Nicolette Wernick, of Bloomfield, has been a widow for several years but before her husband died, he had invested with Bernard Madoff.
She would not say how much money was invested but she did say it's all gone.
On Thursday, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud, perjury, theft and international money laundering. His scheme evaporated life fortunes and wiped out charities to the tune of an estimated $65 billion.
Wernick said Madoff deserves to be in jail but she also said that, for some reason, she feels no animosity.
She's puzzled, upset and worried but not so much angry. She said she's somewhat lucky because she can sell her apartment.
But others, she said, including friends in Florida, are left with nothing and wealthy friends are moving in with their children.
Wernick also feels that somehow her family should have kept closer tabs on their investments.
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Everything looked legitimate, she said. She has no idea how Madoff managed to pull it off for such a lengthy period of time and she also blames the Securities and Exchange Commission, which never investigated when it was told something was wrong.
