Wondering what your fave fraudsters are up to? Yesterday, prosecutors announced that they planned to seek a 145-year jail sentence for Marc Dreier, the lawyer who ripped off various hedge funds and other investors out of $400 million. Dreier will find out how long he'll spend behind bars when he's sentenced on Monday, but in the meantime, there's a bit of Bernie Madoff news today, too.
Ira Sorkin, Bernie Madoff's lawyer, has asked a federal judge to sentence the admitted fraudster to as little as 12 years in prison and no more than 20: "Sorkin said that a 12-year sentence would be appropriate because Madoff's life expectancy is now 13 years. As an alternative, he said that a 15-to-20 year term would 'effectively achieve' the goals of sentencing 'without disproportionately punishing Mr. Madoff.'" And we wouldn't want to do that, clearly. [Bloomberg]
Bernie Madoff would like to return home to his Upper East Side penthouse. The Metropolitan Correctional Center? It's not such a fun place to be, apparently! Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, filed an appeal today and is now asking that Madoff be permitted to return to house arrest at his duplex on East 64th Street. An appeals court will likely deliver a decision later today. In the meantime, though, you're welcome to refer to him as federal inmate No. 61727-054. [NYDN]
Bernie Madoff is expected to plead guilty to 11 criminal charges on Thursday, reports the Journal: "At a hearing Tuesday, Ira Lee Sorkin, Mr. Madoff's lawyer, said his client expects to plead guilty to a criminal information, or charging document that outlines the allegations against him, filed by the government with the court on Tuesday. 'Do you expect Mr. Madoff to plead guilty on Thursday?' asked U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan. 'That's a reasonable expectation,' Mr. Sorkin said."
• Merrill Lynch's top 10 earners in 2008—a list that Andrew Cuomo will be interested to take a look at—is out. Each made more than $10 million in cash and stock in 2008 as the bank racked up losses of $27.6 billion. [WSJ]
• The private sector lost nearly 700,000 jobs in February. [CNN]
• A UBS exec will address the Swiss bank scandal on Capitol Hill today. [NYT]
• Ben Bernanke yesterday: "If there is a single episode in this entire 18 months that has made me more angry, I can't think of one other than AIG." [BN]
• Bill Ackman's hedge fund dropped in February, Ken Griffin gained. [BN, NYP]
• More than 8.3 million mortgages are underwater, according to a report. [BN]
• Bernie Madoff has agreed to give up rights to his investment firm and company art collection. A hearing scheduled for today to look into conflicts of interest on the part of his lawyer, Ira Sorkin, has been postponed. [AP]
Some surprising finds from the massive list of Madoff victims released last night: John Malkovich, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, the estate of John Denver, CNN's Larry King, former public advocate Mark Green, real estate developer Larry Silverstein, and Madoff's own lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin. (Not everyone listed is necessarily a victim—it includes anyone who responded to advertisements placed by the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of the firm.) But there's one name that is curiously missing from the list. Zsa Zsa Gabor! The 91-year-old actress and her publicity-loving ninth husband, "Prince" Frederic von Anhalt, made a big production a couple weeks ago about how they lost $10 million to Madoff's scheme. Neither Gabor nor von Anhalt, however, are listed in the 163-page document.
• A group of teens who supposedly lost their trust funds to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme have taken responsibility for covering his Palm Beach estate with toilet paper this weekend. [Palm Beach Post]
• More on what Bernie's sons may (or may not have) known about their dad's scheme. [WSJ]
• What motivated Madoff to carry out his nefarious plot? According to a former FBI profiler, he has all the characteristics of a psychopathic serial killer. [NYT]
• More on the man charged with defending Madoff, Ira Sorkin. [Crain's]
