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Madoff's Former Secretary Seeks Early Prison Release

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - A lawyer for the former secretary for imprisoned financier Bernard Madoff is asking that she be released from prison in March.

Annette Bongiorno
Former Bernie Madoff secretary Anette Bongiorno testified that she was unaware of her boss' Ponzi Scheme. (Credit CBS 2)

Attorney Roland Riopelle says 70-year-old Annette Bongiorno will have served two thirds of her six-year prison term by March 19 and should be released then.

He cited a law signed by President Donald Trump last week permitting judges to order some prisoners released to home confinement after serving two-thirds of a sentence.

He says her advanced age makes her eligible.

Bongiorno was among five Madoff employees convicted for their roles in a scheme that cost thousands of investors about $20 billion. She was sentenced in 2014.

Bongiorno maintained she was unaware of history's biggest Ponzi scheme.

Madoff is serving 150 years in prison.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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