Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 03/12/09
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Tonight on AC360°, Madoff’s confession. Today the former Nasdaq chairman and Wall Street fat cat pleaded guilty to defrauding thousands of investors out of 65 billion dollars. He said he knew what he did was wrong and fully expected this day to come. Tonight he’s in jail, awaiting his June sentencing. He faces up to 150 years. Considering he’s 70 years old, he’ll likely die in prison. But confessing to the massive Ponzi scheme won’t bring his victims’ money back. We’ll be digging deeper into the story tonight. We’d love to hear your thoughts on Bernie Madoff. We want to keep the live blog on this one topic. So, please share your thoughts on Madoff’s guilty plea below.
And, don't miss Randi Kaye's webcast on Madoff during the commercials. Watch our WEBCAST
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Watching this segment nearly sends chills down my spine. It's sickening that children would be recruited and perverted, turned into heartless killing machines. How one could intentionally harm a child is beyond me. (And that's what these teens are, children.)
I personally am not creative enough to think of a suitable sentence. Even 150 years in a jail with taxpayer footing the bill for housing, food and medical care is too lenient for any serial criminal. I don’t think that Mortal beings can properly sentence him.
Also, I don’t believe that he acted alone. Individuals in his firm are surely to blame. And don’t forget about the “Darker powers that be” which neglected to either properly investigate or knowingly allowed it to continue.
That story on teen assassins is really scary.
How does a human being get like this?
I heard this news, today on the radio …l
The criminal most wanted in Mexico were included in the new list of billionaires from Forbes.
Joaquín Guzmán Loera, 54 years old, is identified as the head of one of the largest drug cartels in Mexico and is fugitive since 2001, after escape from maximum security prison in Almoloya. The US government provides $ 5 million for the capture.
Absurd it is in the list!!!!
Those teens grew up in a violent environment. they are numb to violence. I believe video games and rap are huge contributors to why teens are so numb.
Wow, that drug cartel story is chilling. How could anyone be so cold and unfeeling and actually enjoy killing people?
OMG! This is sicker than sick. We're still removing our shoes at the airport , and thugs like this are pulling up behind us at the drive-thru looking innocent as pie. What is wrong, wrong , wrong with this picture?
Many kudos to Ed Lavendera for covering that extremely difficult story.
This is so sad that they recruit these kids... sad, sad, world.
@EJ, Thanks! But I get that. Still, foot in mouth. Comparing having money stolen from someone, to having one's virtue stolen, hmm... sorry, something rather immoral about. Like, um, greed, lust of money and things. Material things.
Anderson, I hope that you will continue to report on the Mexican "problem."
This teenager hit man makes me think of teenager in war zone who has to pick up weapons and start fighting. Some of them were even in their teen, too.
I think Madoff got exactly what he deserves, but it is the victims who invested their money are the ones who probably will never recover. I do not that his wife or family should be allowed to keep any assets. Let them move in a run down apartment and feel the pain that the investors feel.
@james and crystal, very funny. your clever pun is great.
I think we need more of a military presence in Mexico. Now. People should not have to live at the whims of maniacs.
That kid confessing he enjoyed killing people was disturbing, at best.
Re the assassins, where are these kids' parents if you want to call them kids?
Teenagers are easily manipulated.
So, should these teens be considered child soldiers or assassins? How do we differentiate?
Poor thing's mother!
Hey David Gergen
I was very happy to see the Pres at the Business Roundtable Conference today and really felt he did give the buisness community some positive feedback on where he is as far as business suceeding and he is not a big believer that Governmnet is the answer to help with all our economic problem. I am hoping the bottom is near, once you it bottom, theres only up from there. Always good to see you blogging.
The reason why American teens are falling into this is because, well as you can imagine, if you pay a teen 100,000 USD they will tke it. Because they don't know what to do. It is seriously sad to hear, yet it is not very surprizing, because they use the same thing here in Iraq
Teen assassins for hire! This is so not right! These young men need another direction!
I think claiming Madoff is America's most hated man is a gross exageration. He had 4000 direct victims, and tens of thousands of second hand victims. Hundreds of millions of us haven't been impacted at all, and have our own problems to deal with.
The borders should have been addressed long ago. If Obama doesn't do something soon they will be harder to control.
Frankly, I am not sure he can do much about it even if he started now.
Those teenagers had to have already been psychopaths! The overwhelming majority of teens would never do that. Something has to be wrong with those teens to just agree to kill people – and then laugh about it in such a way.
I can't believe that the Mexican drug cartels are now getting our teens to do there dirty work! That is crazy! What is crazier is that these teens want to do it!
Cindy..Ga.
I read this story on AC360 blog about the contract killers being teenagers..that's scary, but it's the truth. I used to wonder how most of these kids get money for brand new cars, clothes...it is very disturbing that these kids laughed at the killings...soo shocking
The US a partially responsible for the drug cartel wars. It our obligation to help Mexico. Weapons come from the US and the US is the biggest consumer of narcotics in the world.
This economic dip in the road may serve to bring people back to their senses. I'm not discounting the pain of job losses, business failures, retirement savings depletion. But, going forward, maybe savings, self-reliance, humble reasonable goals, and working for steady – not instant progress forward will transform our society into a more productive one in the future.
Hi Anderson and AC 360 crew, I'm glad to see Madoff is going to jail. Hopefully there won't be another Madoff popping up somewhere in America. We have all suffered enough.
Hello Bloggers: Justice has been served now that Madoff is in jail.
@Jill AC360 Producer: I like your way of thinking! I could never understand why Madoff got the "special treatment" and was allowed to live in his penthouse for as long as he did! Kind of makes you wonder.....
@ PRODUCER JILL AC360
All we like! The justice prevailed!
Jill (AC360), so that makes at least two of us who think Madoff's incarceration and the stock market upsurge could be related. 😉
@ James & Crystal that is so true, LOL. The situation is very serious but madoff's name fits the crime.
Madoff did not get caught. He confessed to keep everything covered up!!!
Beak it down for them Roland
Interesting comments regarding Madoff. He's done the same thing our government has been doing to tax payers for as long as I've been on God's green earth, (running a Ponzi Scheme) with what is called social security.
Money that we as young people put in to the system today more then likely will not be available to us when we reach the age where it will be needed by us, since it is currently being use for our elderly.
What do we call it when our government does it? "Policy"? Life is full of broken promises from the people we vote into office! Who else should be sharing a cell with Madoff? Hint...look towards Washington DC.
I think Roland is quite wrong. The public has a major misconception of the effects of inequality. Citizens don't seem to realize that gross inequality fuels such problems as poverty and unemployment. One can't always have an "opportunity" in a society that perpetrates such inequality.
Madoff was greedy because our goverment allowed it! Think about it!
good evening everyone! Hi Anderson, Randi, David, Erica...I agree, it would be interesting to see whoelse knew about this big Madoff scam. How about family members? closest friends? I believe that whoever is involved with this scam should join Madoff in jail. There are no excuses for this type of behavior.
I think there are worse things than prison, think about the movie goodfellas, I think if they had let him off he would end up living the rest of his life constantly looking over his shoulder and this would cause anxiety and eat away at him mentally
I think the whole episode of the Made-off sons turning in their father was a set-up orchestrated by Bernie, to give the sons a chance to move forward and escape possible incarceration.
I also believe that any assets that Mr. Madoff has should have been frozen for some time. All families that were affected by his thoughtless,ruthless plan driven by greed and power, should be identified. Each investor should be paid back, at least a percentage of their loss.
Eventhough Madoff pleaded guilty, this appears like a goventment scandal with one person taking responsibility. For example, Lee Harvey Oswald – Kenedy, Deep throat – CIA director, Iran Contra – Oliver North, and now Madoff. coincidence? Hummm, I dont think so.
The reason people are upbeat about the future is because for the first time in a long time we feel like we have a leader that's fully engaged. He's listening to regular people,, he's organizing groups of experts, he's taking bold, decisive actions. Personally, he makes me feel like I have an opportunity to be part of the plan rather than just a subject of it.
I'm not sure the country cares that much about fairness, particulary the rich and upper middle class. They care about having opportunity for themselves - but not necessarily fairness of opportunity.
Everyone has to pull one own weight.
Anderson, I don't think I would be surprised by anything that American teenagers do.
Yay! Opportunities for all people. About time!
Good evening anderson,
hello to all the bloggers.hope everyones well.as for this economy it SUCKS..as for madoff well he got caught we have so many goverment officals wholl never get caught..why not shoot madoff with rubber bullets till theres no pulse..wouldnt thast save millions of tax payers money?
BE SAFE ALL!