Madoff lawsuits to continue, attorney says

NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Imprisoned U.S. Ponzi scheme operator Bernard Madoff will not attend the funeral of his son, who committed suicide, his attorney said Monday.

"Mr. Madoff will not be attending the funeral out of consideration for his daughter-in-law and two grandchildren's privacy," Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, said. "He will be conducting a private service on his own where he is now."

Madoff's son, Mark, 46, hanged himself in his New York apartment Saturday.

Sorkin declined to say whether Madoff had asked to be allowed out of prison for the funeral, ABC News reported. Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence at a North Carolina federal prison.

Meanwhile, another attorney said lawsuits seeking to recover money lost by Madoff will continue despite his son's suicide.

"We have to proceed with that and stay the course," said David Sheehan, attorney for court-appointed trustee Irving Picard, referring to nearly 1,000 lawsuits filed in the Madoff case.

Picard called the death a "tragic development" and extended his condolences to the family, which has been the focus of intense media attention for two years.

Mark Madoff committed suicide two years to the day after his father was arrested for swindling investors of an estimated $60 billion.

Sheehan said hundreds of the cases, large and small, would be settled out of court. Saturday was the end of a two-year deadline for filing lawsuits to recoup any money, based on the date Madoff filed for bankruptcy, The New York Times reported Monday.

However, Sheehan said Picard has one more year to track down funds and file new lawsuits, the newspaper said.