WCBSTV REPORT:

The stage is set. It’s judgment day for Bernie Madoff.

The accused financier arrived at the lower Manhattan courthouse just after 7 a.m. Thursday morning where he is expected to plead guilty to swindling billions of dollars in one of the largest investment schemes in U.S. history.

Will he remain a free man? A Federal Judge will decide that later Thursday morning. After the disgraced financier’s expected guilty plea, prosecutors will argue he is a flight risk and there is no reason he shouldn’t be led out of the courtroom straight into federal custody.

The size and scope of Madoff’s ponzi-scheme has increased from $50 to $65 billion, and a guilty plea to the government’s 11-count indictment exposes the disgraced Wall Street veteran to a potential 150 years prison term.

About two dozen of Madoff’s victims have asked to speak at the hearing. For those who do get that chance, their comments will be restricted to the two fundamental issues; should Federal District Judge Denny Chin cancel Madoff’s bail? And if that bail is cancelled, should Madoff be put behind bars or allowed to continue living in the relative comfort of his $7 million penthouse.

The scope of the criminal investigation has widened as well. People familiar with the case tell CBS News, investigators are ripping apart 20 years of alleged fraud inside Madoff’s firm. His sons Andrew and Mark, and his brother Peter are now all under the microscope.

“I suspect family members, possibly his wife, very possibly his sons, possibly his brother,” said Brad Friedman, an attorney who represents about 100 Madoff investors.

Ruth Madoff wants to hold onto their lavish home, and some money.

“Right off the bat, Ruth Madoff claims to have $62 million and their $7 million apartment. We believe there are tens of millions of dollars stashed overseas,” said Friedman.

Investors like Joan Shulman, who along with her husband, lost a third of their savings, are angry.

“I am, I’m amazingly angry, but more than that, I feel a void,” said Shulman.

Hilda Hauser, a 92-year-old victim, said the justice she fantasizes about is a little more personal.

“I think I’d love to kill him. Yeah, why do you look so surprised?” Hauser told CBS station WCBS-TV in New York Wednesday night. “Of course I’m that angry. I’m outraged. Angry? Huh.”

“This is a case where they’re not going to leave any stones unturned,” said Sean O’Shea, former Federal Prosecutor. “They’re going to get to the bottom of it and everyone who has culpability will be charged.”

There are smoking guns. A duped investor says he was told by the company’s Chief Financial Officer that Madoff didn’t want incriminating evidence traced back to him.

“He told us Bernie Madoff had said they probably shouldn’t put anything in e-mails,” said Dr. Murray Morrison.