This is just the beginning.

I had read where 10 more people are now under investigation in the Madoff rip-off. Madoff was only the tip of the iceberg. No way could he and only a couple of family members ever have pulled off this massive fraud off alone without many in the SEC and other agencies turning a blind eye. And were taxes paid? Where was the IRS? We are talking billions of dollars here disappearing into thin air. Boggles the mind.

Well the IRS will be "adjusting" his previous tax returns soon if they have not already done so. But who is going to pay the tax? The courts have already taken away almost all their assets.

"had read where 10 more people are now under investigation in the Madoff rip-off."

Madoff ---- The "other" Mitt Romney.

And the SEC was warned about Madoff and others as early as 2001!

But that was at the beginning of the Bush's "Ownership Society" Swindle!

You all remember, don't you! It was when the Bush admin and its rubber stamps were selling the idea that "everyone" could be a Shareholder, and if by magic, no one a worker bee. But now it's obvious they were just lining up the sheep for slaughter! Nothing But Snake Oil Salesmen selling a Bogus Tonic, then Hightailing it out of Town with their ill gotten gains.

Just another Chapter to the Bush Legacy!

2004? Helluva job, Bushie.

Just another Chapter to the Bush Legacy!

#3 | Posted by Redneckville at 2009-07-02 11:04 AM

Just curious why you can't point your stubby finger at the hundreds of politicians, who received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Madoff. Not to mention the slew of so called political organizations he donated to. Have any of them still in office returned a red cent?

I dunno. When a business fails, do you point to the CEO?

Just another Chapter to the Bush Legacy!

#3 | Posted by Redneckville

Ya, it's Bush's fault. I'm sure he told the goons to leave bernie alone.

Madoff was a huge campaign contributor to the Dems. Just like Citi, Goldman, Lehman Bros, and countless other similar schemes that have resulted in trillions of dollars of losses, much of which will accrue to the taxpayers.

Hey, with a budget of $800,000,000.00 plus, who can expect them to do their jobs? Clearly they need more cash.

"Ya, it's Bush's fault. I'm sure he told the goons to leave bernie alone."
#7 | Posted by Sniper at 2009-07-02 11:49 AM

YEAH!

That's Just Silly!

Now Obama failing to do anything about job loses with a 12 hour old 60 seat majority, and Obama causing Sanford to cheat on his wife, and Obama killing Michael Jackson ---- Now That's All Just Reasonable accusations and a Condemnation of his ability to Lead

Sincerely

You and You're Contemporaries of Crazy

Shrub's appointment, Christopher Cox kept the lid on ALL investigations.

There is a long list of powerful people that belong in jail. But they enjoy special privilage in Government and the Private Sector. Most will not outlive the twenty years it took to reach a final verdict in the Exxon Valdez Corporate crime. Nor would SCOTUS doll out much punishment for such rich crooks anyway.

But who is going to pay the tax? The courts have already taken away almost all their assets.

Doesn't the IRS get first dibs?

The SEC couldn't find fraud in Somalia?

The Whistle Blower said it took him about 5 min to come to the conclusion that he was a fraud.

Madoff had been running his scam for decades.

The SEC had been looking at Madoff for years, in fact they looked at him as far back as the late eighties, and if I'm not mistaken they looked at him under the Clinton administration.

......funny.......I don't hear as much about privatizing Social Security anymore........

FBI agents Coleen Rowley and Kenneth Williams specifically warned their superiors that something fishy was going on among Arab flight school students, but their warnings were ignored.

The FBI and CIA were not blindsided by 9/11. It was FBI and CIA leadership who ignored the good work of their agents.

Walker-Lightfoot provided specific warnings about Madoff to her superiors at the SEC, but her warnings were ignored.

The SEC was not blindsided by Madoffs scheme. The SEC ignored the good work of it's own inspector who's job it was to root out schemes like Madoffs.

We never needed a beefier security apparatus to ensure that 9/11 doesn't happen again. And now we don't need an SEC with more powers and regulations. We just need the leadership at these organizations to take their duties as seriously as their subordinates have.

And now we don't need an SEC with more powers and regulations.
#16 | Posted by thecommentator

.........wrong........

......plain, flat-out wrong........

We never needed a beefier security apparatus to ensure that 9/11 doesn't happen again. And now we don't need an SEC with more powers and regulations. We just need the leadership at these organizations to take their duties as seriously as their subordinates have.
#16 | Posted by thecommentator

But then we got the patriot act... and then in the next few months we'll get the economic version of the patriot act.

......plain, flat-out wrong........
#17 | Posted by skizziks

You at least have to appreciate the analogy, skizzy straddlin' (that's a GnR joke, btw).

I can think of one simple regulation change that would reduce future Madoffs.

Have the SEC choose the auditor for a listed company, instead of the company choosing it themselves. It would cost no more, but would potentially foil the kind of collusion that occured both at ENRON and at MADOFF'S.

We don't necessarily need more expensive rules, just a few smarter ones.

Umm . . . Madoff's wasn't a "listed company".

Doesn't the IRS get first dibs?

#12 | Posted by northguy3

I don't think so when restitution is ordered because of fraud. Of course he can deduct the amounts paid as restitution against the income from the fraud.

As far as I know they have not even issued a notice of tax due yet.

I can think of one simple regulation change that would reduce future Madoffs.

Have the SEC choose the auditor for a listed company, instead of the company choosing it themselves. It would cost no more, but would potentially foil the kind of collusion that occured both at ENRON and at MADOFF'S.

Well there was talk of having the SEC do the selection of accounting firms and pay them instead of having the client pay them.

The SEC would then assess a fee back to the company for the audit.

Of course, this would not have done a damn thing since Madoff was not a publicly traded company like RIR said.

The FBI and CIA were not blindsided by 9/11.

Neither was John Ashcroft who stopped flying commercial airlines in the summer of 2001.

Umm . . . Madoff's wasn't a "listed company".

#21 | Posted by rightisright

......every corporation that is required by law to have impartial, annual audits, currently get to choose their own auditor.......

......does it make sense that they get to choose their own auditor ?......

.....both ENRON and MADOFF had arrangements with their auditors to rubber stamp fake numbers......

......it would cost almost nothing to have an impartial regulator assign the "independent" auditors at random in order to reduce such crimes.......

Umm . . . Madoff's wasn't a "listed company".
....#21 | Posted by rightisright

......yes he was......listed on the London Stock Exchange......and possibly other stock exchanges..

Nope. Different company. You could have audited the AIM company and gotten nothing but an actually well-run endowment fund that Madoff owned. The Ponzi scheme took place here, the assets were here, the customers were here. Auditing the Madoff books in London would have had the same effect of auditing one of Enron's pipeline companies, also publicly traded: zero.

Giving the SEC new powers, or writing new rules, will do nothing except drive new capital formation overseas. Ponzi Schemes have always been illegal. Fraud has always been illegal. And the SEC had evidence dumped in their laps over the past ten years from professional traders--like myself--who knew Madoff's returns were impossible, given his positions. IMPOSSIBLE. But he had milked the right Senators--overwhelmingly Democrats--and flowed in the right circles, and so they left him alone.

But he had milked the right Senators--overwhelmingly Democrats--and flowed in the right circles, and so they left him alone.

#27 | Posted by rightisright at 2009-07-02 03:54 PM |

Madoff was a huge campaign contributor to the Dems. Just like Citi, Goldman, Lehman Bros, and countless other similar schemes that have resulted in trillions of dollars of losses, much of which will accrue to the taxpayers.

#8 | Posted by rightisright at 2009-07-02 11:56 AM | Reply | Flag:

Did Madoff contribute to the Republicans at all?

Madoff was a huge campaign contributor to the Dems. Just like Citi, Goldman, Lehman Bros, and countless other similar schemes that have resulted in trillions of dollars of losses, much of which will accrue to the taxpayers.

#8 | Posted by rightisright

Damn, I thought all thoes wall street people were true, blue reps.

Put both both Sen. Chuck Schumer and Chris Cox under oath for starters. Interrogate them as to their involvement in stymieing the SEC investigation into Madoff.

Madoff's formerly rich investors and other members of Congress who received his campaign contributions were part and parcel of the cover up too. They all believed that Madoff was making them a good return and didn't want it disturbed.

Damn, I thought all thoes wall street people were true, blue reps.
#30 | Posted by Sniper

$$ knows no political ideology, nor national identity or loyalty.

hag, ain't that the truth. Why do so many here on the DR and in the USA refuse to see that?