A man accused of making more than $7 billion off the investment schemes of jailed financial manager Bernard Madoff drowned after having a heart attack, authorities said yesterday. Jeffry Picower, 67, was found at about noon Sunday by his wife, Barbara, at the bottom of a pool at their oceanside mansion. She pulled him from the water with help from a housekeeper. He died a short time later at a nearby hospital.

Bernard Madoff’s brother, sons and a niece used the family finance business like a “piggy bank,“ a court-appointed trustee charged yesterday as he demanded in a lawsuit that they return nearly $200 million that fueled their lavish lifestyles at the expense of investors. Trustee Irving Picard sought $198.7 million from Madoff’s brother, Peter, who had worked at Madoff’s Manhattan investment company since 1965, and sons, Mark and Andrew.

Bernard Madoff’s life of luxury is a thing of the past. The disgraced financier, blamed for what is believed to be the largest Ponzi scheme in history, arrived yesterday at a federal prison in North Carolina to begin a 150-year sentence in a cell with two bunk beds, a toilet and a sink. Madoff—prisoner No. 61727-054—arrived somewhat under cover at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex about 45 miles northwest of Raleigh. Onlookers said a bus backed into the entrance, then a sport utility vehicle pulled in front of it, blocking photographers and TV cameras trying to get a glimpse.

JAYNE BARNARD Guest Columnist WILLIAMSBURG On Monday in a crowded courtroom in New York City, nine citizens stood up and told the story of how Bernard Madoff had hurt them and their families. Judge Denny Chin listened respectfully to those sto ries and recited some of them back as he entered the historic 150-year sentence. Some of the victims’ comments were almost literary (“Last year, my mother died. Now I don’t have my mother or my money.“)

Federal authorities are pressing a probe of 10 associates of Bernard Madoff despite a sentence that means the mastermind of one of the biggest financial frauds in history will spend the rest of his days behind bars, the AP has learned.

NEW YORK—The prime seats that Bernard Madoff’s company has for New York Mets games could soon be available. The Mets season tickets, just behind home plate at Citi Field, will likely be resold by the trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. “We have no intention of not monetizing them and letting them go unused,“ trustee Irving H. Picard said today in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “When we have something to announce, we will do so.“

Madoff accountant charged He’s the first person to bearrested in the wake of the Ponzi operator’s confession Bernard Madoff’s longtime accountant was arrested on fraud charges yesterday as authorities blamed him for failing to make the most basic auditing checks that would have exposed an epic fraud that cost investors billions of dollars.

Prosecutors: nothing for wife Assets in her name are fruits of Madoff’s fraud, lawyers charge Prosecutors probing Bernard Madoff’s massive fraud are determined to leave his wife with almost nothing after telling a Manhattan court that they consider more than $100 million in assets, most of it listed in her name, the fruits of her husband’s crimes.

Seventy-year-old head of once-revered investment fund could be sentenced to 150 years in prison.

In a courtroom surprise, lawyers revealed yesterday that Bernard Madoff will plead guilty tomorrow to securities fraud, perjury and other crimes, knowing that he could face up to 150 years in prison for one of the largest frauds in history.

Prosecutors have filed a motion indicating that Bernard Madoff may be ready to plead guilty to a sweeping financial fraud.

Bernard Madoff has agreed to give up the rights to his disgraced investment business and his company’s prized artwork and entertainment tickets as he faces another appearance in a federal courtroom today. Prosecutors requested the hearing yesterday so Madoff can appear in court with his lawyer, Ira Sorkin, because they believe the attorney may have conflicts of interest in the case. Sorkin also represents Madoff’s wife and several others in relation to the Madoff case.