Anybody read all of Bernie Madoff’s allocution when he pled guilty? I pasted it, below.
It sounds like an odd mea culpa. But it’s actually a neat, precise bit of lawyering. Put aside the lives he shattered, and you can almost enjoy the way his defense team tracks the required elements of the crimes to which he pled guilty — foreclosing any challenge to the judge’s acceptance of the plea — and still closes the door on any broader culpability by Madoff or his cohort.
I like what I saw one compliance guy say – that he’s tired of being asked at parties about Madoff, because it means people are confusing blatant criminal behavior (which criminals will always engage in) with insidious unethical behavior (which may be mitigated).
(Tip for those of us with, um, tired vision — click towards the bottom right corner of the frame below to see the allocution in “full screen” mode.)
[slideshare id=1136984&doc=bernard-statement-allocution31209-090312111816-phpapp01&type=d]
