Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel – who knows all too well the evils of mankind – thinks "psychopath is too nice a word " to describe the Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff. 

Madoff wiped out more than $15 million from the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity – a loss that simply rips apart Wiesel’s heart.

"It’s the inhumanity of this man – that he can go around, depriving people of their livelihoods …" said the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize-winning author while speaking at an event called "Madoff and the Meltdown," which was hosted by Portfolio magazine. "It breaks my heart."

Wiesel went on to say that Madoff deserves a unique sentence for the injustices he inflicted on more than 4,000 people:

He should go before a group of judges who would imagine a punishment for him. He should be put in a solitary cell with a screen, and on the screen, for at least five years of his life, [would be] pictures of his victims.

Look what you have done to this old lady, look what you have done to that child.

The author and philanthropist also shared the story of how he initially invested with Madoff. They first met 20 years ago and Wiesel said he was immediately impressed by the former Nasdaq chief’s persona.

"He presented himself as a philanthropist. He gave so much to institutions … There was a myth he created around him."

The man once hailed as investment wunderkind remains under house arrest in his multimillion-dollar Manhattan abode

And while Wiesel said "psychopath" is not the word to describe the weasel because "he knew what he was doing," the venerable author did refer to Madoff variously as "a crook, a thief, a scoundrel," as well as "swindler" and "evil." Tell us below: What’s the best word to describe Bernie Madoff?

For more on Thursday night’s "Madoff and the Meltdown" visit Portfolio.com, The New York Times and New York Post.