Madoff to be sentenced today

June 29, 2009|Associated Press

NEW YORK - Bernard Madoff will get one last creature comfort before he is sentenced today, probably to spend the rest of his days in prison. The judge has given him permission to don his own clothes for the hearing.

Jack Cutter is wearing something special, too, these days: a butcher’s smock. The 80-year-old from Longmont, Colo., had to go back to work after he lost his retirement savings in Madoff’s swindle. He used to be a petroleum engineer. Now he spends his weekdays at a Safeway supermarket. The gig pays $8.64 per hour.

“It’s a tough job,’’ he said. “Eight hours on my feet.’’ Madoff’s fraud wiped out thousands of people around the globe. Not all were millionaires. Teachers, farmers, mechanics, and other middle-class folk are among the victims. Many had been enjoying retirement. Now, with nest eggs gone, they are struggling to pay the bills.

Prosecutors, who have asked a judge to sentence Madoff to 150 years, promise to seize his assets and force him to pay restitution. On Friday, a judge ruled Madoff must forfeit $171 billion; his wife, Ruth Madoff, was stripped of over $80 million.

Yet prosecutors still don’t know exactly how many billions he took or what victims might hope to eventually recover. Whatever money is recovered will eventually be divided among the victims. Some who invested directly with Madoff will also qualify for up to $500,000 from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, an industry group.