SEC Chief Mary Schapiro Faces Criticism For Madoff-Related Hire

The New York Times:

The Securities and Exchange Commission took a beating two years ago for failing to detect Bernard L. Madoff's multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme during the decades that he ran it.

Now, its chairwoman is coming under Congressional fire for hiring as the S.E.C.'s general counsel someone with a Madoff financial interest -- David M. Becker, who participated in matters involving how the scheme's victims would be compensated.

Read the whole story: The New York Times

Comments

[floodmfx]

08:21 AM on 03/11/2011

What difference does it make? The SEC is a fake law enforcement agency.
They are 100% captured by their industry.

Anyone paying attention knows that the SEC is a total joke.

[Keyop]

05:16 PM on 03/10/2011

These people fall up, unbelievable

[FreedomCorpse]

07:56 AM on 03/10/2011

The revolving door of financial crime keeps spinning ...

[kamact]

09:38 PM on 03/09/2011

FOOLs

[silverhair01]

09:10 PM on 03/09/2011

Slamed? Large typo

[Kevin Atlanta]

07:57 PM on 03/09/2011

The Best Way To Rob A Bank Is To Own One.

Why not take advantage of the Madoff experience?  
It often takes a crook to recognize a crook.

Look how Dean was sucking up to Boehner....

[Mister Grumpy]

07:06 PM on 03/09/2011

I would think that failing to disclose your connections to Madoff would mean an immediate dismissal........... but not in the SEC............

The entire stock market is one huge ponzi scheme........... only those that have super computers directly connected to the SEC (for a fee) are really the ones making any money........... everyone else is behind the eight ball...........

[CountryBeforeParty]

06:28 PM on 03/09/2011

SEC Slamed For Hiring Key Official With Ties To Madoff

===========================

Slamed?

[IllTakeTheRedEye]

05:11 PM on 03/09/2011

Separation of Powers in USA after 1980
 
Those in power separate Americans from their money to maintain power

[CDRUSNret]

09:21 AM on 03/10/2011

Reminds me of the Woody Allen line about the definition of a financial advisor...."it's someone who invests your money until it's all gone".

[BlackBuddha]

04:22 PM on 03/09/2011

What's the problem? He already has experience working with a Ponzi Scheme, which means he's fully vetted and qualified for the job with the SEC.

[Wow Unbelievable]

03:53 PM on 03/09/2011

Now why would we expect anything different... our government is in bed with so many of these scam artist... Just look at who is in charge of our IRS... Timmy Geithner... for the Fed Reserve... Benny Bernanke.... and the list could go on an on.

[bascombe]

02:01 PM on 03/09/2011

THAT'S OUR GUBMINT FOR YA!

[Sundialsvc4]

01:56 PM on 03/09/2011

Why don't we just cut straight to the story here and say:

"FELONY?"

Why don't we stop kidding ourselves, about both the SEC and the United States Congress, and say:

"HIGH CRIME."

We can do that, you know, because Article 2 Section 4 of our Constitution (otherwise known as "the supreme LAW of the land") already did.

Let's be frank here. Let's be MUCH more frank than anyone in our media or in our present Government ever wants us to be:

"None of what has happened ... could have happened ... without the express collusion(!) of the Civil Officers of our Government." These people did not merely have their heads stuck in the sand: they knew fully well what was happening, and they participated in it. They were "the fixers," and "the fix was in." They took millions of dollars a day, every day, for their troubles, and profited directly in other ways from the crimes in which THEY were (and are to this day) a critical and fundamental participant.

These days, these folks are scrambling for legitimacy. The Supreme Court was all too happy to "decide," but none of them appear to be able to actually read what the Constitution actually says. (P.S. They're busy trying to amend it, to blot it out. True, even though you don't hear about it. Heh.)

"Law Enforcement." It's time for Hawaii 5-Oh (a la Jack Lord): "Book 'im, Dano..."

[stargazer13]

12:45 PM on 03/09/2011

welcome to the divided states of plaza

where we have more revolving doors then you can shake a stick at :(

go through and ya just know you,ll end up ??

sad sad sad eeeewwwhhhhh

[GeneralJustice]

12:23 PM on 03/09/2011

Geithner and Shapiro need to go.

The American Public does not feel safe with these two people overseeing the Financial Markets.

We need fresh faces in both posts.

[schnauzergirl]

12:56 PM on 03/09/2011

Such as? Everyone who has any depth of knowledge and work experience in the financial sector has as either worked for or had ties to Wall Street or the Feds. You just can't get to that level without some link. Would you really want someone with no real financial industry experience working at the top levels? Or more to the point could they do the job?

Now whether or not the individuals with that knowledge and experience is compitent or not is different issue.

[Sundialsvc4]

02:03 PM on 03/09/2011

Ahem. Money is not an incredibly-complicated thing. "The financial sector" is difficult to understand only because there are so many layers of crime and flim-flam. Rumpelstiltskin could have understood it very easily.

"Government" is "We, the (310,957,014) People of the United States."

"Wall Street" is a business.

The business of Wall Street exists because of Government, under charters and subject to laws issued by Government. It represents the interests of a few thousand people at the top.

Government, on the other hand, "can do as it damn well pleases, because it represents about 311 million people in this country (and is also responsible to the 6,904,711,024 people outside of this country).

The people who strive to persuade that "it's all too hard for anyone (but us, heh) to understand" are intent on creating a self-serving fraternity of power and corruption in which they alone come out on top ... and as for 310,957,014 others, "who gives a damn."

"Who gives a damn?"

They do. We do.

It's our country, not theirs. The interests and motives and responsibilities of "our country" DWARF the puerile "business" concerns of this tiny group of preposterously greedy men and women.