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Filed Under:Bernard Madoff, Bernie Madoff, Frank DiPascali, fraud, fraud trial, Irene Cornell, Ponzi Scheme, prosecution
(FILES) A picture taken on January 14, 2009 in New York, shows Bernard Madoff leaving US Federal Court after a hearing regarding his bail. The French prosecutor's office opened on May 29, 2009 an investigation into allegations of fraud following complaints from investors who say they were harmed in a pyramid scheme orchestrated by US financier Bernard Madoff, legal sources said. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)Bernard L. Madoff leaves US Federal Court after a hearing regarding his bail on January 14, 2009 in New York. (credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)


NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The prosecution wraps up closing statements in the trial against five former aides to Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff.

As WCBS 880’s Irene Cornell reported, a federal prosecutor gets the final word after days of closing arguments from the attorneys for all five defendants.

Madoff’s former secretary, his former head of operations, an account manager and two computer programmers are on trial.

Lawyers for each defendant argued the ex-Madoff employees knew nothing about Madoff’s $20 billion Ponzi scheme which the government accuses them of operating on a day-to-day basis.

The defense lawyers attacked the key prosecution witness, Frank DiPascali, who pleaded guilty and testified that it was impossible not to know what was going on at Madoff Securities.

Defense attorney Andrew Frisch had painted DiPascali as a pathological liar and shredder of documents whose first instinct was to run and hide, Cornell reported.

The fraud trial began in October.

Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence after revealing the epic fraud in December 2008. He was reported to be facing health issues in recent months.

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