Jail Ruling Looms After Madoff's Bling Gifts

Prosecutors charge he violated bail by scattering assets
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 6, 2009 3:38 AM CST
Jail Ruling Looms After Madoff's Bling Gifts
Accused swindler Bernard Madoff leaves US District Court in New York. Prosecutors want bail revoked for the 70-year-old disgraced financier.   (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Accused Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff is enjoying what could be his last hours of luxury inside his palatial $7 million New York apartment after prosecutors demanded his bail be revoked for sending some $1 million in jewelry to family and friends, Reuters reports. Madoff is due in court Thursday to hear whether a federal magistrate will revoke his $10 million bail. Prosecutors say he sent the jewelry so it could not be seized for restitution, in violation of a court order freezing his assets.

Madoff's attorney said the items included family heirlooms, and that Madoff is not a flight risk. "We attempted to get the items back before we learned the government had this concern," he said. "There is no claim that they ever sought to flee." Madoff, 70, is accused of bilking victims of $50 billion.
(More Bernard Madoff stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X