Distraught Madoff Getting 'Back Into the Groove'

When "Inmate Madoff, report to the chapel" crackled over the intercom last Saturday, "everybody knew"—sort of—says a recent inmate at Madoff's North Carolina lockup. "Every time there's a death of a relative, you have to report to the chapel," the former inmate explained, though he added that his fellow cons thought someone may have killed Madoff's wife, reports the New York Post. Once the Ponzi schemer got the news, he looked "like someone had shot him in the stomach. He was crying, and he was very distraught. No one was messing with him. They knew what had happened."

The ex-con said Madoff didn't leave his cell for two days, but emerged on Tuesday and "got back into the groove. He was getting back into prison time." Click for more on Madoff's relationship with his son. (More Bernie Madoff stories.)