What a sacrifice!
A former employee who allegedly pocketed $14.5 million “investing” with Bernard Madoff wants to stay out of jail so badly, she offered yesterday to slash her spending to $15,000 a month — from the $45,000 estimated by prosecutors.
Annette Bongiorno also said neither she nor her husband, Rudy, would write any checks greater than $2,500 without permission from a court-appointed financial monitor.
The proposals are part of a last-ditch effort by Bongiorno, 62, to avoid prison pending trial on charges she helped cover up Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. She was granted $5 million bail following her arrest last month, but has been unable to round up co-signers with enough assets to secure her bond.
In a Manhattan federal court filing yesterday, Bongiorno said she would immediately put a Florida home up for sale and move into her home on Long Island, which she owns free and clear. “We believe this is the most economically efficient way to proceed,” her lawyers wrote.
The Manhattan US Attorney’s Office didn’t return requests for comment.
