• Hedge funder Steve Stuart, who left Fortress Investment Group in 2007 to found his own firm, has finally found a buyer for his 35th floor apartment at the Park Laurel on West 63rd Street. The four-bedroom condo, which Stuart bought for $5.4 million in 2004 and put on the market for $10.8 million in October 2008, sold this week to an unidentified buyer for $7.4 million. [Cityfile, Corcoran]
• Prolific real estate investor Michael Hirtenstein is the mystery buyer who has agreed to purchase financier Armon Bar-Tur's townhouse at 92 Charles Street. Hirtenstein picked up the four-bedroom home, which was most recently listed for $14.95 million, for "about $13.5 million." [NYP]
• Longtime Dakota residents Connie Chung and Maury Povich are preparing to leave New York. The couple has gone into contract to buy a 12,500-square-foot home in Washington, DC for $8.98 million, although Chung says they're not planning on moving into the new home until 2010 or 2011. [WSJ]

Bernie Madoff's East 64th Street penthouse didn't attract any buyers at $9.9 million. How does a more modest $8.9 million sound? Did we mention the "elliptical staircase" and the "sun-flooded rooms"? Or the "tremendous wrap-around planted and irrigated terrace"? Or the fact that Mr. Matt Lauer will be your downstairs neighbor? Get moving, people. A "sophisticated" and impeccably renovated apartment" at this price won't last long. [Curbed]

In order to (partially) repay Bernie Madoff's victims, the Feds aren't just selling off his real estate; they're selling off every last knick-knack and bric-a-brac that might potentially raise a dollar, at auction. Sample the "Bull" crap bounty, below!

If you didn't get to bid on Bernie and Ruth Madoff's homes or cars, there's still time to get your hands on some Madoff memorabilia. More than 100 items that once belonged to the couple—including diamond earrings, Rolex watches, furs and what appears to be Ruth's diamond wedding ring—go up for auction on Saturday. Could there a better way to start off a marriage on the right foot than by giving the love of your life the ring that Bernie once gave Ruth? We sincerely doubt it. [NYP, US Marshals, previously]

Another figure in the Madoff affair should be headed to prison in the near future. David Friehling, Bernie's sketchy accountant and the man supposedly responsible for overseeing Madoff's financial activities out of his one-man firm in Rockland County, is expected to plead guilty to a variety of charges next week. He and faces a maximum of 108 years in prison. [NYT, WSJ]

Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme ultimately defrauded investors out of $21.2 billion, according to Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the case. That's considerably more than the $13 billion put forward by prosecutors at Madoff's sentencing in June. But that's a lot less than the $65 billion that's been bandied about for many months now, which includes the fictitious profits Madoff had "made" for his clients. The revised figure won't diminish his status as the biggest fraudster in American history. Madoff can still hold his head high when he steps into the prison yard and rest assured no one's taking that trophy away from him anytime soon. [NYT]

Billionaire investor Jeffry Picower—who made billions off of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme—was found dead in his (expensive) pool Sunday. Murder??? Well, the coroner doesn't want you to think so. But clearly, Madoff's money has a deadly curse.

A New Jersey neurosurgeon named Gregory Przybylski is the proud new owner of Bernie Madoff's Mercedes station wagon. The fun-loving doc scooped up the vehicle (which he says is "a part of history") for $14,250 at a government auction last Friday. Meanwhile, the RV that once belonged to fraudster Sam Israel was auctioned off as well, selling to a Brooklyn car dealer for $27,500. [NYP]

Billionaire investor Jeffry Picower made more money off Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme than any other investor. Yesterday, Picower was found dead in his Palm Beach swimming pool. Let's not jump to any conclusions.

Jeffry Picower, the billionaire investor and philanthropist accused of collecting $7 billion in profits from Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, was found dead in his Palm Beach swimming pool on Sunday afternoon. An investigation into his death is underway. Update: The medical examiner who performed an autopsy now says the drowning was the result of a massive heart attack.

Billionaire real estate mogul Steve Roth has been unmasked as the lucky winner in the bidding for Bernie Madoff's Montauk $9.4 million beach house.

• The buyer who plunked down $9.41 million on Bernie and Ruth Madoff's oceanfront home in Montauk home has been revealed: It's billionaire real estate mogul Steve Roth and his wife, Broadway producer Daryl Roth. [WSJ]
• Alexander Navab, a partner at KKR and co-head of the firm's private equity business in North America, has paid $4.9 million for a two-bedroom co-op at the River House on East 52nd Street. Meanwhile, his four-bedroom spread just a few floors up remains on the market for $24.5 million. [Cityfile]
• The Minetta Lane townhouse owned by late party planner Robert Isabell has been reduced in price since first going on the market for $3.95 million. The 2,813-square-foot building, which features a "basement hand-chipped by Tibetan-born sherpas from Brooklyn," is now $3.45 million. [Curbed, MK]

When the Bernie Madoff scandal broke, New York Mets fans were momentarily terrified because the team's owners had huge accounts with Madoff's firm. Turns out that was the Mets' best investment. Hey-o!

Bernie Madoff's life behind bars sure sounds, uh, colorful. A new lawsuit against the fraudster, which includes details from a recent visit to Madoff at a federal prison in North Carolina, says that he "shares a cell with a 21-year-old inmate convicted of drug crimes" (Madoff has the lower bunk); "eats pizza cooked by an inmate convicted of child molestation"; goes "walking around the prison track at night" for exercise; and spends his free time hanging out with "former Colombo crime family boss Carmine Persico and Jonathan Pollard, who was convicted of spying for Israel." [NYP]

A cushy country club style prison was not in the cards for Bernie Maddoff, to the delight of just about everyone who hoped his quality of life would take a major nosedive. We've got the details and it's not pretty.

• A month after it was reported that Bernie Madoff's Montauk home had gone into contract, an unidentified buyer has closed on the purchase of the oceanfront manse. The five-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot home, which had been listed for $8.75 million, ended up selling for $9.41 million. [ABC, NYDN]
• Writer/director John Ridley has finally unloaded his condo at 15 Central Park West. The 2,237-square-foot pad, which Ridley bought for $6.65 million in July 2008 and listed for $13 million just a few days later, has sold for $8 million to a company listed in property records as Moral Hole LLC. [Cityfile]
• Oil exec Tom Edelman has placed his 11-room apartment at 770 Park Avenue back on the market, albeit for quite a bit less than when he last put it up for sale a year and a half ago. The eighth-floor co-op, which Edelman listed for $16.75 million after picking up a bigger apartment at 775 Park, is now being offered for $11 million with Brown Harris Stevens' John Burger. [NYT, BHS]
• Late fashion designer Abbijane Schifrin's former townhouse at 141 East 19th Street has gone on the market. The five-story manse, which is currently divided into two units, is listed for $8.75 million. [NYT, Sotheby's]

Bernie Madoff's Montauk digs went for $9.4M! Originally listed at $8.4M, the Corcoran Group's apparently the U.S. Marshals' favorite real estate agency. Proceeds go straight into to a Madoff victims fund, no word on the buyer. But the quotes? Priceless.

A 2001 Mercedes-Benz E320 that used to be the property of Bernie Madoff (before the US Marshals Service came along and confiscated the keys, naturally) is going up for auction on October 23. It's a Ponzi scheme double-header, actually. Also on the block will be the RV that once belonged to imprisoned hedge fund manager/scam artist Samuel Israel and served as his escape vehicle, no less. [Dealbreaker]

Incarcerated real estate bellwether Bernie Madoff reportedly got into a fist-throwing prison brawl! Which could more accurately be characterized as "two elderly men poking each other angrily while discussing financial strategies." Assuming it actually happened. Gang war!

According to the Post, Bernie Madoff got into a "prison-yard tussle" last week. It wasn't over whose turn it was to use the weights in the prison yard, though, or who would be getting the last serving of jello in the prison cafeteria. The two supposedly faced off over "the state of the market," and Madoff ended up winning the battle, shoving the guy and forcing him to stumble, which allowed "Madoff to collect some 'cred' among his fellow prisoners." You may want to note that this is the same paper (and reporter) who informed us a few weeks ago that Madoff was dying of cancer. So perhaps in addition to beating down his rivals, Madoff's health is improving, too? Let's hope so! [NYP]