How Madoff Got Away With It

Take it either as evidence of Bernard Madoff's brilliance or government regulators' incompetence: Madoff was investigated eight times in 16 years by the SEC and other regulatory agencies, reports The Wall Street Journal, "but regulators never came close to uncovering the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme that investigators now believe began in the 1970s." The investigations included two interviews with Madoff. "The situation is even more awkward," writes The Journal, "because SEC examiners seemed to be looking in the right places, yet still were unable to unmask the alleged scheme." The SEC's failures will be on display today in Congress, as the SEC's inspector general will testify.