Five former employees of Bernard L. Madoff on trial over allegations they aided in his $17 billion fraud probably scrapped plea talks involving harsh prison terms to gamble for total exoneration from a jury, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The U.S. had little reason to offer the group leniency in exchange for testimony against others, since Madoff and his top aides had already pleaded guilty, said Philip Hilder, a former federal prosecutor in Houston who represents defendants accused of white-collar crimes. The former employees, all of whom have pleaded not guilty, are Annette Bongiorno, Madoff’s personal secretary, who worked with him for 40 years and helped recruit investors; Joann Crupi, a manager of large accounts at Madoff’s investment firm; Daniel Bonventre, operations chief; and computer programmers Jerome O’Hara and George Perez.
