Katie Couric's Notebook: Madoff
"I would like somebody in court today to tell me how long is my sentence."
That line was spoken in a crowded Manhattan courtroom, not by Bernie Madoff, but by one of his victims.
Six months after his Ponzi scheme and their worlds collapsed - it was judgment day.
Some people applauded when Judge Denny Chin handed down a 150 year sentence for the biggest financial fraud this nation has ever seen.
Ruth Madoff meanwhile broke her silence today, saying she's embarrassed and ashamed by her husband's actions. What she is no, however, is penniless. A court order allowed her to keep more than two million dollars.
In the end, it seems there are many types of prisons. Ruth Madoff walks freely, but alone. Her husband's life will end behind bars. And thousands of his victims are trying to rebuild the savings and dreams they placed in his hands. They're also serving time for someone else's crime.
That's a page from my notebook.
I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.
That line was spoken in a crowded Manhattan courtroom, not by Bernie Madoff, but by one of his victims.
Six months after his Ponzi scheme and their worlds collapsed - it was judgment day.
Some people applauded when Judge Denny Chin handed down a 150 year sentence for the biggest financial fraud this nation has ever seen.
Ruth Madoff meanwhile broke her silence today, saying she's embarrassed and ashamed by her husband's actions. What she is no, however, is penniless. A court order allowed her to keep more than two million dollars.
In the end, it seems there are many types of prisons. Ruth Madoff walks freely, but alone. Her husband's life will end behind bars. And thousands of his victims are trying to rebuild the savings and dreams they placed in his hands. They're also serving time for someone else's crime.
That's a page from my notebook.
I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.
