Ezra Merkin, the money manager who invested more than $2.4 billion in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme and has since been sued by both Andrew Cuomo and his disgruntled investors, is not having a good week. His hedge fund was turned over to liquidators the other day. Now he's caved to pressure and stepped aside as president of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue. What could be next? If you hear about an emergency co-op board meeting at 740 Park, you may have your answer. [NYT]

Bernie Madoff has been sequestered in his apartment since his bail conditions were modified on Friday, but that's hardly put a damper on the media frenzy. Over the weekend, the Post was kind enough to tally the funds lost by members of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue (or the "Temple of Doom," as the Post describes it), a $2 billion sum that includes a $200 million investment by Ira Rennert, an amount that is about twice what he spent on his house in the Hamptons. The Times offered up an extremely detailed look at Madoff's rise over the years, and revealed that Walter Noel, who runs the Fairfield Greenwich Group, collected more than $500 million in fees from the $7.5 billion he steered into Madoff's hands, a good portion of whuch was rustled up thanks to the efforts of his globetrotting sons-in-law.