Giving up her Upper East Side penthouse and all of its contents may not be all that Ruth Madoff has to sacrifice for living off her husband's vast Ponzi scheme for all those years: Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating Bernie Madoff's investment advisory business, slapped Ruthie with a lawsuit today. Picard claims she was "massively enriched" by her husband's $65 billion Ponzi scheme (duh), and says he's identified an additional $44.8 million "that is subject to recapture." Ruth's lawyer says the suit is "perplexing and totally unjustified," since she's already forfeited most of her assets. You can read the full suit below if you have nothing better to do this rainy afternoon. But if you're a salesperson at Neiman Marcus or Barneys, you probably should take this as a sign that Ruthie's regularly-scheduled shopping expedition this weekend is not happening.

How long as Bernie Madoff been in a North Carolina prison now? A couple of weeks? Well, it sounds like he's settling in nicely. According to the lawyer who visited him behind bars today—and spent four and half hours in his company—Madoff is "buff-looking" and "seems to be working out." And you were worried he'd have trouble fitting in. [ABC News]

Need further evidence that America's banking system could use a little fixing? Four NYU college buddies figured out that if you claim your ATM card has been stolen, you're not responsible for the charges, and the bank has 10 days to reimburse you for the loss. So the four opened account after account and pretended their cards had been stolen, over and over again, racking up about half a million bucks in phony refunds over the course of, oh, five years or so, before the banks finally figured out that there might just be a pattern here. Not that lawyer (and chick magnet) Eric Manganelli wasn't already a bit suspicious, of course. It's never a good sign when you count Al D'Amato and Bernie Kerik as friends on Facebook. [NYDN]

Remember Andrés Piedrahita, the Colombian-born employee/son-in-law of Walter Noel? The guy who traveled the globe in search of wealthy investors, who he convinced to invest in Fairfield Greenwich, the hedge fund that lost an estimated $7 billion to Bernie Madoff? Although you might think he'd be hiding in a cave these days, he's actually having a lovely summer. Because according to Vicky Ward, Piedrahita just took possession of a brand new, custom-built $30 million yacht: "He is now cruising the Adriatic with wife Corina Noel and their children. I am told he has plans to cruise around the Dalmatian coast and Corfu." [HuffPo]

"Sir" Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of masterminding a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, has been behind bars for about a month now. And he's not happy. His lawyer has asked a judge to transfer him to a new prison because the facility he currently calls home doesn't have air conditioning and the atmosphere is "oppressive" and "intolerable." [NYP]

Jerry Oppenheimer, the author famous for his gossipy, unauthorized biographies of people Anna Wintour (excellent), Martha Stewart (also good) and Jerry Seinfeld (boring), is publishing a new book about Bernie Madoff. Some of it sounds pretty juicy: Oppenheimer delves into possible ties between Madoff and members of the Mob, his serial unfaithfulness to wife Ruthie, and the book report that he may have fudged in a high school English class. Then again, some of it sounds like total nonsense. Like Oppenheimer's claim that Madoff didn't know how to tell time:

Julian Tzolov, the former Credit Suisse broker accused of cheating investors out of $4 million and then fleeing the country, pleaded guilty today to securities fraud, conspiracy, wire fraud, and bail-jumping charges. Why did Tzolov slip out of his Fifth Avenue condo and escape to Spain—he was nabbed in lovely Marbella in possession of a fake passport and accompanied by a bodyguard—a move that cost his friends and family the $3 million they put up in bail money? "I panicked your honor. I got scared," Tzolov told a judge shortly before his attorney, Ben Brafman explained that his client "meant no disrespect" by running off and now "recognizes that this was a bad idea." [Bloomberg, NYP]

It's been a week since Bernie Madoff settled in at the federal prison complex in Butner, NC, the penitentiary that will be his home for the next century or so. How's he doing? So far, so good. Although some of his fellow prisoners have been "discussing beating him up to boost their jailhouse reputations"—they actually debate these things in advance?—they've resisted the urge up until now, mainly because they've been "impressed" that he hasn't ratted out the people who helped him carry out his scheme.

Remember Sam Israel, the druggie hedge fund manager who made off with $450 million, got caught, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison—but then tried to skip out on the sentence by faking his own death? Hopefully the two weeks Israel spent lost in the woods was worth it! Because it just earned him another two years behind bars. [NYP]

Bernie Madoff's prison sentence has been reduced from 150 years to 130 years. Or maybe it hasn't. But for whatever reason the Bureau of Prisons has the fraudster's release date listed for 2139. Math error or evidence Bernie's opened up his wallet and is now dishing out bribes to prison officials? You decide! [Dealbreaker]

Contrary to what CNBC and the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, convicted con artist Bernie Madoff did not end up at the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina last night. But he didn't go to the facility in Otisville, NY either, which was what the Post and CNN had been claiming. All those "sources" turned out to be wrong, and he arrived at a prison in Atlanta. But no one knows if he'll be staying in Atlanta permanently, or if it's just a temporary stop-off, so the mystery continues, it seems. [NYT, BN, previously]

Right now Bernie Madoff is heading to the prison where he'll spend the rest of his life. Just which prison he's headed to, though, is still a mystery. Late this afternoon, an unidentified source told the Post that Madoff was headed to Otisville, the facility that he'd requested since it's within driving distance of NYC (not to mention renowned for its tasty kosher meals). CNBC, however, has been reporting that its source is telling them that Madoff is going to the medium security federal prison in Butner, North Carolina. CNN is following the Post's lead and going with Otisville. The Post's sister paper, the Wall Street Journal, is backing up CNBC and reporting that "a person familiar with the situation" has indicated Madoff is North Carolina-bound. Presumably we'll find out his destination for certain in a few hours when he shows up and makes his grand entrance. Or maybe this is all part of Bernie's plan to deliberately confuse prison officials and he's behind the wheel of a stolen car and speeding for the Mexican border? Developing!

Marc Dreier may get to see the light of day again, after all. Although prosecutors had asked a judge to sentence the scheming lawyer to a Madoff-like 145 years behind bars, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff handed him a 20-year term this afternoon. Dreier is 59, so he'll be a free man before he turns 80. Of course, that will still give him plenty of time to befriend big, buff black men, although presumably they won't be quite as harmless as former client Michael Strahan. [AP]

Marc Dreier pleaded guilty in May to charges he bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars, and he's been under house arrest since then. But today is judgment day and the disgraced lawyer will find out his fate in shortly. In the meantime, though, it looks like he has other problems: "Investment scammer Marc Dreier has been paying $70,000 a month for security guards to make sure he doesn't leave his NYC penthouse. Apparently they don't do dog-walking. Spies say Dreier's terrace is covered with pooch poop." [NYDN]

Brace yourselves. We just may have pinpointed the whereabouts of Ruth Madoff. (She's been at an "undisclosed location" since she was forced out of her East 64th Street penthouse last week.) A reliable source who has been in touch with acquaintances of the family tells us she's been staying at the home of her niece, Diane Hochman, in Hewlett, Long Island.

Wondering what your fave fraudsters are up to? Yesterday, prosecutors announced that they planned to seek a 145-year jail sentence for Marc Dreier, the lawyer who ripped off various hedge funds and other investors out of $400 million. Dreier will find out how long he'll spend behind bars when he's sentenced on Monday, but in the meantime, there's a bit of Bernie Madoff news today, too.

Last week, Ezra Merkin, the disgraced financier who funneled a couple of billion to Bernie Madoff and has since been slapped with civil fraud charges, agreed to give up his prized collection of art as part of a deal with the attorney general's office. Like you, we found the news deeply troubling. Can you imagine what it must be like to spend years buying up one priceless Rothko painting after another, only to have Andrew Cuomo come along and run off them? Not fun! As always, though, we're here to help: We just sent a lovely Rothko poster to Merkin at his 740 Park Avenue duplex. Just because you aided and abetted the biggest crook in American history doesn't mean you should have to stare at bare walls all day!

Where is Ruth Madoff? As of today, she could be anywhere in the world: "Federal prosecutors allowed Ruth Madoff to get her passport back today, in what people involved in the case said was 'a clear sign' she will not be prosecuted as an accomplice in her husband's $65 billion Ponzi scheme." If you spot her shopping at the Hermès in Beijing—or attempting to mix in with the locals in Hanoi—please let us know. [ABC News via Dealbreaker]

Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison last week. Exactly where he'll spend the remaining years of his life, however, has yet to be decided. It will be up to the Bureau of Prisons to pick out an appropriate facility for the fraudster. But Madoff is still hoping to have a bit of a say as to where he ends up and even hired a prison "consultant" by the name of Herb Hoelter to help him find just the right place.

That was quick! Federal agents turned up at 133 East 64th Street just after noon today with a court order to seize the penthouse apartment belonging to Ruth and Bernie Madoff. "We've taken custody," a spokesman for the US Marshalls tells the Post. Taken custody? Does that mean a battering ram and tear gas were used? Not quite. Unfortunately, Ruth was not ushered out into the street in her bathrobe and forced to shuffle off into the distance in her slippers. She left sometime between last Friday—when she agreed to give up the apartment as part of a deal with the U.S. Atttorney's office—and today, and her lawyer points out that she "left voluntarily and in an orderly manner." And where is she now? An "undisclosed location." If you happen to spot her in your neighborhood, let us know. Your info might just earn you some serious cash. [NYP]