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Bernie Madoff, the ponzi king who defrauded investors for billions of dollars, is now receiving notoriety among inmates for his 20 year ponzi scheme operation.

We're analyzing coverage from FOX News, MSNBC and talkleft.com.

Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009 after being busted for engineering and operating a fraud scheme that swindled investors out of more than $50 billion.  He is serving his time at Butner Federal Correctional Facility in North Carolina, where he has gained fame among several inmates — including a former mob boss, Carmine Persico, and a famous-spy, Johnathan Pollard.  (Picture: BeliefNet)

According to New York Magazine, Madoff had some harsh words about the people affected by his scheme. Fox News explains.

“Yeah he said, ‘F*** my victims.  I carried them for 20 years and now I’m doing 150 years’. ... And he bragged.  He said, ‘You can spin the globe around, point to anywhere you want, and I probably had a house there, visited there or owned something there’.”

MSNBC interviewed Steve Fishman, the New York Magazine writer who broke the story.  He says that Madoff is free from all the pressures of operating a constant lie and is now allowed to be himself.

“He went from this very expensive apartment to prison, and he kind of slipped in.  He’s adjusted, as if it’s a relief.  And so being surrounded by prisoners, by people who don’t demand that he express remorse, by people who are interested in celebrity, I think it’s in some ways been a boom to Bernie.”

But a writer for TalkLeft.com says if Madoff is acting outlandish, it's because of the prison sentence he received.

“What did anyone expect? That he'd be understanding about his life sentence? If repentance was the goal, he should have been sentenced to a decade. … If he had been shown the slightest compassion, perhaps he'd be able to feel remorse. Instead, all he can feel is bitterness.”

So what do you think? Should Bernie Madoff be seen as a celebrity or swindler?

Writer: Cordell Anderson