By Martha Graybow
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New security guards will start watching over accused swindler Bernard Madoff, after the prior firm said it could no longer handle the job.
Madoff, out on $10 million bail, has been under constant guard by a private security firm at his Manhattan penthouse as part of the terms of his house arrest.
Security firm Casale Associates was hired last month by Madoff's wife to oversee his court-ordered security. But the firm says the demands of the job have changed, and it is not equipped to keep track of the money manager's household possessions as recently ordered by a judge.
"As you know, we are primarily an investigative firm and lack the capability of providing long-term global forensic accounting services," firm founder Nicholas Casale wrote in a letter to Madoff's defense lawyers earlier this week.
A judge ordered Madoff to be under guard while under 24-hour house arrest to both confine the one-time Nasdaq chairman and protect him from possible harm.
Prosecutors later sought to revoke Madoff's bail and have him jailed, saying he had sent diamond watches and other valuables to family and friends in violation of a court order and may try to flee to avoid going to prison. The judge denied the request, but said Madoff must provide authorities with a list of his valuables that would be routinely checked.
Stroz Friedberg Investigations will replace Casale, according to a letter on Thursday from Madoff attorney Ira Sorkin to Judge Lawrence McKenna in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Prosecutors have approved the change, Sorkin wrote.
Edward Stroz, the security service's co-president, is a former special agent for the FBI, where he was responsible for the formation of the agency's Computer Crime Squad in New York City, according to the firm's website.
Madoff was arrested on December 11 after he allegedly confessed that his money management business was "one big lie" and had racked up losses of as much as $50 billion.
Under his bail terms, Madoff must wear an electronic monitor. He is only allowed to leave his apartment for court appearances.
(Reporting by Martha Graybow; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
