Bernard Madoff’s chief financial officer is set to cop a plea in his boss’ mega-Ponzi scheme, according to court documents.
Frank DiPascali Jr., long rumored to be cooperating with authorities, is expected to waive indictment and plead guilty Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors wrote in a letter to a Manhattan federal judge late yesterday.
The letter doesn’t say what crimes DiPascali will be charged with, and a spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s Office declined comment.
But a recent report in Fortune magazine said DiPascali had “encyclopedic knowledge” of Madoff’s $65 billion fraud and was trying to cut a deal in which he would admit creating phony records for major investors for tax purposes.
Customers described DiPascali, 52, as their main contact with the firm — the person who answered questions about their accounts and handled their transactions.
He and Madoff hail from the same part of Queens, and DiPascali’s first job was as Madoff’s assistant.
Sources have said authorities plan to charge as many as 10 people in the mammoth scam. But only one other person, Madoff’s accountant, has been charged during the seven-month investigation.
Madoff, who has insisted that he acted alone, pleaded guilty to charges that he ran the massive scheme since the early 1990s, wiping out the life savings of thousands of people. He was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison.
DiPascali’s lawyer, Marc Mukasey, yesterday declined comment. With AP
