Madoff Secretary Released From Prison On Bail

The former secretary to Ponzi scammer Bernard Madoff was sprung from New York jail Friday afternoon after a Federal Judge in Manhattan approved her bail package.

Annette Bongiorno, 62, wiped tears of joy after Federal Judge Laura Swain ruled on her petition for a reduced bail. Bongiorno walked out of the Manhattan Federal Courthouse four hours later after signing a bond and being fitted with an electronic leg monitoring bracelet.

"I was so happy," Bongiorno said of her weeping spell at the defence table. "I'm thrilled to be out."

Bongiorno, wearing blue men's prison pants under a winter coat, declined to say what she would say to Bernard Madoff but stated that  "I would have thanked" the judge "if I could."

Bongiorno, who spent 40 years working for Madoff, had been held on $5 million after Swain earlier ruled that she was a flight risk because of millions in assets that she had available. The judge reduced the bail to $3 million and allowed Bongiorno out on house arrest with an electronic monitoring after being told that most of that money had been frozen by the government.

The onetime secretary is accused of pocketing $14.5 million while bankrupting unsuspecting investors in the Madoff scheme and faces 75 years in prison if convicted for her alleged role in the nation's largest financial rip-off.

"The worst part (about being in jail) was being frightened about where you're going to be next," she said while walking out of the courthouse at 4:20 p.m. and being picked up by a waiting SUV. "I'm thrilled. I can't wait to get home."