NEW YORK -- A federal judge rejected Bernard Madoff's plea for leniency Monday, sentencing the 71-year-old swindler to

spend the rest of his life in prison for an "extraordinarily evil" fraud; that took a staggering toll on thousands of victims.

lea : 請求,懇求 leniency : 寬大;仁慈 plead for leniency : 求情 swindler : 騙子 swindle: 詐騙

plea : 請求,懇求 fraud : 欺騙(行為) staggering : 驚人的 toll : (長期以來的)損失, 傷害

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin cited the unprecedented nature of the multibillion-dollar fraud as he sentenced Madoff to

the maximum of 150 years in prison, a term comparable only to those given in the past to terrorists, traitors and the most

violent criminals. There is no parole in federal prison so Madoff will most likely die there.

cite : 引用;舉出 term : 期,期限 parole : 有條件釋放,假釋

"Here, the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of irresponsible

manipulation of the system is not merely a bloodless financial crime that takes place just on paper,

but it is instead ... one that takes a staggering human toll," Chin said.

The massive pyramid scheme run by Madoff since at least the early 1990s demolished the life savings of thousands of

people, wrecked charities and shook confidence in the U.S. financial system.

Pyramid scheme : 層壓式推銷法 demolish : 完全毀壞 wreck : 損害

Only Madoff and an accountant accused of failing to make basic auditing checks have faced criminal charges. But a person familiar

with the investigation said Monday that 10 more people would face federal charges by the time the probe is complete.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing,

wouldn't detail potential charges or say whether the 10 would include Madoff's family or former employees.

audit : 審核;查帳 probe : 徹底調查盤問 anonymity : 匿名

Madoff's 150-year sentence reflected a growing tendency over the last decade to give white-collar criminals lengthy prison terms

-- although a handful of cases have received even longer terms. The outcome prompted scattered applause

and whoops from a group of burned former clients in a packed Manhattan courtroom.

whoops : 哎呀!(表示驚訝、尷尬、抱歉等) burned : 損失大量錢財的

......