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Madoff avoids jail

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

The decision to allow Madoff to stay under house arrest in the $7-million 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 $10-million bail, ruling that the prosecution had failed to make its case that Madoff could cause more harm if he remained at large.

But, the judge did impose new restrictions that will see all Madoff’s mail searched by a security firm before it leaves his building.

An inventory will also be taken of all valuable portable objects in his apartment, which will be checked every two weeks to ensure he is not attempting to dispose of it.

Madoff was a highly respected Wall Street figure for more than 40 years, at one point holding the post of chairman of the Nasdaq stock market. But, last month he was arrested after it was revealed that his financial empire was founded on thin air. He had allegedly been running what is known as a Ponzi scheme — taking in new money to pay the dividends of existing investors, losing up to $50 billion and with it, the life savings of thousands of his clients. Prosecution lawyers had called on the court to imprison him on the grounds that he broke a court order freezing his assets. Shortly before Christmas, Madoff posted $1million worth of jewellery and gifts to friends and family in clear violation of his bail terms. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009

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