April 14 (Reuters) – Bernard Madoff, who was convicted for running the largest known Ponzi scheme in history, died on Wednesday in federal prison where he was serving a 150-year sentence.
Here are some of Madoff’s public comments:
* On his trading approach: “It’s a proprietary strategy. I can’t go into it in great detail.” — Barron’s, May 7, 2001
* Speaking on a panel called “The Future of the Stock Market” at the Philoctetes Center for the Multidisciplinary Study of the Imagination in New York on Oct 20, 2007, Madoff said:
On regulations: “In today’s regulatory environment, it’s virtually impossible to violate rules … but it’s impossible for a violation to go undetected, certainly not for a considerable period of time.”
On the dynamics between investors and Wall Street firms: “The nature of any human being, certainly anyone on Wall Street, is ‘the better deal you give the customer, the worse deal it is for you.'”
On the costs of regulatory compliance: “No one is going to run a benefit for Wall Street.”
* During his plea hearing on March 12, 2009: “I am painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many, many people.”
“When I began my Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme.”
“As the years went by, I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come.”
Reuters Newsroom
