NBC New York has asked a federal bankrupcy judge Monday to make public all Madoff-related motions and documents currently being kept secret by the court.
Madoff Trustee Irving Picard has alleged in several still secret lawsuits that numerous major banks and individuals aided Madoff in the fraud. Recent filings have included lawsuits against JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, Citibank, Sterling Equities, among others. But many of the complaints and related documents in the Madoff Investment Securities liquidation are sealed and are out of public view.
Read the letter
"Public disclosure of the court filings could best answer questions and shed important light on some of the controversies surrounding this massive fraud," WNBC's letter to Judge Burton R. Lifland said. "It is past time for the public and the press to see these materials and judge for themselves."
A spokesman for Picard did not return email request seeking comment. Numerous banks have issued public statements claiming the allegations they aided Madoff's fraud are meritless.
This as Mark Madoff's body remains in the city morgue unclaimed, according to a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner. He hanged himself Saturday morning in his Soho apartment amid the ongoing criminal investigation. He was found by his father-in-law in the living room hanging by a dogleash - as Madoff's 2-year-old baby slept nearby.
His mom Ruth Madoff has said she is "heartbroken" over her son's suicide. Her lawyer would not comment on reports she is now blaming her husband and his Ponzi scheme for Mark Madoff's death.
Bernie Madoff remains in a North Carolina prison serving a life sentence. His lawyer said Monday he will not request to attend his son's funeral "out of consideration of his daughter-in-law and grandchildrens privacy."
Meanwhile, Madoff's secretary Annette Bongiorno had another hearing in federal court in Manhattan. The Florida-based millionaire waived her right to appear in court, sending her lawyer instead. Outside court, attorney Roland Rioppele said she was "shocked and saddened" when she learned of Madoff's suicide. He added she had known him "since he was a baby."
The Madoff sons had long been under suspicion in connection with the Madoff Ponzi scheme. They had worked at their dad's firm but had denied any wrongdoing. They were the one's who turned Bernie Madoff in to the FBI when their father told them - allegedly for the first time - about his $65 billion dollar scheme.
