Business

<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff's luxury penthouse apartment in Manhattan, seen in this aerial view, was seized Thursday by The U.S. Marshals Service.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, July 3, 2009 Marshals seize swindler's home Associated Press NEW YORK -- Federal marshals took possession of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan penthouse on Thursday in a move that forced his wife to move elsewhere. Proceeds from a sale of the property and its contents could be used to help reimburse those who lost billions of dollars investing with Madoff before he confessed to running a Ponzi scheme. U.S. Marshal Joseph Guccione said the marshals arrived at the property at noon with a court order permitting them to take custody of the apartment and to make anyone living there move out. Guccione said Madoff's wife Ruth had been advised in advance of the marshals' plans and was leaving the residence and surrendering all personal property. Typically, the U.S. Marshals Service changes all locks and secures a property when it seizes a location. By about 1 p.m., the 67-year-old Ruth Madoff had left. It was not immediately clear where she went to live. The 71-year-old Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in March to charges that his investment advisory business was a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out thousands of investors and ruined charities. Authorities said Madoff had carried out the fraud for at least two decades before confessing to his sons in December that his investment business was a fraud and that he had lost as much as $50 billion. Last week, Ruth Madoff agreed to give up all of her possessions in return for a promise that federal prosecutors would not pursue $2.5 million not tied to the fraud. The money, though, is not protected from civil legal actions that might be pursued by a court-appointed trustee liquidating Madoff's assets or by investor lawsuits. Ruth Madoff broke her silence Monday when she said in a statement that her husband "stunned us all with his confession and is responsible for this terrible situation in which so many now find themselves." Before she agreed on a deal with the government to resolve her finances a week ago, Ruth Madoff had indicated through lawyers that she planned to try to keep the penthouse and an additional $62 million in assets as unrelated to the fraud. The Madoffs had homes in Palm Beach, Fla., the south of France and the tip of Long Island. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Shot ends search for man sought in killing of Seattle police officer 2. Thousands honor slain Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton 3. No charge will be filed in death of Everett pedestrian 4. Rain, thunderstorms forecast for lowlands 5. Bothell steamrolls Stanwood 6. PREP FOOTBALL/SWIMMING ROUNDUP: Halfback pass for touchdown sparks Sultan win 7. More jibba-jabba 8. Obama OK's homebuyer tax credit 9. Suspect identified in Seattle police killing 10. Dana nibbles into Somers’ lead 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Gough on track to keep job • Jazz vocalist headlines NPAC • Mountlake Terrace makes football history • Tax revenue sagging, city budgets lagging • ‘Touch of Magic' show opens at Gallery North • Jackson repeats as South champs • Holiday Bazaars Calendar • Meadowdale storms back to grab title • Edmonds moves to Fire District 1 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million