U.S. Marshals seizes Madoffs' Upper East Side penthouse
Ruth Madoff given heads up and the U.S. Marshals Service changed the locks
Photo credit: AFP / Getty Images Photo | Judith Welling speaks to reporters outside of the courthouse in New York where Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty.
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The spouse is out of the house.
Federal marshals evicted Ruth Madoff Thursday from the $7.5-million Manhattan penthouse she once shared with swindler husband Bernard Madoff.
- Click here to see photos of Bernie and Ruth Madoff, in and out of court
The Ruth Madoff, 68, was home when about five marshals arrived around noon at 133 E. 64th St., armed with a new locks and cameras and told her to leave, officials said.
"Ruth Madoff was in the apartment when we arrived and has vacated the residence," said Roland Ubaldo, a Marshals Service spokesman. "She surrendered all personal property to the U.S. Marshals Service."
Ruth Madoff's expulsion, carried out just three days after her husband was sentenced to 150 years in prison, represents a crash from a life of four homes and opulence to that of an Armani-clad vagabond.
A source familiar with the Madoff case who didn't want to be identified said Ruth Madoff plans to live with relatives in the New York City area. She has reportedly been on the outs with her two sons, Andrew and Mark. Both of Ruth Madoff's parents died in the 1990s. Her sister, Joan, lives in Florida.
Investors had varied reaction to the news of the eviction.
"I have no sympathy for Ruth Madoff when I know numerous people who have lost their homes, life savings and sense of dignity, all because of this sociopath [Bernard Madoff]," said Phyllis Feiner of Great Neck. "Maybe she will begin to feel the pain others are feeling."
Ronnie Sue Ambrosino, formerly of Bay Shore, who lost money with her husband in the scam, had mixed feelings and some sympathy for Ruth Madoff. "I don't want anybody go through that," she said about the eviction. "[But] to my thinking, all of the money that went into that apartment was ill-gotten gains. . . . She shouldn't be able to live like that."
The marshals were acting under a court order in which the Madoffs forfeited the apartment, a $3.5-million Montauk house and tens of millions of dollars in other assets to repay victims of the scam. Losses in the fraud are now put at $13 billion and likely to grow.
Ruth Madoff's attorneys had been negotiating with the government about the eviction so the marshals' arrival didn't come as a surprise. The forfeiture took effect after Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday and held responsible for $170 billion in criminal proceeds.
Peter Chavkin, the attorney for Ruth Madoff who handled her negotiations with the government, didn't respond to a request for comment.
Under the forfeiture order, she is giving up everything in the co-op apartment she purchased in 1979, including the sheets on the bed. Officials said everything will be sold at auction and used to repay victims.
Also surrendered to the marshals - who changed the locks on the apartment and inventoried its contents - were all furniture, clocks, lamps and wall sconces valued for insurance purposes at $1.7 million. She also gave up $382,000 in floor and window coverings, as well as silverware, china and glassware valued at $58,000.
With Pervaiz Shallwani
-- Click here to see photos of Bernie and Ruth Madoff, in and out of court
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