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Will we be calling him “Bay State Bernie” soon?

Experts say there’s a good chance Bernard Madoff will do his time at Devens federal prison
hospital in Ayer once he’s sentenced today for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

“I think Devens would suit (Madoff’s) situation perfectly,” said Willis Riccio, the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission’s former New England chief. “I can’t see Bernie sent to a high-
security prison - that’s too dangerous. Anything hard-core and he wouldn’t last long.”

Madoff faces up to 150 years in prison when he’s sentenced this morning in New York on
federal fraud charges, although his lawyers have argued for just a 12-year term.

New York-based Madoff has been in a Manhattan lock-up since pleading guilty on March 12 to
all counts. However, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons will move the swindler to permanent digs soon
after today’s court session.

However, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons will move the swindler to permanent digs soon after today’
s court session.

Spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said her agency makes prison assignments based on inmates’
escape risks and other factors, but usually places convicts within 500 miles of their homes.

Experts say that rule - coupled with the fact that 71-year-old Madoff will likely need medical
care now or in the next few years - makes Devens an ideal choice.

“It’s a perfect fit for him,” said Larry Levine, an ex-con whose Wall Street Prison Consultants
helps white-collar crooks prepare for jail.

If Madoff does wind up in Devens, that will put him near many of his victims, from Hub
philanthropist Carl Shapiro to Cambridge-based actor John Malkovich. Authorities say Weston
broker Robert Jaffe served as Madoff’s Hub point man, raising $1 billion primarily from
Massachusetts and Florida investors.

Located at the former Fort Devens some 40 miles west of Boston, Devens Federal Medical
Center houses some 1,100 male inmates who require long-term medical or psychiatric
treatment.

The Bureau of Prisons classifies the site as “administrative,” meaning it can house anything
from low- to maximum-security inmates.

That makes Devens popular with white-collar criminals facing long sentences, who generally
wind up at either administrative sites or more-dangerous medium-security prisons.

Wall Street scammer Samuel Israel made headlines last year when he faked a suicide on his
way to “self-reporting” to Devens.

Levine said convicts like medical facilities because doctors often put inmates in hospital rooms
instead of cells - sometimes even with personal TVs.

Still, the expert believes that wherever Madoff does time, the scammer will face constant
danger.

“My own belief is that Madoff will be killed once he’s inside,” Levine said. “He stole $65 billion
and the people who have it now don’t want to give it back. So, they’re going to try to shut him
up.”

Madoff will also have low status in prison because convicts dislike inmates who’ve ripped off
individuals instead of banks or corporations, the expert said.

Additionally, Levine believes Madoff will face blame for a recession that’s hurt guards’ pensions
and left inmates’ families unable to fund prisoners’ canteen accounts.

“If Mom and Dad and the wife are all out of work and there’s no money for the prisoner, they’re
going to blame Bernie whether he’s guilty or not,” the expert said.

Levine said Madoff’s only hope lies in the fact that the Bureau of Prisons wants to avoid the
bad publicity that the scammer’s murder would generate.

As such, the consultant expects prison officials to house Madoff in either a cell next to a guard
station or a mental ward where everyone but Madoff is heavily medicated.

“Bernie is a special situation that nobody has even really seen before,” Levine said. “With the
amount of money he stole and the number of people he affected, you’ll always have to worry
about someone trying to kill him.”
Ponzi king Bernard Madoff to
hear terms of imprisonment

June 29, 2009