I know it’s another Saturday of football but, focus people — the SEC, the Securities and Exchange Commission, not the Southeastern Conference, has further bungled the Bernie Madoff mess by declining to fire any of the staffers who were warned about Madoff’s Ponzi scheme but did nothing.
Is the SEC a dishonorable ally of the “1 percent?”
You make the call.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission, which failed to stop Bernard Madoff’s long-running investment fraud despite repeated warnings, has disciplined eight agency employees over their handling of the matter but did not fire anyone,” according to The Washington Post.
“The SEC’s head of human resources and a law firm hired to advise the agency had recommended that SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro fire one person, whom the SEC described as a manager in the office that inspects investment firms.
“But the chairman decided not to fire the employee, because doing so ‘would harm the agency’s work,’ SEC spokesman John Nester said.
“The disclosure that no one was terminated comes at a time when street protesters and other critics who blame Wall Street for the country’s economic plight are questioning whether the government is serious about holding powerful wrongdoers accountable. This week, a federal judge excoriated the SEC for letting firms such as Citigroup settle fraud charges without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
“Madoff’s fraud cost investors billions of dollars, shattered lives and became perhaps the biggest embarrassment in the SEC’s history. Many clients who had entrusted Madoff with their savings were left struggling to make ends meet.
“’After all the talk about ethics and cleaning up the SEC, the entire Madoff scandal continues to place serious doubt on claims of meaningful progress,’” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said in a statement.
“… The punishments given the SEC employees varied and included suspensions, pay cuts and demotions.
“… When the law firm advising the SEC recommended that an employee be fired, it included a qualifier. If the SEC thought the loss of that person would affect the agency adversely, it could consider a different punishment.”
Sounds like the Penn State mentality has taken hold at the SEC.
