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Ex-Madoff Employee Posts $5 Million Bail
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 20, 2010
Modified Nov 20, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 20, 2010
Modified Nov 20, 2010
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After being indicted on charges of conspiracy, fraud, and falsifying documents for allegedly participating in her old boss's massive Ponzi scheme, former Bernard Madoff Investments employee Joann Crupi went free after posting $5 million bail. According to the Post, the 49-year-old NJ resident "will secure the bond with $2 million in cash and assets." She is also surrendering her passport and will be on electronic monitoring. One victim was thrilled that Crupi and another Madoff employee, secretary Annette Bongiorno, were arrested, but she wondered why Madoff's relatives were still walking free, "But what about Peter Madoff? What about Ruth and the sons? Do you mean to say they didn't know?"
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said of Crupi's and Biongiorno's indictments, "A house of cards is almost never built by one lone architect," but the widespread fraud's victims are hopeful that the other architects are charged. Michael DeVita told ABC News that he "lost everything... I hope their targets are more people with the name Madoff. It troubles me that you have Ruth [Madoff] walking around with $2 million.... And you've got the sons walking around with who knows how much money, and living a relatively normal life."
Ruth Madoff, who reportedly still visits her husband at his NC federal prison, gave up her assets in exchange for $2.5 million. But victim Ronnie Sue Ambrosino said, "She was her husband's bookkeeper for all those years, and we wonder why she has not been prosecuted for all this." And her sons, as well as Madoff's brother Peter, have been sued for tens of millions of dollars for allegedly using the investment firm's cash as a "piggy bank," but they have not been charged by the feds.
Tagged
annette bongiorno
Bernard Madoff
fraud
Joann Crupi
ponzi scheme
Ruth Madoff
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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