Madoff's penthouse could be yours for $10 million

By Emily Chasan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York City penthouse where imprisoned fraudster Bernard Madoff spent his last few days of freedom with his wife Ruth is set to go on sale later this week, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

The seven-room duplex with a wraparound terrace on Manhattan's east side is expected to fetch about $8 million to $10 million (4.8 million to 6 million pounds), which will be used to reimburse victims of the biggest Ponzi scheme ever.

The co-op apartment, which will be listed by a broker later this week, still sports the Madoffs' Persian rugs, chandeliers and baby grand Steinway piano, according to a press pool video released by the Marshals Service on Tuesday.

Except for the FBI tag labels on each piece of furniture and dozens of cardboard boxes packed with designer clothing and kitchen wares, it looks almost as if the Madoffs could return any minute from a vacation.

A leather bull still sits perched on a table in Bernard Madoff's office, original art still hangs on the walls, and the Madoffs' Baccarat crystal water glasses are still in the cupboards.

But Roland Ubaldo, the deputy U.S. Marshal who showed the apartment to the media this week, was quick to say that the penthouse had a much more "personal touch" when it was seized in July by U.S. authorities.

Federal marshals took possession of the Madoffs' penthouse on July 2, forcing Ruth Madoff to leave her home and surrender nearly all her belongings. She was only allowed to keep a few personal effects and a "reasonable" amount of clothing, Ubaldo said.

Bernie Madoff didn't need anything from the apartment because "he is given everything he needs by the Bureau of Prisons," Ubaldo said in reference to the 150-year prison term Madoff began serving this summer.