Madoff Lieutenant's Family Can Keep $178K: Feds

The wife of Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff's right-hand man can keep $178,000 after the family gave up millions of dollars in assets, the government said today.
    
Documents filed by federal prosecutors Thursday show that virtually all of Frank DiPascali's family assets have been surrendered to the government after he pleaded guilty last August.
 
The government estimates the worth of those assets at more than $6 million. It says the sale of three cars and a yacht alone totaled nearly $1 million.
    
Prosecutors have said DiPascali, Madoff's former chief aide, has provided "substantial assistance" to investigators. They say they will urge leniency when he is sentenced for crimes including securities fraud and money laundering.

Madoff is serving 150 years in prison for operating the largest Ponzi scheme in history.