NEW YORK - A US judge on Monday rejected prosecutors' demands for alleged Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff to be detained, but tightened pre-trial bail conditions. The ruling meant that Madoff, 70, will remain in his US$7 million (S$10.4 million) New York apartment where he has been confined since being arrested Dec 11 on charges of running a US$50 billion pyramid fraud. New conditions include compiling a detailed inventory of valuable portable items and a ban on transfer of all assets, the judge said in his ruling posted on the New York federal courthouse's website. The decision was in answer to prosecutors' claim last week that Madoff violated his existing bail terms by sending out more than a million dollars' worth of jewellery to friends and relatives. An avalanche of angry comments hit Internet blogs, adding to an outcry from victims and media commentators, including speakers on business television CNBC who called for Madoff to be sent to the notorious Guantanamo military prison. 'Put him in jail! This guy needs to be put in jail!' yelled a man from his car as he passed a scrum of journalists in front of Madoff's apartment building on Monday. 'They should lock him up and throw the keys away,' said a 65-year-old woman living in the same neighbourhood who would only give her first name, Patricia. Madoff's attorney argued that his client should remain free on bail because he was highly unlikely to flee ahead of trial and posed no danger to the community. The original US$10 million bail is secured by Madoff's apartment and other property. He wears an electronic tag, has surrendered his passport and his apartment is under 24-hour surveillance. Judge Ronald Ellis said in his written ruling that Madoff must now also make 'an inventory of all valuable portable items in his Manhattan home,' and that this inventory will be checked by the authorities every two weeks. The authorities will also 'search all outgoing physical mail to ensure that no property has been transferred,' Judge Ellis ordered. Pressure has been mounting to put Madoff behind bars a month after his arrest in what could be the biggest pyramid fraud in Wall Street history. Prosecutors said Madoff attempted secretly to mail more than US$1 million in jewellery, including Cartier watches and diamond necklaces, to friends and relatives. Prosecutors say that he also had been preparing to mail out US$173 million in checks just before his arrest - proof, they say, that he intended to hide his assets from the government. Madoff's lawyer rebutted that the jewellery had been heirlooms and keepsakes mailed out innocently. Many of Madoff's alleged victims - who include major banks, ultra-wealthy private investors, universities, charities and Jewish organisations - are clamoring for his detention. Some of Madoff's former clients realized last month that they had lost fortunes when it became clear that the coffers at his exclusive investment business were all but empty. Business and legal analysts say that the decision whether or not to detain Madoff is part of a complex game in which prosecutors are attempting to win the defendant's cooperation. Prosecutors say Madoff came clean about his fraud at the time of his arrest, admitting to losing some US$50 billion. However, Madoff has not yet been indicted or made a plea. An original deadline for prosecutors to issue an indictment by on Monday was extended by a month, giving more time for both sides to prepare for a trial. Madoff has insisted he acted alone and he is the only person charged so far, although experts say it seems unlikely that the allegedly huge fraud could have been handled by one man. Allegedly Madoff used his reputation as a brilliant and safe money manager to attract billions of dollars of investors money, then divvied up those funds to pay out returns. The alleged fraud, known as a Ponzi scheme, was viable as long as Madoff could attract new investors, prosecutors say. It collapsed when too many investors at once came asking to withdraw their investments - only to find out that the principal had vanished. The shock of the scandal was accentuated by the fact that Madoff for decades had been a pillar of Wall Street. He is a former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market and is credited with helping to modernize the way trading is done. Public and investor anger has also turned on the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators who failed to spot what analysts now say were obvious red flags in the way Madoff did business. -- AFP -------------------------------------------------------------------------- How can this criminal remain free after ripping off SO Many people(resulting in 2 suicides) Unbelieveable, there are thousands of people in prisons across this country for petty crimes and look at this scumbag.... free as a bird, still living in luxury. Wow, Only in America!!!!!
