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NEW YORK (CBS) ― There's nothing alleged about Bernard Madoff anymore.

Once heralded as a champion of Wall Street, the former financier apologetically admitted in a Manhattan court Thursday the only thing he championed was perhaps the largest investment fraud scheme in history, as he plead guilty to bilking thousands of investors around the world out of billions of dollars.

Madoff read a typed written statement of own before three of the investors he victimized were given their own time to get in their licks. Afterward, a judge revoked Madoff's bail, yanking him from the luxurious confines of his $7 million penthouse apartment to a jail cell where he'll likely live out the rest of his life.

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Applause broke out in the packed courtroom of around 100 spectators after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin denied bail for Madoff, 70, noting that he had the means to flee and an incentive to do so because of his age. Madoff stood stoically, if a little pale, at the judge's ruling, reports CBS investigative producer Pat Milton.

Madoff pleaded guilty to all charges in the 11-count indictment against him, before telling Chin he "cannot adequately express" how sorry he was for his crimes.

The charges he admits to: Securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, making false statements, perjury, false filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and theft from an employee benefit plan.

It's believed the entire operation may have robbed investors of a combined $64.8 billion.

His sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 16. He'll be jailed at the Metropolitan Correction Center in Manhattan until then.

In his first public statements about the scheme since his arrest, Madoff said he began the operation in the early 1990s as a response to the recession then.

"I am actually grateful for this opportunity to publicly comment about my crimes, for which I am deeply sorry and ashamed," he admitted. "I am painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many people."

He said that when he started the fraud, he believed it would be short and he could extricate himself.

"As the years went by, I realized my risk, and this day would inevitably come," he said in a steady voice. "I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for my crimes."

After hearing from three investors, including one who said she objected to his plea until the lost money was found, Chin accepted Madoff's plea.

A second investor who spoke said he believed that conspiracy should be included in the charges, adding he felt only "an army" could handle such a massive scheme, according to WCBS Radio. 

Many have speculated that Madoff's wife, Ruth, along with their sons may have played a part in the scheme, though no charges have been filed against them.

Madoff did not look at any of the three investors who spoke at the hearing, and many wondered just how sincere he was in his prepared statement he read aloud.

"There was nothing. Bernie Madoff has never shown his cards. Today was the closest thing to it, because for the first time Bernie Madoff apologized. The question was was it true?" author Andrew Kirtzman told CBS 2.

If Madoff's victims wanted closure, they did not totally get it Thursday.

His explanations, for example, that his fraud began in the early 1990s when the country was in a recession and that he "felt compelled to satisfy my clients' expectations at any cost" rang hollow with an audience that wanted more.

"There was a lot of pent up anger in that courtroom," said Kirtzman. "These victims came to vent. But this judge wouldn't let them."

The confrontation that some victims might have hoped for never happened.

One man who was given his chance to speak actually took a step toward Madoff, telling him, "I don't know if you've had a chance to look at your victims."

But before he could get a response from Madoff, a federal marshal intervened, and the judge ordered the man back to his microphone.

After arguments began as to whether Madoff should remain free on bail, his lawyer Ira Sorkin described the bail conditions and how Madoff had, "at his wife's own expense," paid for private security at his $7 million penthouse.

Loud laughter erupted among some of the more than 100 spectators crammed into the large courtroom on the 24th floor of the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan. The judge warned the spectators to remain silent. 

But it was a day of strong feelings for the many on hand who were wiped out by a man they once thought would bring them a lifetime of security.

"To see him in handcuffs, is very emotional," said investor Burt Ross, who choked up as he spoke to reporters.

"I don't believe he has a sincere bone. He's a psychopath," added investor DeWitt Baker.

Madoff's plea ends half-century career that saw him rise to Nasdaq chairman and one of Wall Street's elite, and could result in a maximum prison term of 150 years.

Victims began arriving at court as early as 8 a.m., two hours before the hearing.

Adriane Biondo, 41, of Los Angeles, said five members of her family were affected by the fraud, including elderly relatives who were ruined. She went to court to see Madoff plead guilty and had hoped Chin would send him to prison immediately.

"For him to be under penthouse arrest at this point ... is just not fair," she said. 

The fact that Madoff had been allowed to stay put in his lavish home while awaiting trials "really infuriates everyone," said Matt Weinstein, a motivational speaker who lost the bulk of his savings in the scheme.

"People can't even afford rent anymore," Weinstein said. "He can't go on in this palace of denial."

The scope of the criminal investigation has widened as well. People familiar with the case tell CBS News, investigators are ripping apart 20 years of alleged fraud inside Madoff's firm. His sons Andrew and Mark, and his brother Peter are now all under the microscope.

"I suspect family members, possibly his wife, very possibly his sons, possibly his brother," said Brad Friedman, an attorney who represents about 100 Madoff investors. 

Meanwhile, Ruth Madoff has apparently said she wants to hold onto their penthouse apartment, and some money.

"Right off the bat, Ruth Madoff claims to have $62 million and their $7 million apartment. We believe there are tens of millions of dollars stashed overseas," said Friedman.

Investors like Joan Shulman, who along with her husband, lost a third of their savings, are angry.

"I am, I'm amazingly angry, but more than that, I feel a void," said Shulman.

Hilda Hauser, a 92-year-old victim, said the justice she fantasizes about is a little more personal.

"I think I'd love to kill him," Hauser said. "Of course I'm that angry. I'm outraged."

The scheme evaporated life fortunes, wiped out charities and apparently pushed at least two investors to commit suicide. Victims big and small were swindled by Madoff, from elderly Florida retirees to actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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