He stole from the poor. Judge Denny Chin. At various times, he referred to his monumental fraud as a "problem," "an error of judgment" and "a tragic mistake. He confessed the problem to his sons, who went to the authorities. But what the SEC never found out was that behind the scenes, in a separate office kept under lock and key, Madoff was secretly spinning a web of phantom wealth by using cash from new investors to pay returns to old ones. He recalled when the Houston Rockets came to town, along with the team's new star, Yao Ming, his younger children were excited about going to the game. There, with his brother and later two sons, he ran a legitimate business as middlemen between the buyers and sellers of stock. His clients ranging from Florida retirees to celebrities such as Steven Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon and Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax consistently enjoyed steady double-digit returns. His grandfather and father both worked in Chinese restaurants in New York City, while his mother worked as a seamstress in Chinatown's garment district. For decades, Madoff enjoyed an image as a self-made financial guru whose Midas touch defied market fluctuations. The order left her with $2.5 million. display: none; Wiesel admitted that he bought into "a myth that he created around him that everything was so special, so unique, that it had to be secret.". [7] In 1978, Chin graduated from Fordham University School of Law with a Juris Doctor, where he was the Managing Editor of the Fordham Law Review. Chin's path to his judgeship offers a compelling parable of an immigrant's success. It all came crashing down in the winter of 2008 with a dramatic confession at Madoff's 12th-floor apartment on the Upper East Side. He began his Wall Street career in 1960 alongside his brother Peter with a few thousand dollars saved from working as a lifeguard and installing sprinklers. In December 2008, as investors worried about the impending crisis started asked for their money back, Madoff called a family meeting at his Manhattan apartment, and confessed to his sons that the family business they both worked in was based on one big lie. The Madoffs also took a severe financial hit: A judge issued a $171 billion forfeiture order in June 2009 stripping Madoff of all his personal property, including real estate, investments, and $80 million in assets his wife, Ruth, had claimed were hers. [9], On October 6, 2009, President Obama nominated Chin to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died in a federal prison Wednesday, the federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to CBS News.. But his investment advisory business was exposed in 2008 as a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out people's fortunes and ruined charities and foundations. In November 2013, Chin dismissed Authors Guild et al. I said, So basically youre splitting the baby? the judge remembered. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. As Judge Chin listened from the bench, nine of Mr. Madoffs victims described the devastation he had caused in their lives. [22] On April 18, 2016, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal. But he added that it was important to remember the history of Asians in the United States, and mentioned in particular the Korematsu case and the Japanese internment camps during World War II. He said there may be parts of the country that are less tolerant, noting that there's no question that some Asian-American lawyers feel held back. A $105 million lawsuit brought by a woman who claims a sex sting by "Dateline NBC: To Catch A Predator" drove her brother to kill himself can go to trial, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. From his grandfather, a waiter, and his father, a cook in Hell's Kitchen,. He was confirmed in April 2010 and took senior status in June 2021. Judge Denny Chin, who now sits on the 2nd U.S. Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds He invited them in, then confessed after being asked "if there's an innocent explanation," a criminal complaint said. But as he finished for the night, he said, he felt vaguely unsatisfied with the draft, which he saved on his computer at 9:29 p.m. I was still struggling with the reasoning, he recalled. MIKE PESCA: Thirteen billion dollars - that is the most conservative estimate of the amount of money Bernard Madoff stole. He would include the story in his draft. President Bill Clinton nominated Chin to the district court on March 24, 1994, and Chin was confirmed August 9 of that same year. The whole goddamn thing is a fraud.'". Three weeks after Chin ruled on a commercial breach of contract case involving plaintiff's lawyer Larry Klayman, Klayman wrote a letter to Chin asking if he had any connection to John Huang or the Democratic National Committee. In McCosh Hall, outside Room 50 hangs a portrait of Judge Denny Chin. U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Denny Chin, a Chinese immigrant who grew up in a Hell's Kitchen tenement, is the subject of a newly released Pathways to the Bench video profile, the eighth in a video series in which federal judges talk about challenges that helped prepare them to serve justice. A Class of 1975 graduate, Chin was the first Asian American appointed as a United States District Judge outside of California and Hawaii. From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. The amount includes all his personal property, real estate, investments and $80 million in assets that his wife who has not been charged had claimed were hers. U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Denny Chin, a Chinese immigrant who grew up in a Hell's Kitchen tenement, is the subject of a newly released Pathways to the Bench video profile, the eighth in a video series in which federal judges talk about challenges that helped prepare them to serve justice.. Judge Chin, who joined the Second Circuit bench in 2010, recalls how he moved from Hong Kong to New . Weeks before Bernard Madoff's December arrest, statements showed that his firm had $56 billion in accounts. Thurgood Marshall U.S. The West Coast has a large number of experienced Asian-American litigators, and the East Coast is quickly catching up. Extraordinarily evil By the time Judge Chin entered his chambers on the morning of Monday, June 29, he had decided what his draft was missing, he said. He became so hated he had to wear a bulletproof vest to court. A federal prison website listed his probable release date as November 11, 2139. His 8-year-old felt torn and said, "'I love the Knicks, but I love Yao.'" Totally a nice guy, understated, unassuming, fell for it lock, stock and barrel. display: none; The search for Madoff's assets "has unearthed a labyrinth of interrelated international funds, institutions and entities of almost unparalleled complexity and breadth," the trustee, Irving Picard, said in a 2009 report. The convicted swindler stood before the judge and his victims and said, I live in a tormented state knowing the pain and suffering I've created. Outside the court, other victims assemble. Judge Denny Chin called Madoffs crimes extraordinarily evil. DiPascali recounted for jurors how just before the scheme was exposed, Madoff called him into his office. Senior Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He directed Klayman to explain the letter and in open court Klayman stated that he had written the letter because Chin was Asian. Pak was convicted by a jury and sentenced by Chin to 5 years in prison.[20]. 2023 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. The request was denied. Extraordinarily evil - that was the judge's description today of the acts of Bernard Madoff. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms. Madoff's other son, Andrew, died from cancer at age 48. "He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife could live a life of luxury beyond belief.". Bernard Madoff, right, leaves US . Chin wrote that a reasonable jury could find there was no legitimate law enforcement need for a heavily armed SWAT team to extract a 56-year-old prosecutor from his home when he was not accused of any actual violence and was not believed to have a gun. Read about our approach to external linking. Michael Schwartz counted himself as lucky, at least compared to his disabled twin brother, whose ability to live in a good group home was destroyed by Bernie Madoff. After several months living under house arrest at his $7 million Manhattan penthouse apartment, he was led off to jail in handcuffs to scattered applause from angry investors in the courtroom. The lawyer turned around and made a motion that Chin recuse himself from the case, saying Chin was "too hard on him because he was Asian-American.". Two years later, Judge Chins recollections resurrect all the anger, shock and confusion that surrounded Mr. Madoffs crimes, and provide a rare peek at the excruciating pressure faced by a judge who had to balance the law, the publics emotions and his own deeply held beliefs while meting out a sentence that was just and satisfied the courts need to send a message. He stole from the rich. } Splitting the baby, to me, was sending the wrong message, he said. How could this be real? "One of the best things I did as a judge over the years was to preside over the naturalization ceremony. "It's real important for you to be involved," he said. Another son, Andrew, died from cancer at age 48. Victims of Mr Madoff's fraud included celebrities and everyday people, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. tally fair than Denny Chin." As a federal district judge, Judge Chin presided over a number of high-profile cases. He was the sixth judge to address a motion to suppress in cases around the country, and he was the first to grant the motion. "Life has been a living hell. "There's no cure for my type of disease. Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. A defendant should get his just deserts, he remembered thinking. The judge called Madoff's deeds "extraordinarily evil," and said he needed to send a symbolic message to those who might try to perpetuate a comparable fraud. Judge Chin and his wife Kathy Hirata Chin have written, produced, and presented, together with a team from the Asian American Bar Association of New York, a series of reenactments of historic cases involving Asian American litigants. The probation department had recommended a 50-year term, while the defense lawyer had sought 12 years behind bars for his client. 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