Bernie Madoff Escapes Jail, Judge Declines To Revoke Bail

NEW YORK — A judge on Monday allowed Bernard Madoff to remain confined to his Manhattan penthouse, rejecting a bid to jail the disgraced financier but imposing new restrictions to keep him from mailing any more valuables to family and friends.

In a ruling that provided limited satisfaction to investors wiped out in what may be the largest Ponzi scheme ever, Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis ordered Madoff to take an inventory of the items in his $7 million apartment and submit his outgoing mail to security checks.

Prosecutors said they would ask another judge to jail Madoff while he awaits trial.

"There is a thirst for blood that transcends just those who have been victimized," said attorney Stephen A. Weiss, who added that some of his several dozen Madoff investors "just want to have this guy's head."

Sweeping aside the emotions of the case, the judge cited laws requiring that defendants be allowed to stay out on bail before trial unless they are a danger to the community or a threat to flee.

Those standards make it difficult for prosecutors to have white-collar defendants jailed before trial. The judge noted suspects in nearly 75 percent of federal fraud cases are granted bail.

Prosecutors said they planned to appeal the ruling and ask another judge to revoke Madoff's bail. The judge stayed his ruling for 48 hours, meaning the new restrictions will not take effect right away.

The judge also said restrictions in a separate civil case that apply to property under Madoff's control would apply to the criminal case _ meaning moving money around by computer would violate his bail conditions.

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But in keeping Madoff out of jail for now, Ellis said it did not matter that Madoff was charged in what appears to be the largest Ponzi scheme in history, that Madoff is publicly vilified or that a conviction might bring a long prison term.

The judge said prosecutors' claim that Madoff presented an economic harm to the community was shaky. The financier sent more than $1 million in jewelry to family and friends over the holidays.

"Aside from the bare assertion that there remains some risk of flight, the government has failed to articulate any flaw in the current conditions of release," the judge said.

Madoff is already required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, submit to 24-hour private security guards and post his homes in Manhattan, Long Island and Florida as part of his $10 million bail package.

Madoff's lawyer Ira Sorkin said the opinion speaks for itself. Sorkin has said the mailing of the jewelry over the holidays _ including at least 16 watches, a jade necklace, an emerald ring and four diamond brooches _ was an innocent mistake.

In imposing the new restrictions, the judge said Madoff's ability to move property should be restricted "as completely as possible."

"It is highly suspect that a man as sophisticated as Madoff appears to be did not pause to consider the possible ramifications of this proposed course of action on his release conditions," the judge wrote.

The decision means Madoff will avoid having to leave the comfort of his $7 million penthouse for a cramped jail cell with nothing but bunk beds, a sink and toilet.

Madoff's swank confinement has drawn throngs of reporters and gawkers to his elegant Upper East Side apartment building, a 1926 brick-and-limestone structure with just two spacious apartments per floor. His neighbors include "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer and prominent players in finance, law and advertising.

The commotion led Madoff to send his neighbors a note last month expressing "profound apologies for the terrible inconvenience that I have caused over the past weeks."

Harry Sussman, a Houston lawyer whose clients invested with Madoff, said his clients want justice _ but want their money back more.

"If putting him in jail would put pressure to help the government find money, then people want him in jail. If he stays out, the pressure to cooperate is less," Sussman said.

The deadline for prosecutors to deliver a formal indictment of Madoff has been extended until Feb. 11.

Separately, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that a trustee can issue subpoenas to investigate the flow of money in the investment fund run by Madoff. The trustee is overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's fund for the bankruptcy court.

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Associated Press writers Tom Hays and Jennifer Peltz and AP Business Writer Vinnee Tong in New York contributed to this report.

Comments

[hollybork]

Travesty. Disgrace. Absolutely outrageous.

[Tags]

The funniest part is that these lawyers believe that Bernie's going to pay them!

[deadelephant2]

Wanna complain about the judge who made this stupid decision? I copied this yesterday from a post on this site. DO IT!

http://www.therobingroom.com/Judge.aspx?ID=1440

[SouthPrairie]

Fluck you and all of the predators out there like you.

[lunchlady]

Nice deal if you can get it. Maybe someday this guy will stop living in luxury, but it might be years. In the meantime he'll be eating fine food and sleeping in fancy places.

[SwingingFromCenter]

I said it before, and I'll say it again:

Those of you who want to skip the whole judicial process and just proceed right to the punishment phase should pull the plug. The process is there for a reason.

[rowzeer]

But the process treats us differently....If Madoff were a poor black youth and stole that kind of money, he never would have been out on parole mailing off assets to family members. This crook violated the conditions of his bail so he needs to go to jail every other Joe Six Pack would have

[SwingingFromCenter]

You confuse with "not being allowed out" with "not getting bail". People who do anything short of the most heinous of violent crimes are given a bail figure--it's just usually more than they can afford.

Bernie happens to be able to afford any bail total.

[hollybork]

You must be done deaf, Swinging. The point is Bernie is living in high luxury but at the expense of those same victimized people he admitted to defrauding and robbing. The inequity of this, the injustice of it, stinks to high heaven. You are not going to convince the vast majority of people who are outraged by it.

[IllinoisTexan43]

Bilk thousands of people out of their life savings, keep living life to the fullest. Steal a candybar for your third strike, go to prision for life. A caste system within the justice system.

[Grannysue]

Who says crime don't pay!

[american-dolt]

Is Bernie a Free Mason? I'm sure the Judge is.

[me again]

That's an outrageous statement.

[goodneighbor420]

This is just another prime example of the old saying that "Life is a S H ! T sandwich....the more Bread you have, the less S H ! T you have to eat" It is extremely sad that there are 2 sets of laws in this country...1 for rich people and 1 for the rest of us

[Lagniappe]

Bernie Madoff-Penthouse Pet-who knew?

[CammyV]

He will wind up in Allenwood FCC, where they send the white collar criminals. There should be a special place for sc umbags like Madoff, who stole from the rich to give to the richer.

[Lagniappe]

When did they say Gitmo was closing? Maybe they should delay that a while.Consider it a Caribbean vacation,Bernie.

[QuestionEveryone]

Unfortunately, we have laws in place that protect the guilty..that goes for murder, rape, robbery,fraud. Even if someone confesses to any of these, they still have rights. Of course, we could change those laws, but then people would scream about civil rights. You can't have it both ways.

[PartyPartyParty]

Here's how it works: if someone is charged with a crime and there is sufficient evidence that, if not held in jail, that person would continue his or her criminal activities, then they're supposed to be held without bail, or with a bail that will hurt to pay.

The prosecution provided evidence that Maddow is still engaging in criminal activity. Hence, he should have at least be put under house arrest, under strict supervision. But the judge decided to ignore the evidence.

You do know that many individuals charged with murder, rape, robbery, fraud, etc., or misdemeanors, even, who do not have a previous criminal record, and who have not engaged in any further criminal activity since their arrest, are held in jail, without bail or with bail so high it could never be paid, for years before their trial, don't you?

You certainly can have it both ways in this country, as long as you can pay for it.

[hollybork]

No one has the right to go on enjoying the fruits of their fraud. Let him put up 4 billion dollars in bail. He has not done that. But what he is doing is living in the luxury provided by the money he stole from his victims. That is no right I know of. Usually they take everything you stole away from you even before they try you. They should take away everything he owns and put it in trust pending the outcome of the trial. He did, after all, confess to this fraud through admissions to his own sons.

[SangZe]

Jails are not for the rich and influential no matter how they got their riches. We've seen this kind of garbage before, many times. It's a benefit of our system.

[bellabeach]

This should never have happened, this judge should have put him behind bars, and I would love to have his explanation,beyond what he gives to the media, as to why!