Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
Today, the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog returns to a subject that dominated headlines for much of the early months of the year. This would be the Bernard Madoff nightmare and his infamous Ponzi scheme. As you will recall, we learned that the Ponzi scheme was originated here in Boston and many of Madoff’s victims indeed lived here in the Commonwealth.
Yesterday, in a New York courtroom, a gentleman by the name of Frank DiPascali, 52, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) proved all of us who claimed that Madoff could not have acted alone right…thereby exposing Madoff to be, among other things, a liar.
Now, that’s a surprise, isn’t it?
The Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud and eight other charges Tuesday as part of a cooperation deal in which he’s expected to help prosecutors target other suspects in the massive embezzlement scam.
The Defendant was a regular white collar success story. He who rose from a teenage assistant to Madoff to become the chief financial officer of Madoff’s business . He has waived indictment by a federal grand jury and admitted he spent decades helping the former money manager falsify purported trading records for thousands of victimized investors.
The Defendant pleaded guilty to all 10 criminal counts in a packed courtroom hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan. It was the first public confirmation that one of the largest financial crimes in history was a conspiracy that involved multiple players.
Attorney Sam’s Take:
The Madoff nightmare provided many types of lessons for many sections of society. The point here, though, is the lesson it provides to you in terms of criminal justice.
White collar crime prosecutions are usually brought forward after months of investigation by law enforcement. This is why, when the investigator shows up at your doorstep with a friendly invitation to come in and have a chat, you should not treat it lightly and it is generally not a great idea to have that chat without an attorney present. The Madoff scandal did not result from his sons one picking up the telephone one day, turning in dear old dad and, upon dad’s arrest, investigation over.
As is typical in these cases, particularly in federal matters, co-conspirators were turned on each other. We now learn that the Defendant was one of these co-conspirators. Therefore, when you learn that such investigation is occurring, and it might have your name on it, you need to treat it seriously and get counsel as soon as possible.
One interesting feature to this revelation, however, has yet to be addressed. During his plea and sentencing hearings, Madoff kept insisting he acted alone.
That would, apparently, be perjury since he was under oath.
Think there will now be a new prosecution and sentencing?
At any rate, should you find yourself being the subject of an investigation, and you wish to discuss your options with me, feel free to call me at (617) 206-1942.
For the full articles underlying this blog, see http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/brokerage/2009-08-11-madoff-cfo-pleads-guilty_N.htm
