Madoff should try the Ernest Saunders approach to his jail sentence. Saunders was a crook who made a lot of money out of the Guiness share scandal of the '80's and was locked away for a long time - I can't remember his sentence but it was for quite a few years. Anyway, his lawyer pleaded for early release on the grounds that his client had developed dementia whilst doing time in an open prison. A friendly judge duly released Saunders who then went on to begin a second career as a financial advisor. Of course, it does help to have a friendly judge......