Bernie Madoff Gets a Wet Kiss From the Feds

Here's the latest Bernard Madoff outrage: instead of getting the hard time that he deserves, he will be confined to the "crown jewel" of the prison system, Butner Federal Correctional Complex in balmy North Carolina.

The "crown jewel" description comes from the press coverage Butner received in 2006, when Enron's Jeff Skilling wanted to be confined there. (He actually made out reasonably well, and is currently confined in FCI Englewood, a low-security institution near the pretty little town of Littleton, Colorado.)

Sure, no prison in the system is a "country club," but the idea of Madoff getting a comparatively cushy prison assignment is galling. What has this man done in return for such beneficence?

Business Insideer reports that "Butner is also known for having excellent medical facilities, especially its cancer-treament programs. There have been rumors that Madoff has been diagnosed with cancer." In other words, Madoff gets top quality health insurance at government expense, which is more than his elderly and impoverished victims are going to get.

Hey, I'm not saying he should be thrown in a dungeon and fed bread and water, but this is a bit too much.

© 2009 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.