Sales of the "Smash-Me Bernie" doll are brisk. The $99 efigy of Bernie Madoff, introduced at the 2009 Toy Fair, is a red-suited, pitchfork wielding figure. It even comes with a little golden hammer that you can use to smash the doll to smithereens. Unfortunately, like his apology in court last week, that won't get you your money back.
Madoff admitted guilt for running a devestating Ponzi scheme for many years. At his court hearing, he admitted his guilt, accepted responsibility, and said he was sorry. The bulk of his statement concerned itself with an explanation of how the scheme unfolded. It was a detailed confession.
Here is how Madoff began his apology.
Your Honor, for many years up until my arrest on December 11, 2008, I operated a Ponnzi scheme through the investment advisory side of my business, Bernard L. Madoff Securities LLC, which was located here in Manhattan, New York at 885 Third Avenue.
I am actually grateful for this first opportunity to publicly speak about my crimes, for which I am so deeply sorry and ashamed. As I engaged in my fraud, I knew what I was doing was wrong, indeed criminal. When I began the Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme. However, this proved difficult, and ultimately impossible, and as the years went by I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come.
I am painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many, many people, including the members of my family, my closest friends, business associates and the thousands of clients who gave me their money. I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done. I am here today to accept responsibility for my crimes by pleading guilty and, with this plea allocution, explain the means by which I carried out and concealed my fraud.
Here is the full text of Madoff's confession.
Reaction to Madoff's apology was widely negative. Many victims are so angry that they are not ready for any type of apology. Other observers, such as Shel Horowitz in his Principled Profit blog, correctly noted that the apology lacked the all-important restitution step.
Others criticized the apology as being not being sincere. My own view is that we don't need to dwell on the apologizer's sincereity to evaluate the apology. No one has a window into another's soul. What's important is to look at the words, the demeanor, and, most important, the actions. On that basis, I find Madoff's apology ineffective.
While he accepted responsibility, expressed remorse, said he was sorry, and provided much detail about what he apoloigized for, Madoff did not address the concerns of his many victims. His delivery was a monotone. The apology was too much about redemptipon for himself. Most of all, his apology did not address restitution. Yes, he has accepted going to jail for the rest of his life, but an effective apology would have made some commitments about disgorging his own wealth, implicting others who aided him in his offenses, and helping his victims recover as much of their assets as possible. Bernie Madoff did none of this.
Evaluation
Recognition: B
Responsibiity: B
Remorse: B
Restitution: F
Repetition: N/A
Overall Grade: C-
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