Tiger of the Week: Denny Chin ’75

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin ’75, a district judge since 1994, is "known in the legal community as even-tempered, fair, witty, and unafraid to make tough decisions," according to Reuters. Those qualities were tested under an international spotlight March 12 when Chin's Manhattan courtroom handled a key hearing in the case of Bernard Madoff, who was charged with 11 counts related to a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Chin made a decision that drew cheers from dozens of people in his Manhattan courtroom. After listening to three jilted investors and hearing Madoff's admission of guilt, the judge ordered Madoff to jail, revoking bail and setting June 16 as the date for the fraudulent financier's sentencing. He also ensured that Madoff's victims would have an opportunity to speak at the sentencing. But Chin was not a complete crowd-pleaser -- Bloomberg.com reported that he quieted investors' jeers on at least one occasion. For his poise under pressure, Chin is our Tiger of the Week.

The applause at the end of the proceedings did little to mask an unpleasant reality. As Lev Dassin, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, noted, investors are unlikely to recover more than a small fraction of their losses.

(Photo courtesy Wikipedia)

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