David Friehling Doesn't Talk to Reporters; Released on Bail
David Friehling, Bernard Madoff's accountant of almost 20 years pleaded guilty today to perpetuating Madoff's scheme and admitted that he failed to properly audit the convicted conman's investment advisory firm and helped him lie to the Securities Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service.
"In what was surely the biggest mistake in my life I placed my trust in Bernard Madoff," said Friehling, who was released on bail today.
Click here to go behind the scenes of Brian Ross' investigation into Bernie and Ruth Madoff.
Friehling expressed remorse and apologized to the victims "for the role I now know I played" in Madoff's operation and admitted that he did not independently investigate Madoff's claimed assets or perform any of the other responsibilities of an auditor.
Friehling, 49, withdrew his not guilty plea and entered the plea during a Manhattan Federal Court hearing before Judge Alvin Hellerstein that lasted more than an hour.
Friehling was charged with nine counts related to his failure to properly audit Madoff's investment advisory firm and his help to Madoff in filing false personal tax returns.
Click here to view those charges and here to read Friehling's plea agreement.
Retained for 17 years by Bernard Madoff Investment Securities, the Rockland County, New York accountant claimed "at no time was I ever aware that Bernard Madoff was engaged in a Ponzi scheme."
He said that he, his family and his father had lost their life's savings and he had lost his pension by investing with Madoff.
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