Madoff and the top SEC enforcement brass -- all bad
Am I glad Bernie Madoff is finally in jail?
You bet.
Do I think Madoff is the only bum in this situation?
No.
My other target for outrage would be the SEC, which is the agency RESPONSIBLE for stopping the activities of the Madoffs of this world.
And they fell down -- miserably -- on the job.
It's NOT like they didn't have a clue. There was a whistleblower bringing them the evidence -- basically doing their homework for them -- but they decided not to bother about the compelling information the whistleblower was giving them.
The top enforcement guys at the SEC should be in the jail cell right next to Bernie Madoff.
At the very least, all the top enforcement brass at the SEC for the past seven years should be required to give back their salaries (and bonuses, if any) to the taxpayers.
Many of Madoff's victim-investors could have been spared the anguish they are now experiencing if the SEC executives had done their job instead of strutting around Wall St., eating at the best restaurants, staying at the priciest hotels when traveling (all on our dime) and generally trying to look important.
Harry Markopolos is one of the rare GOOD guys. I watched his House testimony and found it riveting. He tried ... and tried ... and tried ... to get the SEC to pay attention and/or read his investigative reports, but they were too bored (or paid off) to be interested.
So, thousands of Madoff's victims who could have been spared their pain were not, because the punks at the SEC were overpaid or crooked. Take your pick.
My favorite Harry Markopolos comment?
"If you flew the entire SEC staff to Boston, and sat them in Fenway Park, they wouldn't be able to find first base."
Read more about the whistleblower the SEC decided NOT to listen to, at: http://tinyurl.com/dkd4sm
UPDATE:
Here's an article from last December outlining some of Bernie Madoff's past activities.
"Bernard Madoff’s Misconduct Said to Date to 1970s (Update2)" at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&sid=a.47mLdmtFTE
You can also read about the Republican Christopher Cox, appointed by George W. Bush to the SEC chairmanship. Cox was SEC chairman from August 3, 2005. until Jan. 2009. Cox was blind as a bat regarding Bernie Madoff's criminal activities, and about the investment bank meltdowns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Cox#cite_note-87
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He could not have run his office by himself. Those people, his employees are as guilty as he is but we haven't heard a peep.
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Yep, he couldn't have pulled it off alone.
…the big and the short and the tall.
I've got major plumbing issues here that are taking up all of my spare time. I'm going to have to replace our entire main bathroom. Fortunately, there's a full bath on the next floor down but it's a PITA. It took most of a week to figure out where the water was coming from in the basement. It's a drain problem, not a supply problem, so it means having to tear up the bathroom floor. Might as well replace the tile and fixtures which date back to 1948, except for the sink I put in 28 years ago. Time to splurge on something nice.
It's a good thing I didn't lose my life savings to Madoff.
You are right, Markopoulos did warn them. Why aren't there investigations of the SEC?
As fsr as I'm concerned, the rules for this trpe of situation should be the same as for drug pushers. The Feds should seize the assets of Madoff's wife and his brother. The money they made isn't theirs.