Lawyers to appeal against cancellation of Madoff's bail

The lawyers of disgraced US financier and former NASDAQ chairman Bernard Madoff have appealed against a judge's decision to revoke his bail and send him to jail. On Thursday, Madoff pleaded guilty to a $50 billion fraud and was sent to jail ahead of sentencing in June.

His lawyers said he should be released until sentencing because he never made any attempt to flee while under house arrest at his Manhattan penthouse. An appeals court will hear the case on 19 March. 

Madoff has pleaded guilty to 11 charges - four counts of fraud, three counts of money laundering, making false statements, perjury, submitting a false filing to a US financial regulator, and theft from an employee benefit plan. 

Madoff told the court on Thursday that his family members and other colleagues had only worked in those parts of his business - Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities - that were "legitimate, profitable and successful". 

Madoff became almost a legendary Wall Street figure over 40 years, even as he ran a Ponzi scheme, paying investors out of each others' money. While he said it only started in the early 1990s, prosecutors say it began in the 1980s. 

Court documents show that Bernard Madoff and his wife Ruth lived a life of high luxury, with exclusive homes, yachts and other assets worth $823 million. Most of the real estate and many other assets are said to be owned exclusively by Ruth Madoff.

Lawyers have sought to separate her from Madoff's interests as thousands of his victims and prosecutors ramp up efforts to retrieve the money he stole over at least two decades.

Thursday's hearing, in which Madoff admitted his guilt and apologised for his crimes, was the first time he spoke at length in public since his arrest on 11 December. Ruth Madoff has also remained silent.

Meanwhile, federal investigators are examining who helped him perpetuate the largest fraud in Wall Street history. Family members, including Ruth, are widely believed to be likely to face questioning, although none on them have been charged.

'Sorry not good enough,' Madoff told the packed court yesterday that was "deeply sorry and ashamed" for his crimes, before being led out of a packed Manhattan courtroom in handcuffs.

Reading from a prepared page statement, he said he knew what he was doing was wrong, and criminal.

"When I began the Ponzi scheme, I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients. But that ended up being impossible, and as the years went by, I realised that my arrest and this day would inevitably come," he said.

His victims filled three rows of seats in the courtroom, and some of them spoke before the court. One, George Nierenberg, addressed Madoff directly. "I don't know if you had a chance to turn and look at the victims,'' he said.

He also wondered why he was not charged with conspiracy. Pointing out that Madoff was often away from his office, Nierenberg asked, "Who handled [the scheme] when he was gone?"

Ronnie Sue Ambrosino, also objected to the guilty plea, saying the judge had a chance to ''find out information as to where the money is and to find out who else may be involved in this crime.'' 

Asked if the guilty plea gave her a sense of vindication, another victim said, ''I'm more interested in restitution.'' Another called Madoff ''a psychopath who does not feel in the least sorry''.

The judge rejected a request by defence attorney Ira Sorkin to allow Madoff to remain confined to his Manhattan apartment on $10 million bail, with a private security firm watching him. When Sorkin began to say that his wife Ruth had paid for the guards with her own money, victims burst into laughter.