BREAKING NEWS

Trial of Madoff employees in New York begins with jury selection

By REUTERS

OCTOBER 8, 2013 22:54

NEW YORK - The trial of five former employees of imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff began on Tuesday with questions for dozens of potential jurors, including whether they were familiar with some of the most famous victims of the multibillion-dollar fraud.

About 200 juror candidates filled the ceremonial courtroom in federal court in Manhattan, the judge asking each defendant, their lawyers and the prosecutors to stand and turn slowly as she introduced them.

Prosecutors accuse the defendants of helping Madoff, once a respected investment manager, operate a fraud over decades that caused more than $17 billion in losses. Madoff, 75, is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in March 2009 in a case that shook public confidence in regulators.

The prosecution said the five created false records and fabricated exotic-sounding transactions to fool investors and regulators. All have pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges, including securities fraud and conspiracy to defraud Madoff's clients. Some have indicated in court filings that they were unaware of the fraud, or that Madoff fooled them.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain asked the potential jurors if they were familiar with famous reported victims of Madoff's swindle, including actors Kevin Bacon and Zsa Zsa Gabor, movie mogul Steven Spielberg and New York Mets Major League Baseball team owner Fred Wilpon.

While Madoff, who was arrested in December 2008, said he acted alone, prosecutors have charged 15 of his associates. Of them, nine have pleaded guilty and six, including the five on trial, have pleaded not guilty.

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