A federal judge sentenced Peter Madoff to 10 years in prison for his actions as the top compliance officer at his older brother's investment firm Thursday, making him only the second person sent to prison after four years of investigations into the multibillion-dollar fraud.

The sentence was the maximum term faced by the 67-year-old, who had also agreed to forfeit all of his personal assets, including a Ferrari and more than $10 million in cash.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain to sentence Peter Madoff to 10 years was widely expected because of a plea deal struck months ago. Even so, friends and relatives sent dozens of letters to Judge Swain in recent months describing Peter Madoff as a decent man, eager to satisfy his chillier older brother and always living in his shadow.

Bernie was 'the brother Peter always wanted to please, the brother who would never really let Peter in, the brother with the power,' according to a letter from Amy Meisler, a longtime friend. 'The door at the office never read Madoff Brothers, or Madoff and Sons, it always read Bernard L. Madoff.'

'They're two different personalities,' said Marvin Weiner, Peter Madoff's brother in law, in an interview.

After marrying his high school sweetheart in 1967 and graduating law school three years later, Peter Madoff abandoned his hopes of working at the Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to Bernie's plan to work at his then-fledgling investment firm, his lawyer said in court documents.

Peter, who worked at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities for 38 years, was the chief compliance officer and responsible for conducting regular reviews of his brother's firm to ensure it was following all trading rules and submitting reports to regulators, authorities said in court documents.

In reality, he was doing nothing of the sort, authorities said. Peter Madoff signed off on documents and made false statements to clients and regulators that only made it appear he was performing his compliance duties, authorities said.

Peter welcomed the trappings of the job in spite of his second-tier status. He accepted a number of 'fringe benefits' from his brother, including free meals, travel, leased cars, country club memberships, financial gifts for his children and other perks, which he failed to disclose on his tax returns, he said in June as he pleaded guilty to criminal charges. He admitted his wife was given a 'no-show' position at the firm; authorities said she was paid between $100,000 and $160,000 a year.

Peter was aware of the job's limitations too. During the June hearing, Peter Madoff told Judge Swain that he never had any financial interest in his brother's firm, and Bernie made it clear he would never be a partner.

Peter Madoff agreed, as part of his plea deal, to accept the 10-year sentence recommended under federal guidelines and suggested by prosecutors. But he said he never knew about his brother's Ponzi scheme and discovered that the investment business was a fraud only after his brother told him in December 2008.

Several victims of the Ponzi scheme have said they are unconvinced of Peter's professed ignorance of the fraud and said the brother deserved harsher time.

'Just like Bernard received the maximum, if somewhat symbolic, sentence of 150 years, I ask that you set aside whatever plea arrangement Peter made and impose the maximumsentence possible,' wrote Michael and Emma De Vita ahead of the sentencing. 'We the victims still have not heard one person say, 'I knew and I am sorry.''

Losses from Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme are estimated to be $17.3 billion, according to the court-appointed trustee recovering fund for victims, many who have seen their life savings wiped out. About $11 billion has been recovered so far.

Dan Strumpf

• federal [´fedərəl]   a.联邦的，联邦制的   (初中英语单词)
• investment [in´vestmənt]   n.投资；(时间等)投入   (初中英语单词)
• sentence [´sentəns]   n.判决 vt.宣判；处刑   (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ]   a.工人的；劳动的   (初中英语单词)
• lawyer [´lɔ:jə]   n.律师；法学家   (初中英语单词)
• responsible [ri´spɔnsəbəl]   a.尽责的；责任重大的   (初中英语单词)
• reality [ri´æliti]   n.现实(性)；真实；逼真   (初中英语单词)
• financial [fi´nænʃəl]   a.金融的，财政的   (初中英语单词)
• guilty [´gilti]   a.有罪的；心虚的   (初中英语单词)
• criminal [´kriminəl]   a.犯罪的 n.罪犯   (初中英语单词)
• scheme [ski:m]   n.计划；阴谋，诡计   (初中英语单词)
• ignorance [´ignərəns]   n.无知，愚昧   (初中英语单词)
• whatever [wɔt´evə]   pron.&a.无论什么   (初中英语单词)
• arrangement [ə´reindʒmənt]   n.整理；排列；筹备   (初中英语单词)
• impose [im´pəuz]   v.课税；强加；利用   (初中英语单词)
• maximum [´mæksiməm]   n.极点 a.最大的   (高中英语单词)
• decent [´di:sənt]   a.体面的，正派的   (高中英语单词)
• sweetheart [´swi:thɑ:t]   n.爱人；情人   (高中英语单词)
• commission [kə´miʃən]   n.委任(状) vt.委任   (高中英语单词)
• disclose [dis´kləuz]   vt.揭露；透露；泄露   (高中英语单词)
• hearing [´hiəriŋ]   n.听力；听证会；审讯   (高中英语单词)
• billion [´biljən]   num.万亿   (高中英语单词)
• forfeit [´fɔ:fit]   n.罚金 a.丧失了的   (英语四级单词)
• status [´steitəs]   n.身份；情形；状况   (英语四级单词)
• trustee [trʌs´ti:]   n.托管人；保管人   (英语四级单词)
• abandoned [ə´bændənd]   a.被抛弃的；无约束的   (英语六级单词)