Madoff victims to address court before sentencing
Anthony M. DeStefano - NewsdayIssue date: 6/25/09 Section: Real News
MELVILLE, N.Y. - Survivors of the Holocaust said they wrote about their terrible experiences as a way of bearing witness to the world.
For investor Burt Ross, his decision to speak in Manhattan Federal Court tomorrow at the sentencing of swindler Bernard Madoff is motivated by a similar concern.
"I speak to bear witness," Ross, 66, of Englewood, N.J., told Newsday. "If nobody spoke, it would appear to be a victimless crime when it is anything but that."
There are thousands of victims of Madoff in what is Wall Street's largest Ponzi scheme. Hundreds of them will pack a Manhattan courtroom Monday to see Madoff get sentenced to what is expected to be the rest of his life in prison. Eleven, including Ross, have asked to address the court before Judge Denny Chin turns Madoff over to federal prison officials.
Ross said his statement will be powerful but not wordy and that he intends to address the issue of being Jewish in the scandal.
"These were the people in his social network and my feeling is that the overwhelming (number of) people who invested with Madoff were Jewish," Ross said.
Madoff also is Jewish.
Until 2004, only victims of violent crimes could speak at a federal sentencing, said Jayne Barnard, a professor of law at The College of William and Mary who wrote a law review article that helped changed the practice to include fraud victims. "It is very empowering for victims to tell their story, very useful for the judges," Barnard said.
Said Sharon Lissauer, a model from Manhattan: "It is the only way I'm going to get closure."
Court officials are bracing for a large crowd and have reserved the palatial ninth-floor courtroom of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. It is a room that seats about 300. Hundreds more will watch proceedings on television downstairs.
Madoff faces a 150-year maximum and while his attorney asked for a 12-year term because of his client's age, Madoff is likely to die behind prison walls.
For investor Burt Ross, his decision to speak in Manhattan Federal Court tomorrow at the sentencing of swindler Bernard Madoff is motivated by a similar concern.
"I speak to bear witness," Ross, 66, of Englewood, N.J., told Newsday. "If nobody spoke, it would appear to be a victimless crime when it is anything but that."
There are thousands of victims of Madoff in what is Wall Street's largest Ponzi scheme. Hundreds of them will pack a Manhattan courtroom Monday to see Madoff get sentenced to what is expected to be the rest of his life in prison. Eleven, including Ross, have asked to address the court before Judge Denny Chin turns Madoff over to federal prison officials.
Ross said his statement will be powerful but not wordy and that he intends to address the issue of being Jewish in the scandal.
"These were the people in his social network and my feeling is that the overwhelming (number of) people who invested with Madoff were Jewish," Ross said.
Madoff also is Jewish.
Until 2004, only victims of violent crimes could speak at a federal sentencing, said Jayne Barnard, a professor of law at The College of William and Mary who wrote a law review article that helped changed the practice to include fraud victims. "It is very empowering for victims to tell their story, very useful for the judges," Barnard said.
Said Sharon Lissauer, a model from Manhattan: "It is the only way I'm going to get closure."
Court officials are bracing for a large crowd and have reserved the palatial ninth-floor courtroom of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. It is a room that seats about 300. Hundreds more will watch proceedings on television downstairs.
Madoff faces a 150-year maximum and while his attorney asked for a 12-year term because of his client's age, Madoff is likely to die behind prison walls.
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