*Madoff son found dead

An apparent suicide - the body of Mark Madoff, the older of Bernard Madoff's two sons, was hanging in his NY apartment, the NYT reports, quoting a law enforcement official. "Mark Madoff took his own life today," Martin Flumenbaum, Mark Madoff's lawyer, said in a statement. "This is a terrible and unnecessary tragedy." Today is the two-year anniversary of Bernie Madoff's arrest.

Mr. Madoff, who was 46, had worked at his father's brokerage firm since his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1987. The steps that led to his father's arrest began when he and his brother, Andrew, confronted their father over his plans to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to employees months ahead of schedule. That led to a private conversation on Dec. 10, 2008, in which Bernard Madoff told his sons that their entire lives -- all the wealth and success the family seemed to possess -- were based on a lie. His apparently lucrative money-management business was nothing but an immense Ponzi scheme, and it was crumbling under the relentless pressures of the financial crisis of late 2008.

Mark Madoff was said to be increasingly distraught as the anniversary of his father's arrest approached, the Times says.

*NY Post reports that his 2-year-old son was sleeping in a nearby bedroom and was unharmed.

Mark Madoff had recently traded eerie e-mails with his wife, Stephanie, who is now in Florida, to have someone check on the child, who is found, sources told The Post. A freaked out Stephanie sent her father to the family's apartment, where he made the discovery, said police sources. No note was found with his body, said police sources.