Share news

'Evil' swindler Madoff jailed for 150 years

2009-06-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in jail for masterminding an "evil" multi-billion-dollar investment scam that cheated thousands of people around the world.
"It is the judgment of this court that Bernard Madoff should be sentenced to 150 years in jail," Judge Denny Chin said as he handed down the maximum term possible on 11 charges of fraud, theft and perjury.
He described Madoff's crimes as "extraordinarily evil" and said it was "not merely a bloodless crime that takes place on paper but one that takes a staggering human toll."
The tough sentence came even after Madoff, the former chairman of the Nasdaq, made a courtroom apology to his victims. "I am sorry," he told them simply. "I don't ask for forgiveness."

"I leave a legacy of shame to my family. I am responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain. I live in a tormented state," said the disgraced 71-year-old financier who now faces spending the rest of his life in prison.

"I cannot offer an excuse for my behavior," he added. "How do you excuse deceiving investors... and 200 employees?

"How do you excuse lying to my sons and two brothers? How do you excuse lying to a wife who stood by you for 50 years and still stands by me? There is no excuse for that."

Some of Madoff's victims vented their fury as they addressed the court.

Cheryl Weinstein blasted Madoff as "a monster" and a "beast."

"He walks among us. But he is a beast who has fed upon us to satisfy his own needs... I am asking you to keep in a cage behind bars," she said.

Breaking into tears, Burt Ross, who lost five million dollars, said Madoff "has truly earned his reputation of being the most despised person in America today."

"I only hope that his jail sentence is long enough so that his jail cell becomes his coffin," said Michael Schwartz, 33, who said the money stolen from his family had been set aside to take care of his mentally disabled brother.

Judge Chin gave Madoff 10 days to appeal the sentence, but noted there had not been a single letter from friends or family testifying to his good deeds. "The absence of such support is telling," he said.

Madoff's wife, Ruth, finally broke her silence Monday to lash out her husband, saying: "All those touched by this fraud feel betrayed; disbelieving the nightmare they woke to.

"The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known all these years," she said in a statement.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs weighed in later by saying the maximum sentence handed to Madoff would send an effective warning to other investors.

"The judge wanted to send a very strong signal to anybody that invests money on behalf of others of the amazing responsibility that they have to those investors and to the country," he said, adding "that message will be heard loud and clear."

The former Wall Street icon can expect to face a high security experience in jail rather than a more lax "prison camp" that other white collar criminals might be receive, according to former federal prosecutor William Devaney.

The decision, Devaney told AFP, is not for the judge but the court can make recommendations to the Bureau of Prisons.

Defense attorney Bradley Simon told AFP he thought Madoff would end up "with people who have committed other type of offences, more violent..."

The verdict came some six months after the biting economic downturn forced Madoff to unmask himself as behind one of the biggest financial scams in history.

Prosecutors say about 13 billion dollars was handed to Madoff. The financier himself has talked about losing some 50 billion dollars, which is believed to be the amount that would have been paid out had the funds been properly invested.

Among Madoff's victims were Hollywood celebrities, international movers and shakers, some of the world's most famous banks and Jewish charities, some of which were forced to close after the scheme unraveled.

Madoff told the court in March that of the billions of dollars that passed through his hands during the three-decade scam, he never invested one cent in the market. Instead he stashed the funds in a Chase Manhattan bank account.

The funds were then used to pay out "dividends" to investors in what is known as a "Ponzi scheme."

One lingering issue is how to return the stolen funds. Of the billions of dollars that were lost, prosecutors say only one billion dollars has been recovered.

The judge deferred the issue of restitution for another 90 days to give court-appointed liquidators more time to recover the missing funds.

Jacksons gain children as legal fight begins

2009-06-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson's family won temporary custody of the star's children and applied for control of his estate Monday as the first shots were fired in the legal fight arising from the icon's death.
A day after a family lawyer said the clan would seek custody of the singer's three children, a judge named the star's mother Katherine as temporary guardian after approving a petition filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
In a separate filing, the family lodged a second petition seeking the right for Katherine to be named temporary administrator of their son's estate.
News of the legal offensive emerged as the Jackson family met activist Reverend Al Sharpton to discuss plans for a memorial to Jackson.

The star's father, Joe Jackson, told reporters however that no funeral date would be set until results of a second autopsy out on his son were complete.

"We're not ready for that yet because we're trying to wait on something else. We're searching to see what happened to Michael," the 79-year-old patriarch told reporters at a press conference outside the family home.

"We don't have the time frame yet because I want to see how this autopsy's coming out, you know? The second autopsy."

Joe Jackson applauded the court decision to make his wife Katherine the temporary guardian of their grandchildren, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7.

"This is where they belong," Jackson said. "We're going to take care of them and give them the education they're supposed to have."

Reports have said Jackson's family is considering a series of simultaneous memorial services around the world for the singer, reflecting the huge global reach of an artist who sold more than 750 million records.

"It is the determination of the family to be careful and deliberate on how they plan his celebration of life, because we're talking about a historic figure that really changed pop culture around the world," Sharpton said.

"This is not something you do carelessly and spontaneously. We must remember they are still grieving and in their grief, determined to uphold his legacy."

Family members attended an awards show Sunday dedicated to African-American entertainers which became a star-studded celebration of Jackson's life, featuring an emotional tribute from his sister Janet.

"My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful so they elected me to speak with all of you," Janet Jackson said.

"I'd just like to say that, to you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family and he will forever live in all of our hearts."

The Jackson family already has hired a private pathologist who has carried out a second autopsy on the family.

Details from Friday's preliminary examination of Jackson's body were published in Britain's The Sun newspaper on Monday after the daily said it had seen a copy of the autopsy report.

According to the paper, pathologists found Jackson's stomach empty apart from partially-dissolved pills. Jackson's body was also reported to have weighed only 50.8 kilograms (112 pounds) at the time of his death.

However the Los Angeles County coroner's office strongly rejected the report, describing parts of it as "totally false."

"The report that is being published did not come from our office," said Assistant Chief Ed Winter. "I don't know where that information came from, or who that information came from."

Meanwhile lawyers for personal physician Conrad Murray -- who was with Jackson in the hours before his death -- went on the attack, with attorney Edward Chernoff insisting his client was blameless.

"There's nothing in his history, nothing that Dr Murray knew, that would lead him to believe he would go into sudden cardiac arrest or respiratory failure," Chernoff told CNN Monday.

"There was no red flag available to Dr Murray, which led him to believe he would have died the way he did. It's still a mystery how he died."

Speculation has been rife that excessive use of powerful prescription pain killers may have played a role in Jackson's death, but Chernoff insisted that contrary to news reports, Murray "never prescribed nor administered" two particular drugs -- Demerol or Oxycontin -- to Jackson.

He also defended how Murray responded to the immediate crisis after Jackson lost consciousness last week, recounting step-by-step the failed effort by the doctor to revive the singer.

Badminton / Yonex-Sunrise Malaysia Open: Kien Keat, Boon Heong silence critics

2009-06-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

KOO Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong answered their critics with a classy performance to clinch their second men's doubles title this year in the Yonex-Sunrise Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold at the Johor Baru City Council Indoor Stadium yesterday.

But in the women's doubles, World No 1 Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui failed to recapture the form that won them the Indonesia Open when they were outclassed by China's Ma Jin-Wang Xiaoli, losing 21-9, 21-11 in 29 minutes.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong, known for their erratic display, brushed aside former national pair Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen 21-11, 21-13 in just 21 minutes to claim the winners' cheque for US$9,480 (RM33,483).

It was an encouraging victory though the Johor Baru meet was only a second tier event, for the pair who won the Swiss Open in March ahead of the World Championships in Hyderabad, India on Aug 10-16.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong displayed excellent understanding and near-perfect court control and it was evident from the start that they would win the title. They raced to a quick 18-10 lead before winning the opening game 21-11 in only eight minutes. Kien Keat-Boon Heong continued their momentum and led 13-10 before racing ahead for a 21-13 win to claim the title.
"We have played against them many times both in competition and training and it helped us to our win today (yesterday). I'm not sure whether we played well as our opponents were struggling to find their momentum, probably because of the draft in the stadium," said Boon Heong.

As for the world meet, Boon Heong said Kien Keat and himself will be more focused on training for the tournament.

"At this stage, it is tough to set targets. When we made our world meet debut in 2007, we could not handle the pressure. However, after years together we are more experienced and know what to expect.

"Past experiences have taught us never to take any pair lightly. We will discuss with coach Rexy (Mainaky) on our strategy for the world meet," added Boon Heong.

Pei Tty-Eei Hui's performance yesterday was unexpected but the duo felt the defeat is a blessing in disguise. "We could not move well against our speedy opponents. We tried to adjust but the China pair were just too good. It's a good learning experience, making us aware that we need to train harder for the world meet," said Eei Hui.

Rexy said pressure got the better of Pei Tty-Eei Hui. "They felt pressured because they were playing against lower ranked opponents. Most of the points earned by the China pair were because of Pei Tty-Eei Hui's mistakes today (yesterday)," said Rexy.

"It has nothing to do with stamina. They were just out of ideas to overcome the China pair."

Meanwhile, mixed doubles second seeds Zheng Bo-Ma Jin of China won their fourth consecutive title when teammates Xu Chen-Zhao Yunlei retired. Zhao Yunlei twisted her right knee with the score at 5-5 in the first game.

Reports by Ajitpal Singh

Federer faces French Open final repeat against Soderling

2009-06-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

ROGER Federer will have happy memories of his last encounter with Swede Robin Soderling at Roland Garros and will be hoping for a similar outcome when he opens the play on Wimbledon’s Centre Court today.

The Swiss master swept past Soderling to clinch his 14th grand slam title earlier this month, a performance so convincing on what is statistically Federer’s weakest surface that the 27-year-old is a big favourite to reach the last eight.

British world number three Andy Murray will again play last on the main show court against Swiss number two and 19th seed Stanislas Wawrinka, while in between stands an interesting duel between women’s world number one Dinara Safina and former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo of France.

Over on Court One holder Venus Williams, chasing a sixth title here, starts proceedings against Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, then Spain’s number seven seed Fernando Verdasco is next in the firing line for Croatian ace-machine Ivo Karlovic.

The line judges will again need lightning reflexes to dodge the bullets from another massive server, American Andy Roddick, who is last on court against Czech Tomas Berdych.

Serena Williams finds herself on Court Two where she faces the unseeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

That match is followed by former champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia up against Czech Radek Stepanek.

Serbia’s world number four Novak Djokovic is the latest top four player consigned to an outside court.

The 2008 Australian Open champion plays Dudi Sela of Israel on Court Four.

— Reuters

Janet Jackson takes stage for BET finale

2009-06-29T04:37:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Janet Jackson has taken the stage at the BET Awards to speak on behalf of her grieving family and thank fans for their love and support.

It was Janet Jackson's first public appearance since her brother died last Thursday. With a deep sadness on her face, she strolled to the microphone and began to speak.

She said: "My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful, so they elected me to be here."

She noted that the King of Pop was an icon to all in attendance, but that to the Jacksons, "he was family."

After her brief comments, Stevie Wonder, Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx took the stage and sang a poignant "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5.

Chong Wei wins second title in two weeks

2009-06-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

JOHOR BARU, Sun:

Lee Chong Wei was unstoppable and the Koo Kein Keat and Tan Boon Heong combination found their winning touch to keep the Malaysian flag flying at the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton championship here today.

On a day when Malaysia had three finalists in the US$120,000 tournament, it was the World No 1 women's doubles pair, Chin Ee Hui and Wong Pei Tty, who found the burden of carrying the nation's hopes a little too heavy to bear and were knocked out in straight games by an unknown pair from China.

But there was Chong Wei, of course, and the World No 1 took only a little more than half an hour to beat China's former World Junior champion Chen Long to win his second title in as many weeks.

The pre-match prediction that Chong Wei would come up against yet another great Chinese wall was blown to pieces right from the very start. Chong Wei led 6-0 but then allowed the 20-year-old Chen Long to draw level at 7-7 before the lanky Chinese pulled ahead at 8-7.

That was as far as he could go because once Chong Wei got into his stride, spraying all those delicate drops and releasing those powerful sideline smashes, the Indoor Stadium crowd here knew the Chinese resistance would soon crumble. -- Bernama

Guiza delivers as Spain finish third in Confed Cup

2009-06-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso scored off a free kick to give Spain a dramatic 3-2 extra-time victory over South Africa on Sunday in the Confederations Cup third place play-off.
A largely incident-less game sprang to life late in the second half when Bafana Bafana (The Boys) striker Katlego Mphela scored only for another substitute, Daniel Guiza, to strike twice for Spain within 60 seconds.
The host nation made one change from the team that held Brazil until two minutes from full-time in the semi-finals with suspended midfield 'enforcer' MacBeth Sibaya back in place of Benson Mhlongo.

Spain reacted to a shock defeat by the United States in the first semi-final with four changes as Raul Albiol, Sergio Busquets, Alvaro Arbeloa and Santi Cazorla came in and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas was among those rested.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter was present on a sunny winter afternoon in the north-west mining town and Spain were first to threaten with David Villa forcing a spectacular one-hand save from Itumeleng Khune.

South Africa crowd favourite Matthew Booth, whose every touch triggers chants of Booooooooth, let his 'fan club' down on 14 minutes after getting behind the Spanish defence.

Instead of heading to the right of goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the giant central defender could only nod the ball forward and harmlessly wide to the relief of the Euro 2008 champions.

A superb tackle from fullback Tsepo Masilela - a find of the two-week 2010 World Cup dress rehearsal - foiled Liverpool striker Fernando Torres midway through a cagey opening half.

Although South Africa lie 71 places below top ranked Spain they held their own before a crowd packed with vuvuzela-blowing spectators and when Casillas parried a Siphiwe Tshabalala drive, Booth fired the rebound wide.

Brazil-born Bafana coach Joel Santana is a hard man to satisfy and he arose from his touchline chair a couple of minutes before half-time and unleashed a verbal rant at his hard-working, organised team.

Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets was the only player cautioned in the first half and Everton star Steven Pienaar joined him in the notebook of Australian referee Matthew Breeze just after half-time.

Busquets had a goal correctly disallowed with three Spaniards offside and Khune did well to hold an Albert Riera shot as the visitors lifted their game and looked more likely to break the deadlock.

But it was South Africa who took the lead thanks to a brilliant off-the-ball run by Tshabalala, who latched on to a cross and pushed it across the goalmouth for Mphela to control before firing into the roof of the net.

It appeared enough to give South Africa victory until a remarkable end to regular time saw Spain score twice within 60 seconds through Guiza before Mphela levelled.

Guiza fired the ball through a forest of legs and past Khune into the corner for an 88th-minute equaliser and then saw his cross dip behind the goalkeeper into the net.

South Africa may have been stunned but their spirit remained strong and when awarded a free kick well outside the penalty area, Mphela stopped up and drove an unstoppable shot past Casillas.

Spain had a claim for handball inside the penalty area by Mhlongo late in the first period ignored before Alonso curled his free kick around the wall and over Fernando Llorente and Booth into the corner of the net for the winner.

Jacksons plan funeral as doctor protests innocence

2009-06-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

Jacksons plan funeral as doctor protests innocence

Michael Jackson's family were making funeral arrangements for the pop icon Sunday as the singer's doctor denied injecting the music legend with a powerful painkiller shortly before his death.
Jackson's family members were due to meet activist Reverend Al Sharpton to discuss plans for a tribute to the star, whose sudden death last week at the age of 50 has triggered a global outpouring of grief.
Sharpton was cited in several media reports as saying Jackson's family was considering a series of simultaneous memorials around the world to reflect the huge appeal of the late "King of Pop."
"Reverend Sharpton will discuss with the family ideas that people from around the world have sent him about how they would like to memorialize Michael Jackson," a spokeswoman for Sharpton said.

Jackson's family on Saturday ordered a second autopsy to be carried out after growing increasingly frustrated with "unanswered questions" surrounding the star's death, family advisers said.

Los Angeles police conducted a second interview with doctor Conrad Murray on Saturday but cleared him of any wrongdoing, the physician's lawyers said.

Yet activist Reverend Jesse Jackson -- who is not related to the family -- earlier said the family were suspicious of the role played by Murray amid reports he gave Jackson an injection of painkiller Demerol just before he died.

However a lawyer for Murray said Sunday that the injection reports were "absolutely false," the Los Angeles Times reported.

"There was no Demerol. No OxyContin," Edward Chernoff, an attorney for Murray, was quoted as saying by the Times, revealing his client had discovered Jackson unconscious in the bedroom of his home.

The doctor had not "furnished or prescribed" Jackson with Demerol, Chernoff added.

"He was the one who suggested the autopsy to the family while they were still in the hospital. He didn't understand why Michael Jackson had died," Chernoff was quoted as saying.

The Times reported that the second autopsy ordered by Jackson's family had been completed. There was no word on the findings.

A preliminary autopsy on Jackson was inconclusive and a final cause of death would not be known until exhaustive toxicology tests are completed in "six to eight weeks," according to Los Angeles coroners.

Large gatherings of devotees have been held around the world since Thursday, with thousands descending on Hollywood again on Sunday to queue for the right to view Jackson's star on the district's "Walk of Fame."

In Los Angeles, Black Entertainment Television (BET) was quickly reworking its annual awards show on Sunday, turning it into a tribute to the superstar credited with helping bridge racial divides.

The cream of African-American music, acting and sporting talent were expected to descend on the Shrine Auditorium for an event that was shaping up as an unofficial but star-studded celebration of Jackson's life.

"That's exactly what we're doing -- celebrating his life and that's what this night is about," said Taraji P. Henson, the Oscar-nominated star of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," after arriving on the event's red carpet.

"He's the biggest star in America -- in the world. I feel like he parted a gap so that Obama could be the president. His rise to fame was the beginning of 'Oh, black people are okay.'"

Meanwhile a senior advisor to President Barack Obama revealed the US leader had sent a written condolence to Jackson's family.

"The president has written the family and has shared his feelings with the family, and he felt that was the appropriate way to go," David Axelrod said.

Jackson's death has sent fans scrambling to stock up on his music, and British chart officials said a compilation album of the star's greatest hits had rocketed to the top of the charts on Sunday.

A spokesman for music retailer HMV said there had been an 80-fold increase in demand for Jackson's music "almost overnight" after the singer's death -- the biggest one-day rise in sales seen for any artists, including Elvis Presley and John Lennon.

Brazil perform great escape to win Confed Cup

2009-06-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

Brazil defended their Confederations Cup title on Sunday with a crushing come-from-behind 3-2 victory to inflict a cruel loss on tenacious underdogs the United States.
The five-time world champions looked out for the count after Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan put the Americans two up at half-time but they bounced back with a Luis Fabiano brace drawing them level with 16 minutes left.
It set the scene for an exciting finale and captain Lucio made it a memorable night with a powerful header from an Elano corner with six minutes remaining.
The victory sparked wild celebrations on the bench with Brazil now having won a gruelling seven games over the past 20 days - five at the Confederations Cup and two in World Cup qualifying.

It was their third Confederations Cup crown following triumphs in 1997 and 2005 and coach Dunga was a happy man.

"All the players were very concentrated on what needed to be done. I told them at half-time that we needed an early goal and to play the game we play. We wanted to win. We were very determined," said Dunga, the World Cup winning captain from 1994.

"It is difficult to overcome a 2-0 deficit but if you have committed players who always want to win then it is possible.

"If we can win this we can do much more in the future. I believe in these players."

Brazil had won 14 of their 15 previous encounters with the US and beaten Bob Bradley's men 3-0 in the group stages. But since that match the US fortunes changed dramatically.

After trouncing Egypt 3-0 to sneak into the knockout rounds on goals scored after finishing equal of points and goal difference with Italy, they shocked European champions Spain 2-0 in the semi-finals.

But their luck ran out against Brazil.

"That defeat really hurt," said Bradley.

"I'm extremely proud of my players, but it still feels pretty lousy to let this one get away.

"I hope though that people around the world see we have good team and great players and it is a big step forward."

On a cold winter's night, his giantkillers began in an attacking mood with Fulham's Dempsey making the first attempt on goal with a long distance strike that fizzed wide.

Brazil started feeding the ball to Maicon on the right and he lofted several crosses into the box that put the US under pressure before Real Madrid's new signing Kaka, the man-of-the-match, glanced a header wide.

But it was the US who stunned Brazil after 10 minutes.

West Ham's Jonathan Spector fed Dempsey with a defence-splitting through ball and the number eight cleverly put his shot under the diving Julio Cesar.

Brazil immediately charged back with Robinho attempting to angle a side-footed shot past Everton stopper Tim Howard but the United States kept up the pressure and Dempsey went close once again.

It was end to end stuff and Felipe Melo forced a fine save from Howard before the US pounced again with a lightening quick counter-attack.

The dangerous Landon Donovan picked the ball up in his own half and found the sprinting Charlie Davies on the left.

It was two against two and the US came off better with Davies returning the ball to Donovan who crashed it into the net after 27 minutes.

Brazil looked hard for a way back but Howard was a rock and they went to the break needing something special.

Fabinao provided it seconds after the restart when he caught the US napping, turning well from 17 yards to beat Howard and get his team back in the match.

Maicon had two good opportunities to draw them level as Brazil pressed with searching passes into the US box, while Kaka saw a header go agonisingly close when Howard pushed the ball onto the bar.

The US had lost composure and it was a desperate rearguard action with the equalisier inevitable. It came when Kaka crossed from the left and Robinho's shot hit the bar only for Fabiano to meet the rebound.

Brazil were on a mission and it was no surprise when Lucio bagged the winner to break American hearts.

Earlier, Spain clinched the third-place playoff 3-2 in an extra-time thriller against South Africa with unsettled Liverpool star Xabi Alonso netting the winner.