Prosecutor Raises Specter of Dozing Security Guards in Madoff Bail Appeal

A federal appeals court has promised a ruling “in due course” on whether to grant bail for Bernard Madoff before his sentencing for operating a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Madoff’s lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Madoff’s ability to flee with assets “is virtually nil,” the New York Times reports. "I know of no case of conditions that have been imposed as severe as those on Mr. Madoff,” Sorkin said.

Madoff pleaded guilty on March 12 and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16. He was jailed after the plea. Before that, he had been confined to his New York apartment where he was watched by private security guards.

Prosecutor Marc Litt told the court that the security guards don’t provide the same safety as the Metropolitan Correctional Center. He said Madoff’s apartment building has several entrances, the guards could fall asleep and “people can be subject to financial inducements,” the Times reports.