In what’s been one of the longest criminal trials ever to play out in Manhattan federal court, a jury will now decide the fate of five Bernie Madoff’s ex-staffers accused of helping the Ponzi villain pull off his epic $17 billion fraud.
After hearing testimony from more than 40 witnesses and reviewing roughly 1,600 government exhibits over the past five months, the 12-person jury began deliberating on Monday.
On trial are Madoff’s former operations chief Daniel Bonventre, secretary Annette Bongiorno, account manager Joann Crupi and computer programers Jerome O’Hara and George Perez.
Both Bonventre and Bongiorno testified in their own defense while the others opted not to.
They all claim being duped for decades the same way thousands of Madoff’s investors were.
The jury is being asked to render a verdict on 31 separate charges, some of which apply to more than one defendant.
Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the scheme in 2009 and has claimed he acted alone.