Jury takes 20 hours to find Madoff associates guilty after five-month trial
The verdicts - guilty on all counts - came after just 20 hours of deliberations, which paled in comparison to the trial's extraordinary length. At more than five months, it was one of the longest white-collar criminal trials in the history of the federal court in Manhattan.
When it came down to it, the evidence was simply too overwhelming.
That was what several jurors said after they convicted five former Bernard Madoff associates of helping to conceal his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
The verdicts - guilty on all counts - came after just 20 hours of deliberations, which paled in comparison to the trial's extraordinary length. At more than five months, it was one of the longest white-collar criminal trials in the history of the federal court in Manhattan.
But the jurors said there was never really any doubt in their minds about the outcome.
"It was the overall picture," said Sheila Amato, an art teacher. "The facts speak for themselves."
The five employees - back-office director Daniel Bonventre, portfolio managers Annette Bongiorno and Joann Crupi and computer programmers Jerome O'Hara and George Perez - claimed they believed Madoff's business was legitimate and they were fooled into becoming unknowing accomplices.