Bernie Madoff sentencing: Yesterday's news, today!

Columbus Park, located across the street from Daniel J. Moynihan federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, is the perfect place for a protest: nicely shaded, with plenty of green space and easy access to snack carts and restaurants. It practically begs to be filled with angry citizens carrying placards and petitioning the government for theredress of grievances.

At 10 a.m., as sentencing commenced for Bernie Madoff, prisoner number 61727-054, the park was sparsely populated with hoops-shooting kids from Chinatown and members of the news media cooling their heels. The lone protester, Al Lavery, is something of a professional. A former carpenter and amateur photographer, he usually hawks his handpainted bull statues and self-published book on Wall Street. Today, he made an appearance at the Madoff sentencing, where he boomed: "This is a kangaroo court, a sham!"