CBS Evening News

Katie Couric's Notebook: Madoff Behind Bars

March 12, 2009 / 4:43 PM EDT / CBS News

CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallaces fills in for Evening News anchor Katie Couric, who is on assignment.

(AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)

The cheers that went up in the courtroom said it all, as Wall Street wizard turned swindler Bernard Madoff was handcuffed and taken to jail. When he's sentenced in June, Madoff will be given, 30, 40, maybe even 150 years behind bars -- a life sentence for a 70-year-old man.

Despite Madoff's guilty plea, this case is far from over. Investigators are still busy trying to figure out who else knew what he was up to, to try to hold them accountable, too. It seems inconceivable that one man could have pulled off a scam this big.

For Madoff's five thousand victims -- from large charities to retirees who'd scrimped and saved for their golden years -- today's joy will be fleeting. They want anyone involved to go to jail for a long time, but the number of years matter far less than the other number they're grappling with: The zeros in their investment accounts make those cheers turn to tears.