Victims Worry Madoff Will Take Secrets To Prison

By DAVID B. CARUSO

NEW YORK (AP) — Bernard Madoff's expected guilty plea leaves many of his ruined investors worried that the disgraced financier will take his secrets to prison with him. On the eve of his federal court hearing, key questions remained unanswered: Who helped Madoff run one of the largest investment scams in U.S. history? What happened to the money?

Many of the people ruined by Madoff's Ponzi scheme took little comfort in his day of reckoning, even if it puts him in prison for life.

"A pound of flesh here is really not worth as much as a check," explained Burt Meerow, 70, who saw the proceeds of a lifetime of work vanish. He is now selling his home in Park Ridge, N.J., to stay afloat.

Madoff is scheduled to enter his plea Thursday morning in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan.

His lawyer has indicated he will admit guilt on all 11 felony counts, which would lead to a sentence of around 150 years under federal guidelines. He would not be formally sentenced for several months.