Prisons Bureau says Madoff does not have cancer

By Joseph A. Giannone

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street super-swindler Bernard Madoff has not been diagnosed with cancer, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said on Monday, knocking down a tabloid report that Madoff was dying of the disease.

Separately on Monday, U.S. prosecutors said in a court filing that they would seek forfeiture by former Madoff deputy Frank DiPascali of a 61-foot motor yacht, known as the "Dorothy Jo," and three luxury cars. Prosecutors say these items were bought with funds taken from Madoff's victims.

The New York Post reported that Madoff, 71, who since June has been serving a 150-year sentence at a North Carolina federal prison, told inmates he does not have long to live. The paper cited unnamed prison sources.

Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley initially told Reuters the story was "full of inaccuracies."

Billingsley later, in a written statement, said "Bernie Madoff is not terminally ill, and has not been diagnosed with cancer," although the bureau did not address every detail in the story.

The Post story quoted one inmate at the Butner Medium Federal Correctional Institution as saying Madoff was taking "about 20 pills a day" and "not doing very well."

The newspaper said that earlier this year there had been speculation that Madoff was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Madoff lawyer Ira Sorkin declined to comment on his client's "physical or emotional condition."

Madoff pleaded guilty in March to orchestrating a worldwide $65 billion Ponzi scheme that claimed thousands of victims over the course of 20 years. He was sentenced to 150 years, which has fueled speculation that any talk of terminal illness would be a ploy for leniency.

DiPascali on August 11 pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to 10 felony counts related to helping Madoff manage his fraudulent money-management firm.

VICTIMS' ATTORNEYS

Legal experts said a grave illness could have guided Madoff's decision to plead guilty to the massive criminal fraud and not implicate other people.

"Some of the victims all along believed that he had a terminal illness and that was the only reason" he offered his guilty plea, said lawyer Barry Lax of Lax & Neville, which represents Madoff victims.

Joseph Cotchett, another victims' lawyer who last month visited Madoff in prison, said he never saw any indication that Madoff was sick.

"I asked him about his health, and he said he was fine, with the exception of his ankles, which were swelling because of new pair of shoes," Cotchett said. "Anybody faced with life imprisonment will have a little sorrow, but he was spry, bouncing into the room. He made no mention of any physical problems."