Madoff's personal belongings auctioned
Wife's diamond earrings fetch $70,000 for victims of Ponzi scheme
Last Updated: Sunday, November 15, 2009 | 9:08 AM ET
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Items that used to belong to jailed financier Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth, fetched about twice their estimated value at an auction in New York City on Saturday.
This Rolex Monoblocco wristwatch, also known as a "prisoner watch," was valued at up to $87,500 US, but only fetched $65,000 US.
(Richard Drew/Associated Press) The sale raised about $1 million US. Proceeds will go to a fund for victims of Madoff's $50-billion US Ponzi scheme, which left investors around the world in financial ruin.
Objects on the auction block in the grand ballroom of Manhattan's Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers included jewelry, dishes, monogrammed stationery, golf clubs, designer handbags and furs.
A satin New York Mets baseball jacket emblazoned with the name "Madoff" on the back sold for $14,500 US. The jacket carries its own special meaning: Team owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz were among the victims of Madoff's fraud.
Another item was a gold vintage Rolex wristwatch, dubbed the "prisoner watch," made for Allied prisoners during the Second World War. It sold for $65,000 US.
Two pairs of Ruth Madoff's diamond dangle earrings sold for $70,000 each.
Larger items that authorities seized from the couple's homes, such as furniture, will be sold in future sales.
Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty in March and was sentenced in June. He is serving a 150-year sentence in a North Carolina prison.
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