Bernard Madoff Will Remain Free on Bail, Judge Rules

[maddezmom]

Source: Bloomberg


By David Glovin and Erik Larson

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Bernard Madoff will remain free on a $10 million bond, a federal judge ruled, denying a request by U.S. prosecutors that he be jailed while awaiting trial on a federal fraud charge.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis in Manhattan today said Madoff, arrested last month for running an alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, may continue to live in his Manhattan apartment on the Upper East Side.

Prosecutors on Jan. 5 asked Ellis to jail Madoff because he mailed items including a diamond bracelet and watches to relatives in violation of a court-ordered asset freeze. In a letter to Ellis two days later, Madoff’s defense lawyer, Ira Sorkin, said his client didn’t know the order from a related lawsuit by securities regulators applied to personal items.

If Madoff is indicted, he will be required to appear in court to enter a formal plea to the charges. Prosecutors at that point may then ask again for Madoff to be jailed.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQq0f2UZv8gU&refer=home

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Well, it's not like he stuck up a gas station or something awful like that.

A nice, dignified bit of white-collar larceny is all he did.

[RCinBrooklyn]

2. hmmm. How long before he commits suicide or dies of an "unexpected heart attack"?

[Dennis Donovan]

3. He'll pull a Ken Lay...

...i.e. fake death.

[Baby Snooks]

18. Please stop....

I thought it was ridiculous at the time. Even more ridiculous now. Ken Lay is quite dead. If he weren't, he would be. Linda Lay isn't exactly pleased with it all. She's not poor but she's not rich. And if he were around somewhere, she would probably kill him herself. Of course to be honest some wonder whose idea it was to go hide in Aspen. The altitude of course is not good for people with heart conditions. You never know.

[Dennis Donovan]

31. Did YOU see him IN the casket?

No one else did, either...;)

[Zynx]

35. So, without perfect knowledge, the assumption is conspiracy?

[Baby Snooks]

20. You never know...

Do they own homes in Aspen? Read #18 above. Wives who can no longer go shopping often turn homicidal you know.

Personally I think they hope he jumps from the balcony. Dead men tell no tales. And there is quite a tale obviously. That some might not want told. You do not run a Ponzi scheme for almost 50 years. Do the math.

[4dsc]

4. The judge didn't lose any money I see...

[shaniqua6392]

5. I can come up with 50 billion reasons he should be in jail.

What the hell is the matter with this judge??

[HopeHoops]

16. I smell a payoff

[customerserviceguy]

36. There's only one legitimate reason I can possibly think of

and I'll admit, it's a stretch. At this point, Madoff has to pay for his own security, and there are not enough jail guards anywhere to keep him safe in a government-run facility. Bernie must have hundreds, if not thousands of people who would pay to see him die slowly.

Personally, I'd pony up the $60 if it were on pay-per-view.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

6. Grr. n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Bail should have been set at $50Billion..

[Eugene]

8. Didn't know the asset freeze applied to personal items?!?!

Not that I believe a word of it...

If the prosecutors really wanted to, they could stick Madoff
with additional money laundering charges. Any competent
lawyer should have warned him to behave himself.

[KansDem]

10. Yeah, I saw that comment and wondered, "WTF???"

Okay, maybe a person who ran a $50-billion Ponzi scheme might not be smart enough to know what "asset-freeze" means, but wouldn't this guy have some highly-paid lawyers who could have advised him?

[Baby Snooks]

23. Maybe Ruth Madoff called Linda Lay for some advice...

Linda Lay you know opened up a resale shop to have some extra cash. Selling off personal items. Which supposedly she wasn't supposed to. I suspect by the time everyone stopped laughing it was too late to stop her. Somehow I suspect Ruth Madoff doesn't need to open a resale shop. Not yet anyway. You do have to wonder how much the court is allowing them to cover "living expenses" including the private security guards.

At least Ruth Madoff didn't go on national television telling everyone that she sympathized with everyone because they, too, had lost it all.

[screembloodymurder]

9. Madoff should be in custody for his own protection.

He's pissed off some powerful people.

[Soylent Brice]

11. head slap moment of the day #426

[DrDan]

12. well, he does have all those checks he now has to re-write

[HopeHoops]

17. "Pay to the order of Iron Balls McGenty, one dollar and NINE CENTS!"

And I don't need ANYTHING else, no wait, I need this. Oh, and I need this. But NOTHING else, not ONE OTHER THING! Except this, I need this. And I need my dog. <GRRRRRR> No, I don't need my dog.

[lonestarnot]

13. Well but of course.

[balantz]

14. Madoff Madeoff? n/t

[bluestateguy]

15. The death penalty should be on the table for him

But first he should be waterboarded at a secret CIA prision.

[OwnedByFerrets]

19. Losing 10 million when you have billions at your disposal

would be a small price to pay for freedom. Why should this man be trusted?

[dugaresa]

21. Madoff must have some very influential people in his pocket

let us think about this...

he bankrupts and ruins scores of people and yet he is free on bail?

he breaks conditions of bail and still remains on bail?

he has the dirt on a lot of people to stay out of prison ...and if these secrets ever get out I am sure it would ruin a lot of political careers...

there is no other way of explaining why he isn't in jail

[KamaAina]

22. If only someone had planted a nickel bag on him...

:grr:

[Politicalboi]

24. So he can use money he stole

For his bail? Gee I bet some drug dealers wish they could use the money they made for their defense. Instead they loose everything they ever worked for even before the dealing began. I hope he flee's. Fuckem All.

[pattmarty]

25. This is exactly why this type of shit will continue. If you KNOW...........

.......you will not do any jail time, and maybe at most pay a fine you can easily afford to pay, Hey, why not embezzle, cheat, rob, and steal until you get caught? This is just another thing in this country that needs to be fixed. That's the idea behind criminal punishment, the fear of getting fined and/or put in jail (jail here for my purposes means jail, not an enclosed country club) is what keeps most people from breaking the laws. If there's no threat, then why obey the law if disobeying makes you money? If you break the law for an offense that requires jail time, then you go to the same jail as Clyde, Juan, Ahmed, Leon, and EVERYFUCKINGBODY else.

[Abq_Sarah]

26. His apartment needs to be locked down

And he needs to be denied access. Let him remove some clothing and personal items but anything of value needs to be kept under lock and key.

[Sultana]

27. He needs an epic beatdown

and then send him to jail.

[blendermax]

28. Bernard Madoff avoids jail

Source: Guardian UK

Bernard Madoff avoids jail
Monday 12 January 2009

Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street financier accused of running a massive swindle that fleeced investors of up to $50bn, is to remain in his lavish Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park after a federal judge today rejected prosecution calls for him to be jailed.

The decision to allow Madoff to stay under house arrest in the $7m penthouse, rather than transfer him to the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in lower Manhattan, astonished and further angered victims of the scandal. Judge Ronald Ellis refused to revoke his $10m bail, ruling that the prosecution had failed to make its case that Madoff could cause more harm if he remained at large.

Victims and their lawyers reacted angrily to the decision to allow Madoff to remain free. Larry Leif from Palm Beach, Florida, who lost his life savings of $8m, told CNBC: "If I had commited this crime personally, I would be in jail."

Jeffrey Zwerling, a lawyer representing individual and institutional Madoff victims around the world, said his clients would be outraged. "They have just lost their entire life savings, are losing their homes, can no longer pay their health insurance, and here is Madoff living in a triplex overlooking Central Park."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/13/madoff-bail-decision

---

White collar criminals get away with murder in this country, even when caught. So they just continue committing their financial crimes, knowing full well the justice system will protect them, or even aid and abet their activities (ie: the SEC turned a blind eye on Madoff's scheme for more than 2 decades despite thousands of complaints).

[LiberalFighter]

29. Is the judge related to the Bush family?

Bush family have a tradition of using surnames of those in their klan.

George Herbert Walker Bush
George Walker Bush
John Ellis Bush (JEB)

[blendermax]

30. I don't know

but wouldn't be surprised if the judge is a Bush appointee

[Scurrilous]

32. Prosecutors to try again to put Madoff behind bars

<snip>

"Federal prosecutors are going to try once more to jail besieged financier Bernard Madoff by taking their case before a federal judge.

Prosecutors are appealing a magistrate judge's ruling on Monday that Madoff (MAY'-dawf) could remain free in his $7 million penthouse despite government claims he was trying to send valuable jewelry and watches to close relatives and friends.

The appeal, to be heard Wednesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, comes as investigators continue to dig through the former Nasdaq chairman's financial records.

Authorities claim Madoff ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, paying investors with money raised from new clients."

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/851676.html

[Scurrilous]

37. Bullet-proof vest clad Madoff's bail upheld in New York court

<snip>

"Wearing a bullet-proof vest, the renegade Wall Street fund manager Bernard Madoff made a brief appearance at a Manhattan courthouse today to fend off another attempt by the US government to put him behind bars.

Under tight security, Madoff left the upper east side penthouse where he is under house arrest to make a short trip to a federal building in downtown New York, tracked by television helicopters and pursued by a scrum of photographers.

Arriving in court, Madoff removed a blue sleeveless flak jacket from under his dark overcoat before passing through metal detectors. Reports in the US media have suggested that the 70-year old has received death threats, which have been referred to the FBI.

In court, prosecutors appealed to district judge Lawrence McKenna to overturn a lower court's ruling on Monday that Madoff could remain out of jail under bail of $10m.

The US government argues that Madoff, who is accused of scamming investors out of $50bn, breached an order freezing his assets by sending packages of jewellery and valuable watches to family members on Christmas Eve.

Prosecutor Marc Litt told the court that the mailings showed Madoff "cannot be trusted under any set of conditions short of detention".

But judge McKenna upheld Madoff's bail, saying the government had not shown that the former Wall Street fixture posed an immediate danger of economic harm to the community."

more

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

33. Proving once again

that crime does indeed pay, if you steal a large enough amount.... :shrug:

[FreeStateDemocrat]

34. Best justice that money can buy w/o money the most punitive judicial system the world grinds you up

and harasses you until you are in your grave.