It's not just elderly Jews and the odd billionaire real estate mogul who will go down as victims of Bernie Madoff's mammoth $50 billion Ponzi scheme. There are a few blonde, beautiful, non-Jewish socialites who are suffering the consequences, too, such as the "five stunning daughters" of Walter Noel, who handed over a staggering $7.5 billion to Madoff. The most public of the five girls: Marisa Noel Brown (left), who has appeared in recent years Hampton Style and Town & Country, and, somewhat ironically, was last featured in the now-defunct magazine 02138. [GoaG]

Bernie Madoff won't be spending the night in prison. A judge ruled earlier today that the alleged swindler can stay out on bail, provided he remains at home and he's equipped with an electronic monitoring device. An hour ago or so, he returned to the East 64th Street apartment building that he calls home (and the same building that Matt Lauer lives in), where was mobbed by the press, left. But Madoff has wisely decided to turn off his home phone. Calls to Casa Madoff just ring and ring. And there's no one picking up the phone at Madoff's homes on Long Island or in Palm Beach either! Has the household staff been dismissed? We don't know, but if you're trying to reach him, we'd recommend trying his cell.

The recession affects all of us. Not wanting to appear insensitive or out of touch, it's become fashionable among the wealthy to moan about the sacrifices they have to make, too. Only problem?

Moments ago, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey confirmed that he will be recusing himself from the ongoing investigation into Bernie Madoff. The Justice Department didn't specify a specific reason for his decision to step aside—early reports have suggested that Mukasey's son, Marc, may be planning to represent a defendant in the case. But we can report a much more likely—and personal—reason why the Madoff case poses a serious conflict for the AG. Mukasey's own synagogue was ripped off by Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

Did you know that superstar chef Daniel Boulud is tangentially connected to Bernie Madoff? Not really, but according to Bloomberg, Boulud did contribute a recipe to the 1996 cookbook that Ruth Madoff co-edited, The Great Chefs of America Cook Kosher. (One of Wolfgang Puck's recipes is included as well.) You can pick up a used copy of the cookbook on Amazon.com for $14.95 if you want to sample some of the Madoff family's favorite dishes in your own home. Or you can buy a new copy for $40, with sales of the book going to "benefit the Jewish National Fund." Ha!

• The SEC admitted last night that it failed to follow up on repeated warnings over the years to investigate Bernie Madoff's firm and says it plans to conduct an internal investigation; it also is looking into the relationship between Eric Swanson, a former lawyer at the agency, and Shana Madoff, a niece of Bernie, who later got married. [WSJ, NYT, ABC]
• A look at Walter M. Noel, the founder of the Fairfax Greenwich Group and the middle-man who handed over $7.5 billion to Madoff's firm. [NYT]
• More on Bernie's lifestyle, including his fondness for manicures, steak dinners at the Palm, and trips aboard his boat named Bull. [Bloomberg]
• Morgan Stanley reported a fourth quarter loss of $2.29 billion. [WSJ, CNN]
• To cut costs, Citigroup has announced that it plans to combine its corporate and investment banking businesses. [DB, Dealbreaker]

The financial sector is heavily and sufficiently regulated! It's a familiar refrain, but last year it was coming from rich-people-ponzi-scheme operator Bernie Madoff, who added that financial criminals were always caught very quickly.

You didn't think Eliot Spitzer's year could get much worse, did you? Well, it just did. The former governor has admitted that his family also had money invested with Bernie Madoff. [NPR]

In trouble with the law? First, get a lawyer. Second, delete your Facebook page. Shana Madoff Swanson, couture-loving niece of accused Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, has followed that script.

Shana Madoff, whose uncle Bernie Madoff stands accused of defrauding investors of $50 billion, is the wife of Eric Swanson, a former top lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission. A goy, but well-placed!

What do Bernie Madoff and Tony Soprano have in common (besides their fondness for lives of crime)? It turns out that Bernie's son, Andrew Madoff, sold his previous apartment on East 66th Street to none other than Sopranos creator David Chase in 2005. Ominous foreshadowing? Complete coincidence? We have no idea, but this does suggest who the front-runner is when the time comes to turn the tawdry Madoff family tale into a film or movie of the week. (And if Tony Sirico can shed the Italian accent and trade in the polyester outfit for a suit from Syms, he may have the looks to play Bernie.) The official record of the sale is below.

The $50 billion Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme claimed lots of big-name victims. Now, a few days into the investigation, the Hollywood connections are coming out. Fun!

For the past few days we've been hearing about the long list of charities that lost millions in Bernie Madoff's elaborate Ponzi scheme. But what about Madoff's own charitable contributions? Although he's been widely described as a prominent donor to various Jewish causes, Madoff hasn't been giving away bundles of cash for some time now. In 2007, the Madoff Family Foundation, which listed $19 million in assets at the end of the year, reported handing out $95,000 over the course of the year, down more than 90 percent from the year before when the foundation gave away $1.2 million. Perhaps he had an inkling the end was near and decided to hold on to as much cash as possible?

Everybody knows what Bernie Madoff did—hustle a lot of people out of $50 billion. But nobody's really explained how he did it. Now we're finding out his purported "strategy" was obviously fake.

Now you can own a souvenir from the biggest financial fraud in history: A Bernard Madoff Investment Securities fleece is up for sale on Ebay for $255. Not recommended attire for services at your local synagogue, obviously. [Ebay via Dealbreaker]

• Goldman Sachs has posted its first quarterly loss since becoming a public company. The bank says it lost $2.1 billion during the fourth quarter. [CNN]
• BoA is cutting a number of top execs as it merges with Merrill. [WSJ]
• More on Bernie Madoff's biggest losers: Tremont Group had $3.3 billion, or more than half its assets, invested with him. [Bloomberg]
• Madoff's sons do not appear to have been involved in the scam. [NYT]
• Arthur Levitt denies he gave Madoff special treatment as ex-SEC chair. [NYP]
• A fresh fraud: Daniel Laikin, the CEO of National Lampoon, has been charged with securities fraud. [DB]

Real estate tycoon and Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman would like you to know that, contrary to earlier reports, he was not really a victim of Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme. First of all, the $30 million he'd invested with Madoff was part of a charitable trust and didn't have anything to do with his personal fortune. And he'd never even heard of Madoff before last week; the money was invested with Madoff via a third party. Please also note that he hasn't worried about the Madoff mess for a moment. "I spent the weekend taking my daughter to see the Jonas Brothers, so I haven't been thinking about this, and after that concert I'm trying to regain my hearing, which I've barely done." [NYM]

Hedge fund hustler Bernie Madoff made $50 billion in wealth evaporate—much of it from some of America's richest Jews. Does this fact have a greater significance? We'll say... yes(?)

Bernie Madoff ripped off dozens of wealthy investors, hedge funds, schools, and non-profit institutions over the years (and his elaborate scheme has also helped sap what little confidence remains in the financial markets at large). But there's some positive news for his victims, people like Mets owner Fred Wilpon and real estate tycoon Mort Zuckerman. It turns out that "investment losses that result from theft" are fully tax-deductible, according to experts. [Financial Week]

• The list of companies, charities and individuals who lost massive sums in connection with Bernie Madoff continues to grow: Mort Zuckerman, Elie Wiesel, Sen. Frank Lautenberg and a charity tied to Steven Spielberg are just a few of the latest victims. [WSJ, NYT]
• Many of Madoff's victims were located in Palm Beach, where the mood is especially grim as wealthy retirees account for their losses. [NYT, WSJ]
• The Madoff saga isn't the only outrageous scheme to have been revealed in recent days, of course. The Times' report over the weekend on how Marc Dreier duped the likes of Sheldon Solow and the bank Perella Weinberg. [NYT]