Madoff Pleads and Is Led Off to Jail

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt did not have to say a word about bail, as Judge Chin had made up his mind.

“I don’t need to hear from the government. It is my intention to remand Mr. Madoff,” Judge Chin said, setting off applause in the courtroom.

“As Mr. Madoff has pleaded guilty, he is no longer entitled to the presumption of innocence,” Judge Chin said. “The exposure is great, 150 years in prison. In light of Mr. Madoff’s age, he has an incentive to flee, he has the means to flee, and thus, he presents a risk of flight.”

Mr. Madoff pleaded guilty to six crimes that carry a maximum of 20 years in prison each – securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission and two counts of international money laundering. An additional count of money laundering carries a 10-year sentence. He also pleaded guilty to four crimes that carry a maximum of five years in prison – perjury, false statements, investment adviser fraud and theft from an employee benefit plan.

Mr. Sorkin’s co-counsel, Daniel J. Horwitz of Dickstein Shapiro, said last night that the legal team has already filed a notice of appeal on Judge Chin’s bail revocation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Victims Respond

In the courtroom yesterday, a tearful Norma Hill was sitting in the front row after Mr. Madoff had been led from the courtroom.

“Twenty-one years ago my husband invested with Bernie Madoff two weeks before he died,” she said. “When he died, Madoff put his arms around me and told me everything was going to be all right.”

Ms. Hill said Judge Chin took “a courageous stance” in sending Mr. Madoff away and “restored my faith in the justice system.”

Judge Chin, once he indicated he would accept the guilty plea, allowed victims who opposed that decision to step up to the podium next to the defense table and speak their minds.

George Nierenberg told the court, “I’m one of the many victims of Madoff’s egregious crimes.”

U.S. Marshals tensed when Mr. Nierenberg pulled away from the podium, looked down the back of the defense table trying to get a glimpse of Mr. Madoff, and then appeared to move in his direction.

“I don’t know whether you had a chance to turn around and look at the victims,” he said to Mr. Madoff, who had craned his neck back in an effort to look at Mr. Nierenberg.

Instructed to stay at the podium, Mr. Nierenberg said, “I don’t understand why conspiracy is not one of the charges,” adding that it would take “an army to produce” all the false statements Mr. Madoff provided to fool investors.

Ronnie Sue Ambrosino also objected to accepting a guilty plea that did not contain a conspiracy charge.

“I believe you have the opportunity to find out information as to where the money is and find out who else may have been involved in the crimes,” she said.

Maureen Ebel said she wanted a trial to show the world how the United States holds people accountable.

“If we go to trial, we can hear and bear witness to the pain Mr. Madoff has inflicted on the young, the infirm and the old,” she said.

Mr. Litt, the prosecutor, rose to reassure the victims that the government’s investigation is continuing.

“A lot of resources and efforts are being expended to find both the assets and anyone else who may be responsible for this crime,” he said.

There was tension in the 24th-floor courtroom leading up to the proceeding but the room was surprisingly subdued for most of the 80-minute plea hearing.

When Judge Chin said he was going to have Mr. Madoff locked up, and after the brief applause had subsided, the judge called off a list of victims who had indicated in advance that they wanted to speak.

When he came to the name of Mark LaBianca, Mr. LaBianca said, “I do not object. It’s about time. Thank you judge.”

Madoff’s Side of Story

When Mr. Sorkin rose to detail the history of Mr. Madoff’s perfect attendance record in court since he was granted bail, Mr. Sorkin said that Ruth Madoff, Mr. Madoff’s wife, had put up her own money to fund a security service to monitor her husband while he was under house arrest. That comment drew a wave of derisive laughter from the benches, and one man said aloud, “That’s funny.”

Mr. Litt and prosecutor Lisa A. Baroni charged that Mr. Madoff sent out statements in the weeks leading up to his arrest last December indicating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities had $64.8 billion in assets, when in fact, there was only a fraction of that amount remaining.

Mr. Madoff said he was “actually grateful for this first opportunity to publicly speak about my crimes.”

“When I began the Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme,” he said. “However, this proved difficult, and ultimately impossible, and as the years went by I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come.”

Mr. Madoff had been prepared by Mr. Sorkin for the likelihood that he would go to jail. In previous court appearances, Mr. Madoff wore his wedding ring, but his left hand was bare yesterday.

He said he was “painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many, many people, including the members of my family, my closest friends, business associates and the thousands of clients who gave me their money.”