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Lessons from Bernie Madoff, Robert Allen Stanford, and Marc Rich

Bernie Madoff surrended himself to authorities.  He cooperated fully.  He put up no fight.  He got 150 years in prison - a death sentence.J. Allen Stanford, who has not yet been convicted, returned from a foreign country to fight the criminal charges against him.  He could have fled, but he did not.The moral of the story is clear: If you are rich, play litigation like it's a game of inches.  Madoff should have dragged out the legal proceedings against him.  He should have demanded his right to a trial.  He would have been convicted, but he would have bought himself the one thing money can't buy - time.While Madoff couldn't have fled the country, since he cheated too many Russian mobsters: Stanford could have.  Yet he hired a lawyer before surrending himself to federal authorities...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime & Federalism on July 01, 2009 (boomark / email).