Schmuck-o-Meter Reading: 451 SPs

The most substantive Bernie news comes from the Wall Street Journal , which reports that investigators have been thrown off by the unconventional Madoff case (+5 SPs) . Usually, the SEC starts with a tip or a whistleblower and gets to the heart of the case. This time, the whistleblower is the heart of the case, but nobody knows if he’s telling the truth. More subpoenas are in the pipeline, with investigators reportedly doubting Madoff worked alone, as he said he did. The poor SEC, not only did they get fooled in the first place, but now they have to make sure they’re not getting fooled again. Another day, another rich person defrauded. Our Madoff-victim anecdote for Friday comes from Pennsylvania , where a “a retired nurse with blond hair and big blue eyes set on a broad face that turns red with emotion” was swindled for $7.3 million. 60-year-old Maureen Ebel has been forced to sell her winter condo in Florida and cast away her Lexus SUV, all because of Madoff (+10 SPs) . She’s adjusted to ... (link)