New bail hearing said set in Madoff case

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new bail hearing was set for Monday in the Bernard Madoff case, according to a source familiar with the situation, with the accused swindler showing up at the courthouse.

Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, was arrested and charged on December 11 with securities fraud. He is under house arrest in his Manhattan apartment but appeared on Monday in the Manhattan courthouse ahead of the scheduled hearing.

Madoff wore a dark blue cap and his hands were in his pockets as he entered an elevator in the federal court building.

His attorney, Ira Lee Sorkin, declined to comment.

The bail hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. British time) in U.S. Magistrate Court in New York, according to the source.

Madoff, 70, is accused of running a scheme over many years that bilked the wealthy, banks, charities and funds all over the world. No one else has been charged. Authorities say he has admitted the fraud.

On December 19, Madoff was put under 24-hour detention in his Manhattan apartment "to prevent harm or flight." He also agreed to the extension of court orders freezing his assets and the appointment of a receiver for his firm.

The order tightening Madoff's bail conditions, signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz in District Court in Manhattan, said, "The defendant will employ a security firm to provide the following services to prevent harm or flight: round-the-clock monitoring at the defendant's building, 24 hours per day, including video monitoring of the defendant's apartment doors."

The order replaced an earlier night curfew as part of Madoff's release on $10 million (6.8 million pound) bail.