Madoff can expect de facto life term

Revelations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission missed several warnings about Madoff's operation, sparked severe criticism of the markets watchdog and calls for tighter regulation of money managers.

"Madoff deserves a sentence befitting a thief, and murderer," wrote one investor, Julie Behar to the judge. "Because he has in essence murdered the trust the people placed in their investment advisers and the financial markets."

The case is USA v Madoff 09-213 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan)