Madoff Remains Free On Bail, Stays In Penthouse

January 12, 2009 4:11 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis said Monday that Bernard Madoff will remain free on $10 million bond, ruling against U.S. prosecutors who had requested he be jailed for breaking the terms of bail.

The ruling will allow Madoff to stay on house arrest at his $7 million Manhattan penthouse as he awaits trial on one count of securities fraud.

Prosecutors claimed Madoff broke terms of bail when he mailed more than $1 million in jewelry to family members over the holidays. Madoff's assets are to remain frozen as prosecutors decipher what's left that can be returned to burned investors.

"The government fails to provide sufficient evidence that any potential future dissemination of Madoff's assets would rise to the level of an economic harm," Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis wrote, according to the Associated Press.

Generally, judges use flight risk and danger to the community as deciding factors on bail rulings. Since Madoff doesn't represent either of those, the jewelry mailing did not hold enough weight on its own.

Elsewhere, another magistrate approved an extension for the deadline to indict Madoff until Feb. 11. The ruling will allow Madoff to remain free on bail for at least another month while awaiting trial.