NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2009
Madoff Belongs In Jail, Prosecutor Says
Alleged Swindler Accused Of Trying To Keep Assets Away From Burned Investors At Time Of Arrest
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Photo
In this Jan. 5, 2009 file photo, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff leaves U.S. District Court in Manhattan after a bail hearing in New York. (AP Photo)
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt said in a letter released Wednesday that Madoff violated a court order barring him from dissipating, concealing or disposing of any assets when he and his wife sent the items to close relatives and two friends.
"The need for detention in this case is clear," Litt wrote in a letter to Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis. "The continued release of the defendant presents a danger to the community of additional harm and further obstruction of justice."
Madoff was arrested Dec. 11 on a securities fraud charge after the FBI said he confessed to swindling investors. Authorities say he told his sons he ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme and had only a few hundred million dollars left.
Although he has been freed on $10 million bail, he has been confined to his $7 million Manhattan penthouse with an electronic bracelet and 24-hour guard.
During a bail hearing Monday, Ellis asked Litt and defense lawyer Ira Sorkin to file documents explaining their positions after Litt said Madoff should lose his freedom. Sorkin's filing was due later Wednesday.
"Our comments will be contained in our filing with the court," Sorkin said.
A criminal complaint against Madoff said the former Nasdaq chairman had offered to distribute between $200 million and $300 million that remained in his company's accounts to close relatives and friends before he surrendered to authorities.
The bail battle continued as Securities Investor Protection Corp. President Stephen Harbeck said through a spokeswoman that investors who lost money with Madoff could begin recovering some of their funds within two months if their accounts are easy to trace.
In his six-page letter sent to Ellis Tuesday night and publicly filed Wednesday, Litt said Madoff violated his promise not to touch his assets when he and his wife sent multiple packages on Dec. 24 to relatives and friends.
Fast Fact
The prosecutor said one package contained 13 watches, one diamond necklace, an emerald ring, and two sets of cufflinks, items estimated to be worth more than $1 million.Prosecutors say Madoff sent expensive baubles to family and friends after his arrest including a package that contained 13 watches, one diamond necklace, an emerald ring, and two sets of cufflinks, items estimated to be worth more than $1 million.
He said two other packages contained a diamond bracelet, a gold watch, a diamond Cartier watch, a diamond Tiffany watch, four diamond brooches, a jade necklace and other assorted jewelry and were sent to relatives.
Litt said the contents of those packages have been recovered, but prosecutors have not yet learned the contents of two additional packages sent to Madoff's brother and an unidentified couple in Florida.
The prosecutor wrote that there was also a serious risk that Madoff would flee because he has "admitted to having perpetrated one of the largest frauds in history - a giant Ponzi scheme that likely involves losses in the tens of billions of dollars."
At Monday's bail hearing, Sorkin argued that Madoff's wife sent the expensive jewelry when she was not under a court order barring her from doing so, and Madoff did not do anything that showed him to be a threat to the community.
"If he was found to be selling narcotics, if it's found that he threatened somebody, if it's found that he was fleeing the community, then I think your honor should consider new bail conditions," Sorkin told the judge Monday. "But that's not the case here."
Attorney Jerry Reisman, representing 13 Madoff investors, said he believes Madoff should be sent to jail. He said his clients are "astounded" and "infuriated" that Madoff remains out on bail and suspect he still will try to hide assets.
In other developments related to the Madoff scandal:
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why are his assets not frozen anyway??????
GOod to have friends in high places?
It''s time to start requiring these guys to sit in a cell and have their assets frozen solid while their trial preparations are being made. You can bet your bottom dollar if you or I did something like this, we wouldn''t be waltzing around free and being carted around in a limo.
They will need that jail space for the drug dealers and prostitutes.
Posted by hunterdon6 at 02:32 PM : Jan 07, 2009
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I kind of agree that these people should be facing that possibility, especially Madoff. Instead of living the good life, getting bonuses and taxpayer bailout money they all need to be squirming and know they will be held accountable.
The fact that not one shyster has been facing even an inconvenience is an outrage. Madoff may have fraudulently lost his clients $50 Billion, but the bankers and ratings agencies have cost the USA and the world trillions and they need to charged, convicted and spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Posted by killerj999 at 04:04 PM : Jan 07, 2009"
There are mentally ill poor people in California serving life in prison for stealing three television sets and causing the California tax system to go bankrupt.
If anyone needs to be in jail now, it is people like him.
A blue collar criminal will steal your wallet.
A white collar criminal will only leave you with your wallet.
The let nature takes its course.
What is the difference between someone losing their job, than their home and the rest of their possessions and someone losing millions, than their home and the rest of their possessions.
Answer: Nothing, there is no difference.
Both have lost everything.
You can say innocent until proven guilty, but he has already admitted that he scammed these people. Just like a drug crime, ALL of his property, money and any other belongings or holdings should be seized and held for repayment of his victims.
It is not like this has not been happening a lot in the last eight years (Enron, WorldCom). All of these are examples of the dysfunction, greed and unethical behavior of the current administration. If you haven%u201Dt noticed, while pushing deregulation, the Bush administration has also pushed tort reform. This makes it harder, if not impossible, to sue when you are harmed by these corporations.
All I know is if this judge allows Madoff to remain free, he/she should be investigated for corruption.
Go to jail, directly to jail and get treated like the crook he is. The rich are not supposed to get away with crime. (I thought)
have been in jail.
Besides, if Madoff went to jail then all of these crooks who manage hedge-funds, buy-out-firms and loot-traps will go to jail or basicly the entire so-called hedge fund industry.
Just today another major hedge fund is being investigated by the SEC while the majority of hedge fund/loot funds have halted withdrawals until the economy supposedly turns around.
If that''s not a PONZI scheme then I don''t know what is.
ALL HEDGE FUNDS, BUY-OUT-FIRMS, AND PRIVATE-EQUITY-GROUPS ARE PONZI SCHEMES!!!
ALL OF THEM!!!!
That will show him. The heavy hand of justice prevails.
So if he were in jail, what would he be mailing from his jail cell?
Incredible that there is no control over what this "man" can do.
He is obviously oblivious to good judgement and
moral behavior.
He''d make a great senator for Illinois-
-if he was black.
I nominate the above post for the dumbest thing said today.
Posted by babooph at 06:47 PM : Jan 07, 2009
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This is a good point. We are all placed sometimes into positions of power where we can either "run with it" or act morally. In this case this man acted in an upmost immoral position & devestated many lives of people who worked hard to have what they had in the process. Let him sit in a small cell, stewing long & hard and we will see how powerful he feels. Soap on a rope anyone?
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by mswolfestock
January 8, 2009 9:53 AM PST
- He really needs to be locked up.
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Reply to this comment
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See all 37 CommentsThey should treat him like a drug dealer - throw him in jail, seize all of his assets, and then sell everything at an auction. The proceeds go to his victims. Meantime, let him rot in jail. Throw away the key. Keep on losing his paperwork so he can''t go to trial. Somebody should have his lawyers killed, too.