Tearful, angry victims of a $77 million Ponzi scheme that targeted hundreds of often working-class Italian-Americans crowded into a Chicago courtroom Thursday to tell their stories before a judge handed the convicted swindler a maximum 23-year prison term.
The federal judge rejected prosecutors' recommendation of a 12 1/2 year sentence for Frank Castaldi – in part because he had reported the two-decade scam himself – saying that would let the 57-year-old accountant and businessman off too easy, given the lives he ruined.
Castaldi, once a respected member of the Chicago-area Italian community himself, sometimes targeted the elderly, widows and immigrants from Italy – many of whom were close friends of Castaldi who trusted him, U.S. District Judge John Darrah said.
"This is an offense of a huge magnitude," Darrah told the court. "Frank Castaldi abused that trust and had a horrific impact on victims," he said.
The slight, mustachioed Castaldi, who will begin serving his sentence on Nov. 15, also gained the trust of some by helping do their income taxes for years, prosecutors said.
Dozens of victims packed into the courtroom to speak at the sentencing hearing. Others were forced to stand in the doorway, straining to listen to often gut-wrenching testimony.
Reading from letters, Darrah cited one woman who said Castaldi persuaded her to invest $300,000 shortly after her husband had died, assuring her he would help her out.
"Instead, like a vulture, he prayed on my weakness," Darrah said, reading from the letter.
Frank Cesare, 72, said he had come from Italy and saved money all his life so he could help his children and grandchildren. Now, he said, he has lost all his savings to Castaldi.
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