Madoff's ex-finance boss freed on $10M bail

The former finance chief for jailed financier Bernard Madoff was released Tuesday on $10- million bail, 10 months after he admitted his role in an epic fraud that cost thousands of investors billions of dollars.

Frank DiPascali, 53, left U.S. District Court in Manhattan without speaking to reporters after meeting the terms of a bail package that a judge had set in February.

DiPascali pleaded guilty in August to helping with Madoff's multi-decade Ponzi scheme until it collapsed in late 2008. Madoff, 72, is serving a 150-year prison term.

Prosecutors have said DiPascali has provided information that contributed to the arrests of two computer programmers for the firm and Madoff's auditor. DiPascali's cooperation has delayed his sentencing on his guilty plea to securities fraud, money laundering and other charges that carry potential penalties of up to 125 years in prison.

"I was loyal to him. I ended up being loyal to a terrible, terrible fault," DiPascali said during the plea.

Meanwhile, Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Tuesday announced his office filed two civil complaints seeking the forfeiture of about $5 million in assets from Annette Bongiorno and Joann Crupi. According to the complaints, the pair were part of Madoff's back-office staff and each worked for the disgraced financier for more than 25 years.

The filing said the assets, including a $2.2-million New Jersey home paid for in cash, were purchased with proceeds from Madoff's fraud.- AP