83-year-old businessman, Richard Piccoli, gets 20 years for Ponzi scheme

U.S. District Judge William Skretny rejected a defense request for a sentence that would give Piccoli hope that he would not die in prison, saying he ran a "shameful, disgraceful and rather ruthless Ponzi scheme'' that bilked clients recruited largely through ads in Catholic newspapers, using clergy-member investors as references.

Authorities estimate Piccoli and his Gen-See Capital Corp. took in $31 million in investments between 2002 and 2009.  Only $7 million was left to reimburse 500 victims. 

"You operated without a conscience. You are a wolf in sheep's clothing,'' said the (obviously Catholic) judge.

The lesson here is that justice is swift if someone steals $31 million dollars under the guise of religion.