Even with Bernard L. Madoff heading to prison Thursday after confessing to an epic Ponzi scheme, the intrigue over his case deepened as embittered victims pressed the government to find out who may have helped him and where the money went.<\/p>\n
At a 75-minute court hearing, he pleaded guilty to 11 securities-related fraud counts and said he was “so deeply sorry and ashamed.”<\/p>\n
“I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come,” Madoff told a packed courtroom in his first public comments since his scheme was revealed in December. “I am painfully aware that I have hurt many, many people.”<\/p>\n
That was little consolation to the more than two dozen investors who squeezed into federal court for a glimpse of the man who bilked many out of their life savings while assuring his clients only last fall that their investments were worth $65 billion.<\/p>\n