CHEAT SHEET
TOP 10 RIGHT NOW
Already derided as the Keystone Cops of finance, the SEC's bungling of the Bernie Madoff case is emerging in greater detail. In 2004, an intrepid SEC lawyer, the awesomely named Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot, reported to her superiors that she had grave concerns about Madoff's company and wanted to investigate further. Rather than take her advice, her bosses ignored the case and put her to work investigating the mutual-fund industry instead. Madoff's operation continued unabated, costing his victims billions more until he finally confessed his operation in 2008.