Why is the New York fraudstar (Bernard Madoff) getting jailed for up to 150 years.....?

The 150 years is to make the politicians look good. They can point with pride that they support the U.S. Attorney's office. The odd outcome is that any sentence tied to the size of the theft makes the sentence a life term also makes the accused unwilling to give up anyone who may have been involved in the scheme. If a measured punishment of 8 to 14 years had been allowed the accused would likely have been motivated to "show them the money." But, the political system is happier with the handcuff walk-off than digging up the money that still exists for repayment to investors. The congress is considering a 13 year reach-back for investors to take tax deductions for losses reported as capital gains based on the reports from Madoff Investing.