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For nearly an hour and a half, Bernard Madoff sat impassively at the front of a packed Manhattan courtroom, his head bowed, his back to the nine victims who took tearful stabs at catharsis. They branded him a “beast,” a “monster” and a “psychopath.” They recounted how he ruined families, reduced retirees to penury and shattered dreams.

They pled for vengeance, and that is what they got.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin handed Mr. Madoff a 150-year prison sentence Monday morning, eliciting a burst of applause from spectators and fulfilling the wishes of one investor who said he wanted Mr. Madoff's jail cell to “become his coffin.”

Mr. Chin, in explaining why he delivered the maximum statutory penalty, said that symbolism was an important concern here: that the scale of Mr. Madoff's $65-billion (U.S.) Ponzi scheme demanded a response that would both pose a deterrent and help his victims heal.

“The message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil,” the judge said before issuing his verdict. “Objectively speaking, the fraud here was staggering.”

Mr. Madoff had himself become a symbol: the biggest rogue in a gallery of white-collar criminals that has eroded the public's faith in Wall Street. His punishment is six times larger than that of convicted Worldcom Inc. chief executive officer Bernie Ebbers, and more than 12 times the sentence given to Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas.

As one Madoff investor said Monday, this was a fraud that knew no boundaries; thousands of people were affected, from the rich to the poor, from major financial institutions to charities, in a swindle that first took root 20 years ago.

That scope was reflected in the emotional, often vitriolic atmosphere of Monday's proceeding.

“We have a marriage made in heaven,” said Tom FitzMaurice, 63. “You have a marriage made in hell, and that's where you're returning. May God spare you no mercy.”

Miriam Siegman, 65, told the court that she has been reduced to living on food stamps, washing her laundry in the kitchen sink, and occasionally scavenging in dumpsters at the end of the month.

“He discarded me like roadkill,” she said.

Mr. Madoff, dressed in a charcoal grey suit, white shirt, and dark tie, spoke for a few minutes before the sentence was delivered, and at one point turned to face his victims and offer an apology, even though he conceded it wouldn't help them.

“I cannot offer you an excuse for my behaviour,” he said. “How do you excuse betraying thousands of investors who entrusted me with their life savings. … How do you excuse deceiving your wife who stood by you for 50 years?”

Mr. Madoff, 71, said he did not seek forgiveness. He explained how he dug himself into a hole and made “an error in judgment,” a “tragic mistake,” borne of the fact he could not accept failure. Yet he did not speak in detail about how he carried out his fraud.

“I live in a tormented state knowing all the pain and suffering I've created,” he said. “I've left a legacy of shame to my family and my grandchildren.”

His lawyer, Ira Sorkin, characterized him as a “deeply flawed individual,” and insisted a 12-year sentence would be sufficient to keep Mr. Madoff behind bars for most, if not all, of his life.

But both the court and the victims were unmoved by Mr. Madoff's apparent contrition.

Judge Chin described the fraud as “unprecedented,” and was skeptical that Mr. Madoff had been fully co-operative with investigators. He noted that although the fund manager turned himself into police, he likely did so because he knew he would soon be caught.

“I do not get the sense that Mr. Madoff has done all that he could or said all that he knows,” the judge said. “This is not just a matter of money. The breach of trust was massive.”

Hundreds of reporters and onlookers filled an overflow room to watch the sentencing, while dozens of television crews lined the street facing the courthouse.

Afterward, victims expressed satisfaction with the length of the sentence, although they were quick to point out that this did little to ease their financial burdens. Only a small fraction of the funds that investigators believe were invested with Mr. Madoff have been recovered.

“I take it as a message,” Ronnie Ambrosino, who accompanied her husband while he spoke in court, told reporters outside. “But where Bernie Madoff is and how long he's in jail will not get us our money back.”

Mr. Madoff was placed in custody after the sentence was issued, and will likely be remanded to a prison somewhere in the northeastern United States.

Occasionally, when sentences are handed down, the judge will be asked to consider mitigating factors, including letters of support from friends, clergy, or family, that attest to past good deeds.

No one stepped forward for Mr. Madoff. Even his wife, Ruth, distanced herself after he was led away, in what were her first public comments since the scandal broke.

“All those touched by this fraud feel betrayed, disbelieving the nightmare they woke to,” she said in a statement. “I am embarrassed and ashamed. Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused. The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years.”