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Today was the day Bernie Madoff faced a federal judge to learn his fate.  Neither the judge nor fate was kind.  He received a 150-year prison term for what U.S. District Judge Denny Chin referred to as “extraordinarily evil” misdeeds.  Many of his victims, some one-time millionaires in their own right and others just looking for a way to stretch their nest eggs so carefully cultivated over a lifetime, took the opportunity to be sure the 71-year old crook understood exactly how his actions affected not only their lives, but those of their family members as well.

The gallery in the courtroom agreed with the judge’s sentence as applause erupted.  The judge also told Madoff and his lawyers that he’d received over 100 letters and emails, and not a single one was kind or supportive of Madoff.  Judge Chin said, “The absence of such support is telling”.

Nine victims chose to address Madoff in today’s hearing.  Some of the comments included Madoff being labeled a “monster” and an “evil low life”.  One victim said he stole money so he and his wife, Ruth, could live a life of luxury beyond belief. 

Since the federal prison system has offers no parole, Madoff will die in jail.  To date, there are thousands of victims - individuals, charities, celebrities and other businesses - who are out billions of dollars.  Many say this one Ponzi scheme is one of the reasons the American economy is in such dire straits.

Madoff did have a statement and chose to face those he scammed as he said his apologies, noting he knew it didn’t help. 

His wife released her first statement through her own lawyer that said, in part, “I am embarrassed and ashamed.  Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused.”  It can be read in its entirety here.  Still, she will spend the rest of her life with a 2 million-plus dollar nest egg while many of those victims are now being forced to move in with family members after having lost everything.

Maybe one of those victims said it best outside court, “He stole my money.  He didn’t steal my life.”

Seems the Supermax Prison in Colorado seems to be dominating the headlines these days.  Richard Reid,

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also known as the Shoe-Bomber, was convicted in 2003 of trying to detonate a bomb on an American Airlines scheduled to land in Miami.  Because of a weeks-long hunger strike, prison officials have now decided medical intervention was required to prevent him from killing himself.  He is reported to still be on his hunger strike, despite being intravenously fed and hydrated.

He filed a federal lawsuit that claimed he wasn’t allowed to follow his Sunni Muslim faith since being in custody.  Despite requests from the prison for the judge to dismiss the suit, a US District judge has refused to do so.  He’s currently in the prison’s medical wing and will likely remain there until he abandons his hunger strike, if he ever does.

Reid isn’t the only notorious prisoner who’s in the prison’s custody and making headlines.

Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, was convicted of crime in 1996 after having been the target of a 15-plus year manhunt.  He sent 16 bombs, killed three people and injured 23.  He’s now going to court in an attempt to prevent his personal diaries from being auctioned.  He’s already lost one court battle, but it’s now up the Supreme Court to decide the fate of these documents, should he decide to appeal.  If he does choose to appeal, he only has until Monday to do so.  If he loses there, his diaries will be auctioned and all of the proceeds will go to his victims.  It’s said there are close to 40,000 pages that he handwrote over the years.  Along with the diaries, the hoodie jacket and sunglasses that were drawn in the now-familiar sketch that was used in a worldwide distribution in an effort to locate him before his capture are also expected to be sold.  Creepy as it sounds, you can be sure there are many who would pay a pretty penny to own these things.

Surely there are ulterior motives behind their motives.  Reid is likely doing his best to further his cause with his hunger strike and for all anyone knows, there’s some hidden message in every move he makes that some extremist is deciphering.  Kaczynski is probably less likely concerned with who sees his personal thoughts before his capture and is more upset with where the money from this sale will go, or rather where it won’t go.  Either way, neither of these two will ever see the light of day as free men.

After seeing several different stories in different regions of the country in this weekend’s newspapers regarding child abuse (including yet another teacher who’s been charged with molesting one of her 12 year old male students) and drug abuse, I started thinking about the correlation with different problems that are wreaking havoc in our social structures. After about the four or fifth research report that discussed findings from many sociologists and psychiatrists, it became clear that there are not only predictable denominators, but the basic foundations are always very similar.

The vicious cycles associated with all forms of abuse are reliable by definition. For instance, some warning signs of abused children include:

• Depression at an early age
• Withdrawal from classmates, friends and those outside their immediate families
• Older kids are at much higher risks to become drug addicts and alcoholics
• MPD (multiple personality disorder) is more common that some may think. Most psychologists and psychiatrists agree that these other personalities are formed as protective mechanisms that allow another identity to “step in” to allow the child to escape while the abuse is being inflicted. This remains one of the most controversial diagnoses in the psychiatric field. Some are more comfortable with classifying this as a form of post stress disorder; regardless, there are many who’ve been diagnosed with MPD or DID (dissociative identity disorder), as it was most recently renamed. Another important factor is the ratio of female to male diagnoses is 9 to 1 (girls are ten times as likely to be sexually abused).
• Suicide attempts
• Acting out with inappropriate sexual behaviors even before puberty (most often saw in children who have been victims of sexual abuse)

Once these children reach adulthood, the myriad of problems they’re likely to encounter are extensions of those that developed years earlier. Often, without resolution via counseling or not being allowed to pursue legal avenues to prosecute these abusers, the cycle begins once again. Often, women who were abused as children grow up to marry men who continue the abuse into the marriage, and any children that are born during the marriage become victims themselves of the same abuse his parent(s) suffered. Too many times, mothers who were forced to submit to incest with siblings or even their fathers will be helpless to ensure her own’s child’s safety. These women are most likely to become chronically depressed, addicts, alcoholics and are almost always passive in nature. They’re not capable of protecting their children from the same fate that’s destroyed their own lives.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this cycle is the common profile of a pedophile. Many pedophiles were abused as children, had parents who were addicts and alcoholics, had low self esteem and were pulled out of school. Clearly, the cycle repeats time and again. Other factors of victims once they’re reached adulthood and have become parents include neglect towards their children and provided they’re not removed from the custody of their parents, those who do drugs can sometimes introduce their own children to these addictive patterns, thereby ensuring a new generation of drug users.

So, what is the answer? Experts, of course, disagree on the best solution, but some of the most obvious include allowing the victim his day in court. If kids don’t have an adult to step up to the plate for them, they will certainly carry that with them and will equate it to not being important enough to seek justice. Legislation efforts are also awaiting the review process, and most agree (or at least hope for) the punishments will become harsher for abusers. Despite all of the many programs that are in place, far too many fall through the cracks and sadly, some don’t live to tell the tale. For those who are removed from the abusive homes and are placed in foster care or other protective custody are sometimes returned due to lack of proof of abuse. The most frustrating aspect is, of course, breaking the cycle when there seems to be no one agency or methods to slow it down long enough to break it before it gets the desperate places that send up the red flags. With that said, there do appear to be ways to protect some of these little ones. By using a team approach designed to protect the rights of these kids, a lawyer or lawyers who represent these minors often work hand in hand with government agencies, counselors and even the foster parents at times when appropriate. These combined effort works to the advantage of these young clients and are often the first time these kids feel as though someone is looking out for them.

A California sex crimes prosecutor was charged on Friday with twelve counts of sexual crimes. This is one of the most disturbing cases of a sexual assault in recent memory. The fact the accused, Michael Gressett, is a twenty year veteran attorney also puts a different slant on this story. The woman who accused him is also a lawyer. The counts run the realm of sexual abuse and include four counts of forced sodomy, two counts of rape, false imprisonment as well as several other charges. Further, the prosecutors in this case worded their claims in ways that can’t be taken lightly, saying in part the victim was warned of repercussions “which would result in death and great bodily injury” if she reported the rape.

What’s not clear is the timeline, or rather, the extended timeline. This was said to have occurred in May, reported in September and charges filed last week. It’s not uncommon for rape victims to delay reporting the crime, and it’s even more common when the victim knows the accused. And too, at some point, the victim and the prosecutor were romantically involved. Naturally, this case was handed over to the California attorney general’s office due to obvious conflicts. The judge seems to be pretty confident as well, since he’s warned both parties to steer clear of one another. He set Gressett’s bond at one million dollars. Still, his attorney calls this a “creative fantasy” that this woman has “conjured up” and goes on to say the fact she returned to work and didn’t report the crime for several weeks serves as more proof of his client’s innocence. Apparently, there were text messages at some point but are now deleted from Gressett’s cell. There’s also been a search of the home where this assault was supposed to have happened. The findings of that search aren’t being released, but they have acknowledged finding items that would substantiate the victim’s story.

Michael Gressett

I think an ominous sign is his attorney’s reply when asked if Gressett used a handgun and an ice pick the day of the attack, he did deny it but then on to say that it wasn’t used in the way she said it was. I could be living a rather sheltered life, but I’m having a hard time understanding how handguns and ice picks play into a consensual sex act, as Gressett claims. You might also be interested in knowing he has a degree in Psychology, along with his law degree.

In the meantime, the trial is set for early next year and Michael Gressett is relieved of his duties via a paid leave of absence. If he’s convicted of all these charges, he could very well face life in prison. Since he’s responsible for prosecuting many of his potential cell mates, my guess is any jail time will be served in solitary. An interesting twist is during one of his unsuccessful runs for district attorney, he promised to crack down on violent crimes and vowed to allow public access to the district attorney’s files by placing all of the current trials online.