Madoff Didn't Make Off; Goes Straight to Jail (Video)

Standing before a packed federal courtroom, Madoff said in a prepared statement that lasted about 10 minutes that he was "deeply sorry and ashamed" for what he had done. When he began the fraud, Madoff said, he believed he could extricate himself and his clients and end the scheme before long. But as the years went by, he began to realize that "this day would inevitably come," Madoff said.

"I am actually grateful for this opportunity to publicly comment about my crimes, for which I am deeply sorry and ashamed," said Madoff, 70. "I cannot adequately express how sorry I am."

After U.S. District Judge Denny Chin accepted the guilty plea, Madoff's attorney, Ira Sorkin, argued that his client should be allowed await his sentencing in his Upper East Side penthouse. Chin refused, saying Madoff posed a flight risk, and ordered him jailed immediately. Chin set the sentencing date for June 16.

"I don't need to hear from the government," Chin said, referring to prosecutors. "It is my intention to remand Mr. Madoff."

With that, some members of the audience, which included victims, erupted into applause. And at 11:13 a.m., a little over an hour after the proceedings began, an expressionless Madoff was led away in handcuffs.

Several victims who attended the hearing said they were glad to see him go to jail. But many expressed frustration about unanswered questions that have been swirling in their minds since his arrest Dec. 11. Who else, if any, were involved? Where did all the money go?

Ronnie Sue Ambrosino, who leads a Madoff victims group, was among the handful of those to address Chin.

"I believe you have the opportunity today to find out where the money is and to find out who else may be involved in the crime," she said in objecting to the plea.

Chin responded that the guilty plea does not preclude the government from continuing investigation.

Marc Litt, the lead prosecutor, said the government's investigation indeed continues and "a lot of resources and efforts are being expended to both find assets and to find anyone else who may be responsible for this fraud."

"Do I feel vindicated? No," Judith Welling, 70, said after the courtroom proceedings. The New Yorker said she and her husband were taken for "millions." "He had to have had help."

Sharon Lissauer, also of New York, said through tears: "To see him for the first time, I'm just very emotional and close to falling apart. I lost all my savings. I don't have anything else. If only he could reveal where [the assets] are and help make the investors whole. . . . Even if he spends the rest of his life in jail, it doesn't change my life."

Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 felony charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 150 years in prison. The actual sentence is likely to be much shorter, but given Madoff's age, it probably would still amount to a life sentence. The charges are securities fraud, investment advisory fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission and theft from an employee benefit plan.

Madoff made the plea without an agreement with the government regarding his sentencing, federal prosecutors said at a hearing Tuesday. In court papers made public Tuesday, the prosecutors said Madoff operated a $64 billion fraud by soliciting from pension funds, charities and other investors.

During his statement, Madoff took pains to note that the fraud was confined to the "investment advisory side of my business" and that other parts of his operation, which were run by his brother and two sons, "were legitimate" and "successful."

The salaries of employees in those parts of the business, Madoff said, were paid with profits from those operations.

He set up accounts in London, in part to make it look like he was investing in European securities. To give his business an air of legitimacy, the documents said, Madoff hired numerous employees with little or no relevant training and had them generate false documents, including trading records and monthly statements to clients. Prosecutors didn't say whether Madoff's staff was aware of the fraud.

Also among those who described themselves as victims of Madoff were Richard and Cynthia Friedman, who joined a crowd outside the courthouse to await news of Madoff's plea. Richard Friedman, 59, said he started investing proceeds from his accounting business in 1991 and money from clients in 1995.

"We've lost our whole life savings, $3 million, with Bernard Madoff," Cynthia Friedman said. "My husband now has to build his business back up. He was just about to retire."

Informed of Madoff's guilty plea, she said, "I hope he rots in hell where he belongs. . . . I don't want him to go back to his penthouse. He's evil. . . . He stole from charities; he stole from pensioners."

Said Richard Friedman, "I would rather there had been a trial so that all the dirt would come out." He said he was angry not only at Madoff but at the U.S. government and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which he said was "grossly negligent" for not properly investigating Madoff. He said later that he and other bilked investors were also having problems with the Internal Revenue Service, because they had paid taxes over the years on earnings that turned out not to exist.

At least two dozen victims had asked to speak at Thursday's hearing. But many said they did not need to speak after the judge made it clear Madoff would be remanded to jail. The judge had said their comments must be limited to the two issues before the court: whether to accept Madoff's guilty plea and whether he should be remanded until sentencing.

More extensive remarks by victims -- about the impact of the Ponzi scheme on their lives and savings -- could come at the sentencing hearing.

Until this morning, Madoff was confined to his home under $10 million bail. Hundreds of news crews were waiting for Madoff when he arrived at the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan about 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning, hours before the 10 a.m. hearing.

Crowds also gathered outside his posh apartment building well before daybreak to await his appearance. Cable and network morning news shows aired live coverage of the disgraced financier's chauffeured car driving to the downtown courthouse.

With cameras flashing in his face, an expressionless Madoff walked briskly into the federal building.