My suspicion with this story is that there is much more to it than is being let on by the media. Madoff, who was the former head of NASDAQ and a well connected insider, clearly was running a Ponzi scheme that operated with not only the intentional blindness of our government, but with it's assistance as well.

I say this because it simply isn't possible to run an operation of that size and complexity without some major assistance: sending out statements every month to his thousands of clients, employing a group of people (who were well compensated, BTW), moving the money around without the implicit (or otherwise) cooperation of the banking regulators, the government and the banks which lost money in the scheme itself required a network of accomplices to fully carry out.

Madoff was one of the most highly respected people in Wall Street, but no bank or regulatory agency ever puts that kind of trust unrequited in one person. That suggests to me that there was some knowledge about the nature of Madoff's fund for a significant amount of time, but once the market began to collapse in early 2008, it was impossible to maintain the artifice he had built. The net result of all this is that thousands of investors were bilked out of their retirement savings, some even driven to poverty.

Bernie said, "I am sincerely sorry and take full responsibility for my actions," before he was sentenced.

Doesn't that mean love to you...doesn't that mean anything?

Before you Ponzi scheme...dream a BIG dream. It took years to stop him.

Sixty billion dollars. The amount stolen and the countless lives destroyed is truly astounding.

Madeoff gotoff with what can only be considered a slap on the wrist. If he is dying of cancer, then treat him with Tylenol and Gatorade. With any luck the excruciating pain he feels will last a good five years. Still, it's not enough.

Then again, maybe we can clone him and start the process over again, for the rest of eternity...

I totally agree with Numbah, they oughtta waterboard him and get him to confess where the money is. Too bad he's not in a REAL prison in the general population. He'd talk then. And why is his wife walking around scott free?She's got to at least be an accessory.

When you consider that people are homeless thanks to him and that some people have killed themselves over lost savings, he's getting off easy. I think we should water board his ass daily, damnit...

He shoulda got life!

Adolf suffers from Bernie:

Well Madoff was about as phony as those 50 dollar bills that Data found from 'The Goonies.' That being said, I don't understand how this piece of garbage didn't get caught earlier. I just don't understand things like that in general....that some are so corrupt that it seems like they can get away w/murder.

My only regret is that at 71 years of age, this greasy bastard isn't likely to serve ten per cent of his sentence before he dies.

Running a massive Ponzi scheme, Madoff stole billions of dollars from hundreds of thousands of investors, most of them average income earners investing their savings. I loathe this kind of criminal, and I'm pleased to see a sentence commensurate with the crime. Frankly, given that his family profited from his criminality, maybe when Bernie croaks they can serve out the remainder of the sentence.

This is the kind of scum who should leave the world unmourned, but like Kenneth Lay of Enron, there are already folks lining up on the "Poor Bernie" Bandwagon. Witness the disagree.

Its great to see a thief gets what he deserves. Madoff won't live as a free man ever again, and that seems fair for his tremendous act of greed. I just hope that the government is able to take back as much of the stolen funds as possible. Making at least a modest return to those who were stolen from would be a huge act as well.

Snapple cap says: After a three-year stay in a country club prison, he gets out on parole.

Would like him to do some "real time".

I have two concerns about this whole deal. One is reparations for the marks. That's a lot of money. Second is that he might find God in prison and become a model prisoner, which could slice 10 or 15 years off the end of his sentence for good behavior.

Where's the justice, then?