In a recent letter to a federal judge, the receiver said founder Marc Dreier also may seek protection too.

Prosecutors have accused the 58-year-old Dreier of tricking hedge funds into making bogus investments. They say losses could top $380 million.

He ran a mid-size law firm that has represented celebrities including retired football star Michael Strahan and former News Corp. publishing executive Judith Regan.

Now, Ambrosino is among the long list of investors whose fortunes were allegedly wiped out by Bernard Madoff. Like them, she's left hoping for a bailout that might never come.

She plans to sue Madoff but that could take years to work through the courts and yield little in the end. Her best hope to recoup some of her money is from the Securities Investor Protection Corp., an industry-funded organization set up by the government to protect investors from fraud.

But, here's the problem: SIPC does not have enough money to pay out all the claims that are sure to come from one of the biggest fraud cases to ever hit Wall Street. Securities attorneys say the organization has a reputation of being tough to squeeze money from, and each investor is only entitled to a maximum payout of $500,000 if a claim is approved.

SIPC officials say the books of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC are in complete disarray and could take six months or more to piece them together. With bills piling up and her bank account vanishing, the one thing Ambrosino and others caught in the alleged $50 billion fraud don't have is time.

"It feels like I'm drowning, and someone is saying 'we're going to save you, but we have to build the boat first,'" said Ambrosino, 55, who had $1.6 million invested with Madoff. "We can't wait for SIPC to go through all the papers."

The government created SIPC in 1970 to reimburse investors duped by brokerages in areas such as unauthorized trading or theft. SIPC is set up to cover losses of up to $500,000, and $100,000 of that amount can be claims for cash holdings that were lost.

The Supreme Judicial Court's punishment for Judge Ernest Murphy is slightly less severe than the public censure and $25,000 fine recommended by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct. The SJC did order Murphy to reimburse the commission for its costs.

The case began in 2002, after the Herald published a series of stories depicting Murphy as soft on crime. Several quoted Murphy as saying a young rape victim should "get over it."

Murphy won his lawsuit, then wrote threatening letters to the Herald publisher demanding payment.

Murphy agreed in August to step down from the bench, citing health problems brought on by the stress of the case.

Madoff, wearing a baseball cap and a black jacket, said nothing to reporters as he walked out of the building and drove away in an SUV. He was at the courthouse to sign over his Upper East Side apartment and his homes in Palm Beach and the Hamptons for his $10 million bond.

Madoff was accompanied to the courthouse by two lawyers as he and his wife signed court documents.

A chaotic scene erupted as he arrived at his home.

Madoff, smiling slightly, was surrounded by about two dozen photographers who jostled each other for a good position as he walked along the sidewalk. Someone said "Don't push me." Madoff appeared to extend his arm protectively, then was pushed backward by a photographer.

Madoff has already surrendered his passport, and now will be required to be at his Manhattan apartment from 7 p.m to 9 a.m. His wife was required to surrender her passport as well.

Part of Madoff's bail conditions also required that he find people to co-sign for him, and his wife and brother had already done so. Madoff had been required to find two additional co-signers to vouch for him, but with the scandal swirling around him, he was unable to do so.

The judge responded by modifying the bail package, and gave lawyers until next Monday to come up with additional paperwork.

His lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, said the electronic monitoring was in place by Wednesday evening.

Ok So-ri, who was handed a suspended jail term, had lost a battle in October to have the ban declared unconstitutional.

"I would like to say I'm sorry for causing so much trouble to society," a somber Ok told reporters after the verdict.

A district court in Goyang, near Seoul, handed Ok a suspended eight-month jail sentence, South Korean media reported, meaning she will not have to serve time. Ok's lover received a six-month suspended term.

There was no immediate word on any plans for appeal.

The sensational sex-and-celebrities case has been tabloid fodder for months, with Ok's challenge to the adultery law adding extra spice.

Last year, Ok acknowledged during a news conference that she had had an affair with an opera singer who was a friend of her husband for a few months in 2006. She stressed the affair was a result of her loveless marriage to actor Park Chul.

Construction manager Michael Murphy's plea Wednesday in federal court closes the case, which earlier led to guilty pleas by former state Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon and six other defendants.

Defendants were accused of using inflated and false invoices to bilk the state of $4.2 million during construction of the county courthouse in Albuquerque.

Murphy pleaded guilty to accepting a $20,000 check from a co-defendant, former court administrator Toby Martinez.

The 59-year-old Murphy faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Aragon faces 5 1/2 years in prison in a plea deal.

Teah Wimberly entered a written plea Thursday. She will be tried as an adult. If convicted, the 15-year-old could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison.

Authorities say Wimberly and 15-year-old Amanda Collette were longtime friends who had recently stopped speaking before Wimberly shot her at Dillard High School in November. She then ran to a nearby restaurant, called police and confessed.

Her lawyer has said Wimberly may need medication after a psychological evaluation found she had mental health issues.

Wimberly also pleaded not guilty to a count of carrying a firearm on school campus.