Greenberg is not expected to meet strict bail conditions for at least several days in what prosecutors call the largest criminal tax case in U.S. history, a fraud that helped rich people evade $2.5 billion in taxes.

Even as he set bail, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan described Greenberg as "an extremely skilled individual who spent his whole life trying to figure out how to hide the pea."

He was referring to a version of a deceitful street game known as three-card monte, in which a pea is moved among three cups and viewers are asked to guess where the pea ended up.

The judge said Greenberg's finances were in such disarray that it was impossible to figure out where his assets were and how much he was worth.

"I have no idea how much went in, came out and remains," he said.

The judge warned Greenberg's family members that if he flees, the court would make sure they "will be financially ruined and stripped of everything they have."

He added, "If they're willing to take that risk, I'm willing to take that risk of non-appearance."

He also required Greenberg to live in Manhattan and submit to electronic monitoring.

The judge said Greenberg spent his professional career "scheming how to protect other people's assets from the United States government."

Greenberg is charged in an indictment accusing 17 former KPMG partners and managers with devising and marketing fraudulent tax shelters that cost the U.S. Treasury $2.5 billion.

The indictment says the ex-KPMG executives teamed with a former partner at a prominent law firm and another defendant to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by filing false income tax returns and by concealing the tax shelters from the IRS.

The judge said he was particularly disturbed that Greenberg apparently forged the signatures of his ex-wife and his father on papers establishing a limited liability company holding assets worth up to $13 million. He noted that the government has alleged Greenberg boasted that he could flee with money he controlled in the names of others.

Greenberg has denied the allegations. His lawyers declined to comment after Wednesday's hearing.

KPMG is a worldwide network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services, according to its Web site. It operates in 144 countries and has more than 6,700 partners.

-- LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press Writer)