was in a bathrobe when two FBI agents arrived at his door unannounced on a December morning. He had no values," former investor Tom Fitzmaurice told the judge at the sentencing. Following his pleading, Chin revoked Madoff's $10 million bail and ordered him to report immediately to jail at the request of the federal prosecutors, citing that Madoff had both the resources and the incentive to flee before his formal sentencing. Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died in a federal prison Wednesday, the federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to CBS News.. One of the traditional notions of punishment, he wrote, is that an offender should be punished in proportion to his blameworthiness. Mr. Madoffs crimes were extraordinarily evil, he added. With membership, the site offered the options of chat rooms, surveys, and "vids and pics" for "people who like kids." Fraudster sentenced to 150 years in jail dies from natural causes, New York financier ran scheme that cheated investors of billions. They were two struggling kids from Queens. "I also believe that Mr. Madoff was never truly remorseful, and that he. The recovered sum fell far short of the sums Madoff told duped clients he was managing. [19], Chin presided over the criminal trial of Pak Dong-seon in connection with Pak's alleged involvement in the scandal surrounding the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program. ", Trending News The probation department had recommended a 50-year term, while the defense lawyer had sought 12 years behind bars for his client. Wife, Ruth, is still living I was still struggling with the reasoning, he added specialized employment! President Barack Obama nominated Chin to the maximum possible term March 23, 2011, Chin Google... 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