|  | | 2009 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
'Ruthless' Ponzi Schemer Gets 20 Years In Prison
Kevin LaCroix
Associated Press. October 22, 2009
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EXCERPT: Victims of a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme who wanted the man who robbed them severely punished got their wish Wednesday when a judge sentenced the 83-year-old businessman to a 20-year prison term. "A hundred-fifty years ago we would have taken him out and hung him," said investor Carl Bell, 64, one of three victims who spoke at the sentencing of Richard Piccoli of Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo. About a dozen others looked on. U.S. District Judge William Skretny rejected a defense request for a sentence that would give Piccoli hope that he would not die in prison, saying he ran a "shameful, disgraceful and rather ruthless Ponzi scheme" that bilked clients recruited largely through ads in Catholic newspapers, using clergy-member investors as references. "You operated without a conscience. You are a wolf in sheep's clothing," the judge told the grandfatherly Piccoli, who walked slowly to the podium and put eyeglasses on before addressing the court. "I know I'm going to jail, and I deserve it," said Piccoli, whose scheme lasted nearly 30 years. "I let so many people down." Assistant U.S. Attorney Gretchen Wylegala said authorities estimate Piccoli and his Gen-See Capital Corp. took in $31 million in investments between 2002 and 2009 and that about $7 million was available to partially reimburse victims, many of whom lost tens of thousands of dollars saved over a lifetime of work. More than 800 people invested with Piccoli, authorities said, and about 500 lost money as he paid earlier investors with money collected from those who came later. At least 100 people said their finances were ruined, Skretny said. |
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