UPDATE 1-Madoff lawyer seeks "just" sentence for swindler

NEW YORK, June 23 - Bernard Madoff's lawyer is urging a judge to sentence the swindler to a punishment of less than life in prison, saying the court should not give in to the "mob vengeance" sought by his victims.

Madoff "will speak to the shame he has felt and to the pain he has caused" at his June 29 sentencing hearing, defense lawyer Ira Sorkin wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan made public on Tuesday.

Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty in March to running a long-standing Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of $65 billion. He faces as much as 150 years in prison for his crimes.

Sorkin wrote that a 12-year prison term for Madoff would be sufficient to address the issue of deterrence and to promote respect for the law. A sentence of 15 to 20 years could also be appropriate without "disproportionately punishing" Madoff, Sorkin wrote.

Sorkin said many victim statements filed by his client's swindled customers suggest "a desire for a type of mob vengeance," but "it is the duty of the court to set aside the emotion and hysteria attendant to this case and render a sentence that is just and proportionate."