Bernie Madoff: Now 66% Less Evil
Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme ultimately defrauded investors out of $21.2 billion, according to Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the case. That's considerably more than the $13 billion put forward by prosecutors at Madoff's sentencing in June. But that's a lot less than the $65 billion that's been bandied about for many months now, which includes the fictitious profits Madoff had "made" for his clients. The revised figure won't diminish his status as the biggest fraudster in American history. Madoff can still hold his head high when he steps into the prison yard and rest assured no one's taking that trophy away from him anytime soon. [NYT]