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Throw The Book At Him

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The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 14, 2009

Bernard Madoff's guilty plea Thursday must not end the government's efforts to find answers - and more potential culprits - in the biggest financial fraud in history. The 70-year-old Madoff deserves what amounts to a life sentence for defrauding 4,800 investors with his high-flying Ponzi scheme.

This stunning saga should not end with Madoff's guilty plea. Prosecutors must dig deeper into how this scheme was carried out. As more details emerge about how Madoff scammed investors and evaded regulators for more than 20 years, it seems increasingly likely that he had help.

Congress and the SEC must engage in a detailed inquiry into how regulators allowed Madoff, a former chairman of Nasdaq, to get away with his scheme for so long. If confidence is to be restored in Wall Street, the SEC needs to beef up its enforcement operation and find more competent investigators.

Investors also bear responsibility. Everyone has heard the adage "if it's too good to be true, it probably is."

Most investors had access to Madoff's services only because they were wealthy in the first place. They could afford the best financial advice, and they also should have known not to invest their entire nest eggs with one source. They are now paying dearly for those mistakes.

But Madoff is the mastermind who caused so much misery. He deserves to have the book thrown at him.

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