I take full and complete responsibility for my actions and apologize to all the victims of my crimes. Also, I apologize to the other persons who would never have committed a crime, if not for my efforts to recruit them into the conspiracy and convince them to lie thereafter. Furthermore, I apologize to the government lawyers, plaintiff's lawyers, government investigators, and plaintiff's investigators whose efforts in prosecuting the truth of the crimes at Crazy Eddie were hampered by my willful stonewalling prior to me relenting and later deciding to cooperate with the investigations. I apologize anyone I deceived, directly or indirectly, including but not limited to the shareholders, employees, creditors, public accounting firms, Wall Street firms, financial analysts, the press, etc.
However, my apologies, acceptance of responsibility, and the punishment imposed upon me by the court is not enough.
I believe that acceptance of one's personal responsibility for past actions must be accompanied by corrective action and not include exploitation for personal gain. I believe that former criminals like me must do more than just express regret for our crimes and pay whatever punishment society imposes upon us. I believe that it is our obligation and responsibility to educate society, so that society can avoid future perils caused by new generations of criminals. I also believe that any person's true test of character comes from overcoming past misdeeds and wrongdoing and trying to do something positive out of it without any personal gain or recognition.
