Madoff investor found dead in New York

By Daniel Trotta

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A French executive who invested with accused swindler Bernard Madoff was found dead in an apparent suicide on Tuesday, reportedly distraught over losing up to $1.4 billion (950 million pounds) in client money.

The death added a chapter to the widening story of the Wall Street fund manager who authorities say confessed to running a $50 billion (34 billion pound) fraud that ensnared investors and charities around the world.

While Madoff remained under house arrest in his Manhattan apartment with his assets frozen, another investor sought to hold U.S. regulators responsible for $2 million in purported Madoff-related losses, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said it may lose $850,000 in donations due to the scandal.

Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, 65, a co-founder of money manager Access International, was found dead on the 22nd floor of a New York City office building, officials said.

He slit both wrists with box cutters, and appeared to bleed to death, according to a police source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He may have also taken sleeping pills after staying late in the office on Monday night, the source said, who added that there was no suicide note.

An official cause of death was not expected until at least Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the New York City Medical Examiner said.

Villehuchet had been trying to recover some of the funds lost to Madoff, Paris newspaper La Tribune reported on its website, citing a person close to Villehuchet. That source also told the newspaper Villehuchet killed himself.