High-profile criminals would have to pay for their jail under new "Madoff" law

On Monday Republican Assemblyman Jim Tedisco offered a "Madoff" bill to force rich New Yorkers convicted of crimes to pay the state and federal governments for how much it costs to keep them in jail. The name of the bill is a hint about the infamous investment scammer Bernard Madoff, who began serving a 150-year prison sentence last week in a federal prison in North Carolina.

"Far too often, taxpayers are stuck with the bill for criminals who have extensive personal wealth waiting for them once they are discharged from our state's penal system," said Tedisco said in a statement.

Many American states have looked for ways to reduce the costs of keeping people in prison. In 2007 the state comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat, estimated that it costs the counties around $1 billion a year, based on daily costs of $80 to $90 a day for each inmate.

Under the statutes of the new bill drug dealers and other high-profile people who serve jail time will have to pay for their prison upkeep.

According to Tedisco the urgency of such legislation was demonstrated by "an incident in lower Manhattan's Tombs prison," a reference to an inmate's costly bar mitzvah that Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the city is investigating.

Besides, the bill also specifies the sliding scale according to which convicted persons would have to pay. Based on the asses those who are worth $200,000 or more would pay the entire tab, while those whose net worth is $40,000 or less would pay nothing. When determining the assets regulators would not include criminals’ homes "or any equity found in it" as well as their mortgage payments, tax bills or payments for child or spousal support, Tedisco said.