Madoff's $7M penthouse seized by U.S. marshals

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7-million US Manhattan penthouse was seized by the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday, forcing his wife to find somewhere else to live.

U.S. Marshal Joseph Guccione said the marshals arrived at the property with a court order permitting them to take custody of the apartment and to make anyone living there move out.

Guccione said Madoff's wife, Ruth, had been advised in advance of the marshals' plans and was leaving the residence and surrendering all personal property.

"She will be leaving," he said. "Restitution for the victims is the government's top priority."

Madoff, 71, was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in March to charges that his investment advisory business was a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out thousands of investors and ruined charities.

Last week, Ruth Madoff agreed to give up all her possessions in return for a promise that federal prosecutors would not go after $2.5 million US that she is being allowed keep.

However, the money is not protected from civil legal actions that might be pursued by a court-appointed trustee liquidating Madoff's assets or by investor lawsuits.