Madoff friend found dead in pool

A close friend of jailed US fraudster Bernard Madoff has been found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool in the US state of Florida.



Bernard Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence after pleading guilty to running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.



Police say they are treating the death of 67-year-old Jeffry Picower as a possible case of drowning.



Mr Picower\'s body was pulled from the pool of his $33 million Palm Beach home by his wife and a housekeeper.



Sources say the philanthropist was in poor health.



A family spokesman told The Wall Street journal that he had been suffering from Parkinson\'s disease.