Feds Sell Off $67.8 Million in Bernie Madoff's Belongings So Far

(Sept. 23) -- While 72-year-old swindler Bernie Madoff serves a 150-year sentence behind bars, federal authorities are working to use his ill-gotten gains to repay his many victims.

On Wednesday, in the latest court filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the U.S. Attorney's Office said the government so far has recouped about $67.8 million through the sale of his belongings, though the figure obviously falls far short of the $50 billion or so Madoff swindled from investors.

The government tally so far, according to court documents, includes $7.3 million from the sale of his New York City co-op; about $59 million from the sale of his four-bedroom, 1.2-acre home in Montauk, N.Y.; $1.4 million for his Cap d'Antibes apartment in the French Riviera; and cars, boats, a securities account and personal property.

According to a report last year in Bloomberg, the three-bedroom apartment in the French Riviera has a partially obstructed sea view and is 1,300 square feet. The news organization noted that interior designer Bernard Collini-Lopes said the apartment was surprisingly modest for a man of Madoff's means.

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Specifically, some of the personal items sold included a Rolex chronograph wristwatch with a black stitched alligator strap; a woman's 18-karat yellow gold Chaumet Paris-hinged bangle bracelet; 18-karat yellow gold Cartier hinged looped earrings; a 10-karat yellow gold 1960 Hofstra college ring; and an official Major League Baseball Mets "starter" jacket, with the stitched words "NY Mets, MADF" on the front, the number 25 on the sleeve and "Madoff" on the back.

The government still has plenty of property to sell off, including Madoff's 8,750-square-foot Palm Beach, Fla., home. According to one report, the asking price back in February was $7.9 million.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in New York declined comment today on the property filings.

In March 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to swindling investors out of billions through an elaborate Ponzi scheme. He is being housed in a federal prison in North Carolina.