"May God spare you no mercy": Bernie Madoff sentenced to 150 yrs in prison

The Bernie Madoff saga has come to an end as judge Denny Chin has sentenced Madoff to the maximum 150 years in prison for spearheading a Ponzi scheme that swindled $65 billion from investors. Madoff's lawyer asked for leniency and a 12 year sentence but was denied.

The sentencing is mostly symbolic as federal court rules require 80% of a sentence to be served before being eligible for parole. At 71, Madoff would be 191 before he would be eligible..

Madoff's sentencing brings closure to the debacle that has ruined to financial lives of over 1,000 people. Two investors have committed suicide after losing millions with Madoff. Countless others are still reeling after the nest eggs they thought were being protected by Madoff were only figments of their imagination. 

CNN has a nice timeline of events surrounding the case.

To date, Madoff has returned $1.2 billion and says he can recover up to $13.2 billion for investors. That still leaves almost $50 billion that cannot be recovered or accounted for. 

My heart goes out to the retirees and families who thought their money was safe in Bernie Madoff's hands. In the courtroom today, victims of Madoff's scheme spoke about crushed dreams and the devastation that has ensued in the aftermath of Madoff's scheme being exposed.

Madoff told the judge "I thought I could get out of it. The harder I tried to get out of it, the deeper the hole. I could not accept for once in my life I had failed. I was responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain. I am in torment....This is a horrible guilt to live with."

A horrible guilt to live with indeed. A guilt that he will now have to deal with as he spends the rest of his days on earth in federal prison.