The latest in the Bernie Madoff saga is actually a bit of good news for his myriad victims. Reuters reports that they will receive more than $534 million in payouts, according to court-appointed trustee Irving Picard, who is trying to recover Madoff's assets.

The sum is less than one-eighth of the $4.44 billion of claims that Picard has so far deemed valid and is less than 3% of the $21.2 billion of losses suffered by holders of 2,335 Madoff accounts. These losses are up from the $13 billion the government estimated in June, when Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison.

Picard, a partner at the law firm Baker & Hostetler LLP, said he has reviewed 2,861 direct customer claims, allowing 1,558 and rejecting 1,303. He said 15,974 customer claims were submitted and noted that he has recovered $1.4 billion of Madoff assets, an amount that should reach $1.5 billion by year end.

Picard has filed lawsuits to recover $15 billion from Madoff investors he calls "net winners." Of the 4,903 accounts at Madoff's firm on December 11, 2008, when Madoff was arrested, 2,568 received more money than they deposited, he said.

Picard also said he will pursue the recovery of $7.2 billion from the estate of billionaire philanthropist Jeffry Picower, who recently drowned in a swimming pool at his Palm Beach, Fla., home following a heart attack.

The Securities Investor Protection Corp, a federally chartered agency that supervises the liquidation of brokerages, has been "the only source of distributed funds" to victims so far, agency president Stephen Harbeck said, adding that the $534.25 million of committed advances is more than in the SIPC's 321 combined prior liquidations since 1970. Federal law limits SIPC protection to $500,000.

If you were waiting for the bottom, it looks like you just missed it. Home prices in the Hamptons are on their way back up, rising 4.7 percent in the third quarter. Houses priced in the range of $2 million to $5 million led the charge. In fact, the number of properties clocking in at more than $2 million (including the former getaway of Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, which went for $9.41 million) jumped 44 percent -- 46 sales occurred from July through September this year. And, the median price for this part of Long Island increased from $860,000 last year to $900,000 this year.

The action appears to have been driven by buyers who'd normally look for something close to $10 million ... who began to see what they could get for a mere 20 percent of that price. When opportunity knocks ... you know the drill.

Even with this bit of good news, the number of homes sold last quarter fell 2.3 percent, with those fetching less than $500,000 posting the largest decline (22 percent). So, all isn't rosy in the land of the wealthy, unless of course, you're still wealthy.

The world's most accomplished Ponzi schemer -- right up until he got caught, that is -- finally lost his beach home. Bernie Madoff's Montauk house moved for $9.41 million, according to the U.S. Marshals Service, more than the $8.75 million for which it was listed. It sold on Friday, and the buyer is not being named. It only took a month to make the transaction happen.

Joseph Guccione, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York, calls this "another step forward for the government," and though he didn't mention anything about the victims, one assumes that it's progress for them, too. After all, it would be nice if they got even a taste of this cash.

Several bidders tried to get their hands on Madoff's former home, which measures 3,000 square feet and has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The losers can have another shot at Madoff glory, though, as properties in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, are listed. The former is on the market for $9.9 million, and the latter is listed for $8.49 million.

Madoff was unable to take a last walk through the halls of the Long Island residence, of course, because he's otherwise detained committed in Butner, North Carolina. But, he's adapting, having already thrown down on the block and earned himself some props.

We've been talking about it for months but the listing for Bernie Madoff's New York City penthouse has finally gone up. The duplex penthouse with an elliptical staircase, living room with triple exposures and oh-so-much beige is listed at $9.9 million. The listing pics are a bit prettier than the other slideshows of the home we've seen recently but it still has a vacant, un-loved feel. The master suite is downstairs and has a huge walk-in closet and a marble bathroom. The small library has custom built-ins and one of Madoff's beloved bull statues slouches in the corner. The home has four wood-burning fireplaces and a total of three bedrooms. Will anyone pony up the cash for Madoff's pad of shame? A little livening up and this place could be beautiful.

National Liquidators has announced an auction date for three vessels previously owned by Bernard Madoff. On Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 4:00 pm at National Liquidators` headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, three Madoff yachts will be up for sale. The sale includes The Bull, a 55 foot 1969 Rybovich, Sitting Bull, a 38-foot 2003 Shelter Island Runabout and Little Bull, a 23-foot 2000 Maverick Boat Company 2400 Center Console. A 2003 61 foot Viking convertible previously owned by a former Madoff associate will also be a part of the auction. Matt Amata, vice president of National Liquidators, said that he has already heard from several potential bidders. In order to buy bidders are required to pre-register for the live auction. No lookie-loos allowed, attendance at the auction will be restricted to pre-registered bidders and invited guests.

The Madoff sell off continues. We've seen one of his boats listed for sale and now his Montauk, New York beach house is set to hit the market this week. CNBC shared with us their peek at the Ponzi-schemers vacation pad. The home at 3,014 square feet isn't exactly expansive. The contemporary style has an open floor plan but the rooms look a bit squished. The decorating seems a bit sparse. Leather sections face a stone fireplace and the wood floors are garnished with a smattering of small textile rugs. It's a nice home but it appears to be a bit dated.

One thing Madoff's place does have is a nice 1.2 acre lot with beautiful ocean views and a sense of privacy. Given the propensity for massive rebuilds in the area I'm guessing that Madoff's home might be bought as a teardown and a new grander home built in its place.

To federal regulators last year Madoff valued the house, which be bought in 1979, at $3 million but federal authorities believe it could bring closer to $8 million. The home has four bedrooms including a master bedroom with a private terrace. A small swimming pool overlooks the ocean and there is a private path to the beach. Madoff's belongings are being boxed up and inventoried. Some items such as fishing poles and golf clubs will be later be auctioned off. All proceeds will go toward Madoff's many victims.

UDPATE: This listing is live with Corcoran for $8.75 million.

"Too Good to Be True" is a new book by Erin Arvedlund which chronicles the catastrophic fraud committed by Bernard Madoff over the last no-one-knows-how-many years.

Arvedlund wrote a Barron's article back in 2001 called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" questioning the magical returns of Madoff's so-called "hedge fund," which is now widely accepted to have been the largest, most outrageous, most ginormously craptastic, how-do-I-express-without-cursing Ponzi scheme in history.

"Her article in Barron's, based on more than one hundred interviews, could have prevented a lot of misery, had the SEC followed up," boasts the jacket of her new book "Too Good to be True," which was released August 11.

I didn't know what to make of the book at first; it seemed to read somewhat Biblically -- a lot of begetting (who Madoff knew, how he knew them, etc.) and not a lot of action. For the first 100 pages or so I kept thinking "Arvedlund had better sex this up," especially considering the number of other books on Madoff, including the highly anticipated "Madoff's Other Secret: Love, Money, Bernie, and Me" by his mistress, Sheryl Weinstein, released August 25.

Well, if money is your porn, you won't get through this book without removing an article of clothing.

The book slowly becomes a whodunit, naming both names and numbers and ultimately presenting the unsatisfying fact that Madoff got away with one of the oldest tricks in the book -- the same trick relied upon by everyone from white collar criminals to wedding crashers and underage drinkers -- he pretended nothing was wrong, and so nobody asked him any questions.

As the story picks up, it becomes the heroic tale of Harry Markopolos, whom Arvedlund wisely and perhaps correctly dubs an Everyman; "a straightforward American guy who liked numbers." This man practically gift-wrapped red flags and hand-delivered them to the SEC for a decade preceding Bernard Madoff's arrest. Reading, I felt a discouragement with our country's level of corruption I haven't felt since I watched Michael Moore's damning portrait of war and the oil industry, "Fahrenheit 9/11." The SEC was created during the Great Depression to regulate our financial industry, but, according to Arvedlund, it's being run by a bunch of early-career lawyers who don't want to step on anyone's toes -- and who were getting their financial advice from Uncle Bernie himself.

The book has no mercy on Madoff -- there is no point at which we are expected to believe in him. It simply relays the facts like an obituary; one which gets juicier and juicier as it exposes the cyclone of fraud which took place. It was executed in such simple and easily understandable ways -- virtually the whole scheme seems to have relied upon Madoff's refusal to upgrade an archaic computer system which required one to enter stock price data manually. "Entering the data by hand [Robert] MacMahon noted, meant that the person doing it could put in whatever they wanted," writes Arvedlund. As you probably already know, Bernie found himself in the business of making up numbers. The book purports that he created monthly statements by going back over the last month's market and seeing what he would have had to trade to make the profit he claimed to have made (which I'm guessing someone else probably did for him while he was in France, buying his third boat).

The book recounts the aftermath well; the suicides, the testimonials in court (left me wanting more), and delicately suggests other individuals who could be to blame; for example Michael Bienes, who did a lot of recruiting for Madoff -- a pointed final statement in the section about him says "At the time of this writing, no one has sued Bienes over his ties to Madoff."

"Too Good to Be True" will appeal to both the savvier members of the financial community who knew (or should have known) better than to trust Madoff, and to the underdogs and mom-and-pops who were (or might have been) swindled. The lesson is clear: no one should be so well-respected that they don't have to answer questions, and if everyone pretends they understand something they don't so as to appear sophisticated, or they accept being kept in the dark about the means so long as the ends are 10-20+ percent, villains like Madoff will always be able to take advantage of that pride and greed -- not to say that his victims were guilty of either; it's the feeder funds and his recruiters at whom we should all be looking. And, of course, probably his family and everyone else who worked alongside his IBM AS/400.

In these economic times, most of us have had a taste of what it's like to lose money, and it's easy to identify with Madoff's victims. I found myself choked up at the end of the book -- not because the damages will perhaps never be repaid, not because our country seems to constantly wager the well-being of its citizens (I'm speaking of the SEC dot gov's alleged shameless favoritism), but because although he was one of the most well-connected, powerful, and untouchable figures in the world, they got him. It took the collapse of the financial market, but they finally, finally got him.

Well done to Arvedlund for telling the story clearly and with more facts than most of us knew were available. "Too Good to Be True" is available from Amazon for $17.13.

Last month, J. Ezra Merkin Ascot Partners LP sold his art collection, which included a hefty dose of works by Mark Rothko, for $310 million. The buyer still isn't known, which is the norm in the art market. But, there are some breadcrumbs along the way which Bloomberg News considered worth following. Interestingly, Merkin's Ascot Partners LP had invested a considerable amount of cash with Ponzi scam artist Bernie Madoff.

Along the way, Merkin's agent, TLIA, LLC, picked up $26.5 million of the $37.5 million in fees. The company is registered to a retired art collector and advisor, Ben Heller, age 83. He isn't talking. PaceWildenstein, which represents the Rothko estate, nabbed the other $11 million. Again, no comment. Yet, TLIA's piece of the commission is a bit high, according to art advisor Liz Klein, but she notes that answers are impossible without the full set of facts. Given the generally silent art market, we're unlikely to get all the facts anytime soon.

Like Merkin, Heller was a Madoff victim - $3.4 million in a charitable trust and $10 million of his own cash went down the drain.

It's official, Ruth Madoff has been evicted from the Manhattan penthouse she shared with her husband, Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff. Bernard Madoff spent most of this year in the home under house arrest but now that he's been shipped off for 150 years of hard time, Mrs. Madoff needs to find a new home. Federal marshals formally evicted Mrs. Madoff on Wednesday amid a flurry of press. The NY Daily News reports that Ruth Madoff was home when about the marshals showed up at at 133 E. 64th Street to change the looks. She was not allowed to take anything from the co-op she had purchased in 1979. Even the sheets were left behind. The marshals are inventorying the Madoff possessions right down to the last bibelot in preparation for a future auction to raise funds to benefit those who lost their money in Bernie Madoff's scheme. Mrs. Madoff plans to live with relatives in the New York City area.

Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff has been sentenced but many of his investors are still looking to recoup some of their money. There may be a potential bit of money coming their way from J. Ezra Merkin, a New York financier who put his clients' money in Madoff's hands. Merkin, a noted art collector, is selling a collection of Mark Rothko paintings and Alberto Giacometti sculptures for $310 million. The painting shown at right is not one of Merkin's Rothkos but shows the style of painting that Merkin will be parting with. He was one of the leading collectors of Rothko works and even bought works directly from the Rothko family in 2004 for $91 million.

THe deal was announced by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who had put a freeze on Merkin's assets. The Wall Street Journal says that around $192 million of the proceeds might make it into the hands of defrauded investors. The rest of the money will go toward paying liens on the art, sales commissions, fees and taxes. According to documents sourced by the WSJ, PaceWildenstein LLC, the gallery that acted as a sales representative for the family, has a $42 million lien on behalf of the Rothko family regarding those paintings bought in 2004 and it is possible that now they will buy those paintings back.

The WSJ article seems to indicate that the price for the collection is high given the recent art market slump. The painting shown at right "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)" which was sold by David Rockefeller in 2007 brought in $72.8 million at a Sotheby's auction but other Rothkos have sold for less and in recent months several Rothkos have failed to sell at all.

For a long time as Florida real estate values plummeted Palm Beach remained an enclave of protected wealth but it seems even that is starting to change. There is no bigger symbol of the change in Palm Beach than Bernie Madoff. Since Madoff's arrest last year, Palm Beach's fortunes have shifted a bit. Stores along Worth Avenue have closed and even the value of Madoff's home has dropped by nearly two million dollars. Last year Palm Beach County officials assessed the taxable value of Madoff's home at $9.3 million but a new appraisal that federal officials did in March says it would likely sell for $7.45 million.The home was seized on Wednesday along with two of Madoff's yachts.

While prosecutors are trying to preserve as much of Madoff's wealth as possible in order to redistribute it to his many victims, it might be smart to wait a little while before putting this home on the market.Palm Beach has seen some big sales in the past couple of years including $81.5 million for Sidney Kimmel's mansion and $100 million for Donald Trump's oceanfront flip. Currently the most expensive home on the market in Palm Beach is still Casa Nana which is listed at $72.5 million the same price it was last November when we covered it as an estate of the day.

It was no April Fool's joke for Bernie Madoff. On Wednesday Bernard Madoff's 55-foot yacht "Bull" which is docked at a marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was boarded and confiscated by U.S. marshalls. Madoff is currently in jail pending sentencing in June for running his multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

The yacht, a 1969 Rybovich, is valued at around $2 million and was towed while surrounded by federal law enforcement. The yacht is the medium-sized "Bull," Madoff also owns a $7 million yacht with the same name currently located in the South of France. A second boat, the "Little Bull," a 24-foot Pathfinder was also seized.

The yachts were taken to the National Liquidators salvage yard, which is under contract with the federal government. Federal investigators also swooped in on the $9 million Palm Beach mansion owned by Madoff's wife Ruth to inventory the property and change the locks.

Mets fans with deep pockets could soon get their hands on the seats at Citi Field belonging to Bernard Madoff's company. The prime season ticket seats are just behind home plate and will probably be sold by the trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC soon since opening day is April 13.

The seats were already paid for and are either in first or second row behind home plate, in the Delta Club Platinum section. They list for $695 each for opening day and overall the season ticket comes to $40,095 per seat, an average of $495 per game for the best seats in the ballpark.

Super-fraudster Bernie Madoff bought a $7 million luxury yacht in the South of France using cash channeled through his London office and had it registered in his wife's name in order to launder money stolen from hapless clients, the Times of London reports. In 2006 Madoff told his associates at Madoff Securities International in London's Mayfair to transfer money to a French shipyard for a powerful 88-ft. Leopard motoryacht (above), alleging that their euro bank accounts would make the transaction easier.

Madoff later transferred cash to the London firm's accounts to square the difference, the paper reports. The Italian-built Leopard, which "epitomizes luxury and comfort," accommodates up to six people in cabins and is capable of speeds up to 40 knots. Madoff christened the yacht The Bull, an ironic reference to the then-booming stock market he was supposedly exploiting on behalf of his clients. Prosecutors have claimed that Madoff moved at least $250 million though his London firm.

Bernie Madoff's victims, despite the millions lost, probably aren't scrambling for their next meal but his victims can eat for free this week at one New York City restaurant. New York restaurateur Nino Selimaj is offering free meals at Nino's 208 to anyone who mentions they were a Madoff client when making reservations and brings in a monthly statement from Madoff. The meal is free but drinks are extra.

For those who aren't Madoff victims Nino's also has a recession special with a 25 percent off coupon that can when ordering off the a la carte menu at all Nino's restaurants. As the NY Times City Room blog reports the Madoff special only lasts until Saturday and is only available at Nino's 208 at 208 East 58th Street. Sure it's a publicity stunt but seared duck breast with mashed sweet potato, dried cranberries and a Vin Santo reduction sounds like great comfort food.