Frank DiPascali: Bernie Madoff 's right-hand man who was facing up to 125 years' jail for his part in the notorious Ponzi scheme

DiPascali died of lung cancer before he could be sentenced

Frank DiPascali was the finance chief for Bernard Madoff who turned on former colleagues to co-operate with the federal government and died of lung cancer before he could be sentenced for his role in the biggest Ponzi scheme – paying investors with money from other investors – in US history.

DiPascali joined Madoff's firm as a teenager, without formal finance training, before going on to assist in the $17.5 billion fraud. He was the star government witness in its prosecution of five employees of Madoff, who is serving a 150- year sentence in federal prison.

A jury found all five defendants guilty on all 30 counts, though the judge in their trial criticised testimony by DiPascali, saying it was largely unbelievable. DiPascali, who called himself Madoff's "right-hand man", is a "glib storyteller and an admitted and convicted perjurer," US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said in Manhattan federal court last year.

DiPascali, who was born in Queens in 1956, joining Madoff's firm in 1975, was the highest-ranking Madoff aide to testify at the trial. The Ponzi scheme collapsed after Madoff's arrest in December 2008. The five former employees were convicted of aiding the fraud for decades and were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. Madoff, 77, pleaded guilty in 2009.

DiPascali, who faced as long as 125 years in prison, was seeking leniency by testifying against his former colleagues, all of whom claim they were duped by him and Madoff into believing his business was legitimate. Their lawyers claimed DiPascali was lying to win less time behind bars.

Appearing in the HBO Bernie Madoff drama "The Wizard of Lies" had an extra layer of resonance for Hank Azaria — who as a kid growing up in Queens knew Mark Madoff , the son who committed suicide in the wake of his family scandal.

"I went to summer camp with him," Azaria told us at the MoMA premiere Thursday. "He was a very sweet kid. So knowing him personally made this especially surreal."

Did he know anyone who lost money to Madoff's scheme?

"My parents did," he said. "We're from New York and you're going to know somebody. I also know somebody who many years ago said no, 'Something's too good to be true' and avoided it."

Azaria plays Madoff's sleazy partner Frank DiPascali in the Barry Levinson-directed film, which features Robert De Niro as Bernie Madoff and Michelle Pfeiffer as Madoff's wife Ruth. He said it brought to mind his work in the 1994 movie "Quiz Show," about Columbia professor Charles Van Doren, who was caught up in a national scandal as a contestant in a rigged game show.