US judge to hear potential conflict in Madoff case

A US judge will on Wednesday hear a request by prosecutors investigating accused swindler Bernard Madoff over a potential conflict of interest regarding his attorney Ira Sorkin, the judge's chambers said.

A clerk in the chambers of Judge Leonard Sand in US District Court in Manhattan said on Tuesday that the hearing was requested by the government in its criminal case against Madoff, who has been charged in a $50 billion worldwide fraud. "The hearing is over a potential conflict of interest between Mr Madoff and his attorney," the clerk said. (Reuters)