Bernie Madoff, welcome to the Hotel California where nightmares in the American Dream go to fade away.

Madoff has been all over the news recently for pleading guilty to bilking thousands of people for $50 billion. For his crimes, he might receive a sentence of 150 years in prison.

At age 70, there’s no way he – or any human being – could live through that long of a sentence. But if the government is trying to make an example of Madoff, it would be a strong statement.

Consider the long list of people who were bankrupted and left without a dime because of his Ponzi scheme. On this list, there is Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Wiesel lost his entire life savings when he trusted it with Madoff. And he was far from being the only Holocaust survivor to be fooled.

When asked about his thoughts on Madoff, Wiesel called the scam artist “evil.”

Before I continue, here are a few important,

indisputable facts to consider:

– Gravity exists.

– Racism will always be prevalent.

– When Elie Wiesel calls you “evil,” Adolf Hitler is the baseline.

In an interview with Condé Nast Portfolio magazine on Feb. 26, Wiesel gave his suggestion for an alternate punishment for Madoff.

Wiesel said: “I would like him to be in a solitary cell with a screen, and on that screen…every day and every night there should be pictures of his victims.”

What’s so interesting about Madoff is that he could have strung out this court case for years. He had the money to do it. Instead, he simply pleaded guilty to the judge.

“It’s about redemption,” said Cecil Canton, criminal justice professor. “Bernie Madoff is guilty to Bernie Madoff. He knew it was coming; he can never be redeemed.”

Canton said he believes that Madoff recognizes the horrible things he’s done to Holocaust survivors and other people around the world.

It’s a bit of a stretch since Madoff had never shown signs of misery for his con-artist lifestyle until he was arrested, but not completely unbelievable.

“It’s about vengeance, not justice,” Canton said. “Justice would be served if we could get them to understand how to change their ways. We don’t do that.”

Being deprived of the billion-dollar lifestyle that Madoff has become accustomed to and being forced to rot in a cell for the rest of his life is not justice. It is an understandable act of vengeance perpetrated by our government.

Madoff shouldn’t think of it as prison, but as an extended stay in a luxury suite.

And he can check out any time he likes, but he can never leave.

David Loret de Mola can be reached at [email protected]