The FBI Thursday morning arrested two people who worked for swindler Bernie Madoff.
Joann Crupi was arrested at her home in Westfield, NJ and Annette Bongiorno was arrested at her home in Boca Raton, Fla., said Richard Kolko, spokesman for the FBI in New York.
“Charges, in connection with the Madoff investment fraud, will be unsealed in the Southern District of New York later today,” Kolko said.
In June, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of Manhattan announced that his office had filed civil complaints against Bongiorno and Crupi to recoup $5 million in assets they had. Both worked for Madoff for more than 25 years and played a role in the gigantic fraud, federal prosecutors alleged.
Authorities said Bongiorno responsibilities included responding to clients’s questions about about their investments and overseeing the fabrication of account statements, trade confirmations, and other documents. Crupi’s responsiblities included handing the receipt of funds and transferring funds between Madoff’s business accounts.
According to a U.S. Attorney. the funds in question for BONGIORNO include: Approximately $1.1 million currently or formerly held in accounts at Citibank, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and HSBC; a 2005 Bentley Continental, for which BONGIORNO paid approximately $182,605; a 2007 Mercedes Benz, for which BONGIORNO paid approximately $90,000; and approximately $1.3 million paid towards a luxury condominium.
And for CRUPI: A house in Mantoloking, N.J., for which she paid $2,225,000 cash; and approximately $26,500 in rental income from the Mantoloking house, currently held at Commerce Bank.
