Madoff's Manhattan penthouse in contract for sale

The Upper East Side home of Bernard Madoff is seen at 133 East 64th St. in New York April 1, 2009.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A buyer has signed a contract to buy imprisoned Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff's penthouse apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The three-bedroom, four-bath duplex with a wraparound terrace found a buyer after fewer than five months on the market. It was most recently listed for sale at $8.9 million, down from its original asking price of $9.9 million.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Roland Ubaldo confirmed that the apartment at Lexington Avenue and East 64th Street is under contract. He declined to disclose the name of the buyer or the sale price.

Sotheby's International Realty is the broker. The U.S. marshal's office has handled media inquiries to Sotheby's.

The broker describes the 4,000 square foot (372 square meter) penthouse as "perched atop a distinguished white-glove prewar cooperative," with "spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline" and such features as an elliptical staircase and four fireplaces.

Federal marshals are overseeing the sale of Madoff's assets, with proceeds going toward reimbursing victims of his estimated $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

In October, Madoff's beachfront home in Montauk, New York was sold for $9.41 million, above the $8.75 million asking price. Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, was the buyer, the Wall Street Journal said.

Corcoran Group brokered that sale, and is also handling the sale of Madoff's five-bedroom, seven-bath, 8,750 square foot (813 square meter) home in Palm Beach, Florida.

The asking price for that home was lowered 8 percent this week to $7.25 million from $7.9 million. It was originally offered for $8.49 million.

Madoff himself estimated the Manhattan penthouse was worth $7 million, and the Palm Beach home $11 million.

Irving Picard, a court-appointed trustee, is also trying to obtain money for victims as he winds down Madoff's investment advisory firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

Four of Madoff's relatives agreed to a freeze of their assets in connection with a lawsuit brought by Picard, court filings on Friday show.

Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence in a North Carolina federal prison.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Additional reporting by Grant McCool; Editing by Bernard Orr)