Bernard Madoff’s guilty plea

With no trial, how much will we learn about the swindler's operation?

Bernard Madoff will plead guilty to 11 counts of fraud Thursday, said Scot Paltrow in Portfolio.com, and since there won’t be a trial, prosecutors will present “criminal information” papers that might, finally, shine some light on the main mysteries of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme: “How much money did investors really lose? And where did it go?” Madoff claimed his fraud cost $50 billion, but his investors likely have significantly less capital at stake—maybe $17 billion.

Then why are federal prosecutors seeking $170 billion in restitution? said Owen Thomas in Gawker. “Don’t they understand the nature of a Ponzi scheme—that the money’s gone?” I guess Madoff can contemplate that bit of “gallows humor” as he’s spending the rest of his life behind bars.

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