Bernie Madoff and the Single Bullethead Theory

The 11-count criminal complaint against Bernie Madoff is a satisfactory document on one level, because it is now very obvious that the shtunk is going to jail for the rest of his life. Hopefully prosecutors will get Madoff thrown immediately in the can when he pleads guilty tomorrow, so that the spectacle of his "penthouse confinement" will come to an end.

Scot Paltrow has a thorough examination of how Madoff did it on Portfolio.com. But what Scot and everybody else examining this subject have left out, because there is nothing on the subject in the complaint, is the crucial question of who else is involved.

There are no conspiracy counts in the charges against Madoff, not even with "John Does" if the precise identity is unknown. Nothing about the culpability of his wife Ruth, and how she wound up with millions of dollars now supporting hubby's lifestyle.

So what we have, so far, is a sort of an equivalent of the JFK assassination's "single bullet theory." Now, don't get me wrong -- I happen to believe in the JFK single bullet theory. But the idea that a single bullethead named Madoff could perpetrate this crime -- now, that I don't believe.

White collar crime-fighter Sam Antar of Crazy Eddie fame, appearing on Fox Business News today, says that Bernie is now protecting the other conspirators who must surely exist -- the people who knew about it and the people who turned a blind eye.

So who are they and why have they not been indicted? Or are prosecutors going to push a "single bullethead theory" of the Madoff crimes? That's implied by the criminal charges talking about the clerical employees of the firm being ignorant and inexperienced.

Baloney.

by Gary Weiss

HT to Gary's blog.