Judge Denies Madoff's Bail Appeal

With transfer, con man begins his 150-year sentence

(NEWSER) - Bernard Madoff was transferred today from Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center to a prison in Butner, NC, to serve out his 150-year sentence, sources tell CNBC. Madoff’s attorney had requested that the 71-year-old convicted Ponzi schemer do his time at Otisville in upstate New York. The prison system tries to place inmates within 500 miles of family; the Butner facility is just within that distance from New York. More»

Conman resigned to life in prison

(NEWSER) - Bernie Madoff will do his time, his lawyer said today. The 71-year-old con man sentenced to 150 years in prison on a slew of fraud charges related to his massive Ponzi scheme won’t file an appeal, Bloomberg reports. “In terms of the appeal, done, over,” Madoff’s attorney Ira Sorkin said today. More»

(NEWSER) - Alec Baldwin throws water on the general celebration of Bernie Madoff's prison sentence, arguing that the 150-year term handed down to the fraudster Monday was a wasted opportunity. "I want to suggest, as I am confident others have, that Madoff be given a reduced sentence in exchange for answering every question that investigators ask regarding how he did what he did and what are his recommendations for how this might be detected and/or prevented in the future," the actor writes for the Huffington Post. More»

Not enough evidence to nab Bernie's wife in Ponzi scheme

(NEWSER) - Ruth Madoff won’t be prosecuted in her husband’s giant Ponzi scheme, insiders tell the New York Post, because the feds didn't find enough evidence against her after a 6-month probe. She had “no criminal exposure,” one source says. But if something new turns up, authorities could still pursue her. Meanwhile, another source notes, “she’s lost everything she holds dear” in a deal to sell assets to get cash for victims. More»

(NEWSER) - The next big question for Bernie Madoff: Just how bad will prison be? It’s unlikely the disgraced financier will get cushy Club Fed accommodations, CNNMoney reports. Ed Bales, a consultant who prepares inmates for jail, says such facilities were shut down years ago. But Madoff can take heart, he says: It won’t be as bad as Oz or The Shawshank Redemption. More»