Bernie Madoff's Son Found Dead on Anniversary of Father's Arrest Updated December 12, 2010 9:26am

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By Adam Nichols and Della Hasselle

DNAinfo Staff

SoHo — Bernie Madoff's son was found dead in his SoHo home early Saturday, exactly two years after his father was arrested for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, police said.

Mark Madoff, 46, had hung himself with a black dog leash in the Mercer Street apartment, police sources told DNAinfo.

His father-in-law found the body hanging from the ceiling beams between the living room and the office at 7.30 a.m.

Police also said Madoff's two-year-old son, Nicholas, was in the apartment. He was sleeping in a different room and was unharmed.

Madoff's lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum, said in a statement released Saturday, “Mark Madoff took his own life today.

Medics remove Mark Madoff's body from his Mercer Street apartment Saturday afternoon. (Della Hasselle/DNAinfo)

"This is a terrible and unnecessary tragedy. Mark was an innocent victim of his father’s monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo.

"We are all deeply saddened by this shocking turn of events.“

The death comes on the second anniversary of Bernie Madoff's arrest for running a massive Ponzi scheme. He's now serving a 150 year prison sentence.

Madoff's wife, Stephanie, had contacted her father because she was worried about her husband, police said. She was in Florida with the couple's four-year-old daughter, Audrey.

A source told the Daily News she panicked after receiving an email from her husband.

"He made it clear that he felt his family ... would be better off without 'this' hanging over them all, forever," the source told the newspaper.

A medical examiner arrives at the SoHo apartment building where Mark Madoff's body was found Saturday. (AP Images/Mary Altaffer)

"He all but said he was going to kill himself - pointedly enough for the wife to fear for his safety, and their child's safety."

Madoff and his brother, Andrew, had been sued this week by the court-appointed trustee who is recovering assets for the victims of their father.

He was also named in several civil lawsuits.

Madoff had been a broker in his father's firm, but claimed not to know about his crimes.

He and his brother told police about their father's activities after he confessed to them two years ago.

By Adam Nichols, DNAinfo.com

Follow Adam on Twitter @adam__nichols