The man known as ‘mini Madoff,’ Arthur G. Nadel, passed away at the age of 80 in a prison in North Carolina. Nadel was arrested back in 2009, not too long after Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme hit the news, for running a scheme that netted him $168 million. He is from Sarasota, Florida. Just days prior to his arrest Nadel disappeared but upon being picked up by authorities he claimed to have been on vacation. Prosecutors on the case said that Nadel had been to five cities prior to returning to Florida.
“I blame no one but myself for my actions,” Nadel said. “I have been my own worst enemy. I have thrown away everything worth living for.”
Nadel received a sentence of 14 years in prison and was sent to the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina. This is the same prison where Madoff is serving his time for his fraudulent scheme. Madoff received a 150 year sentence in prison after he pled guilty in March of 2009. When Nadel was sentenced, his lawyer said that he was suffering from a ‘serious cardiac condition’ as well as a urological problem. Doctors said he had around five years to live.
“Dying in prison is a very hard and lonely way to exit this life,” said Mark B. Gombiner, his court-appointed lawyer. “He had a troubled past, but he did ultimately come to accept responsibility for what he had done wrong. He faced his punishment with dignity.”