NEW YORK — A three-judge appellate panel ruled Friday that Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff will remain in jail until his sentencing in June.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had reserved a decision on the appeal on Thursday, when it heard arguments from defense attorneys and prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin had revoked bail last week after Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 counts in the massive Ponzi scheme.
During oral arguments, defense attorney Ira Sorkin hit some of the same points with the appellate panel that didn’t work with Chin, notably that Madoff never attempted to flee under the tough security conditions and surveillance he lived under since Dec. 11. Sorkin also said that other white-collar defendants in cases involving Enron and WorldCom were given bail before sentencing.
But one judge reminded Sorkin that Madoff appeared to violate an earlier court order when he tried to give $1 million in jewelry to family and friends earlier this year.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt told the panel that Chin properly revoked Madoff’s bail and brought up the jewelry issue to show how Madoff wouldn’t hesitate to disobey the law and flee.
Litt also pointed to the case of Alberto Vilars, 68, who was sent to jail before sentencing after his 2008 securities-fraud conviction despite an unblemished record while on bail.
Madoff is being held at the Manhattan Correctional Center and faces up to 150 years at his June 16 sentencing.
