Say "Madoff" to most ordinary people, and you're likely to get back a response similar to "Oh yeah, the bigshot who burned all those rich people." What's interesting is that not all Madoff investors are among the glittering elites with their mega-mansions, mega-yachts and mega-wallets. Stephanie Halio and her husband are part of that second tier of Madoff investor - people whose investments with Madoff allowed them to live comfortable, though certainly not opulent, lifestyles.

That's all history for the Halios. The home in NY has been sold, and they are struggling to keep their mortgaged home in Florida. But Stephanie says that's not what's important about the Madoff fraud. She's moved on - at 66 years old, she's gotten her Florida realtor's license. Her husband has returned to work in his pre-retirement industry of process-serving.

Her biggest concerns now that Madoff is going to prison is that, one, Madoff will not receive the appropriate sentencing (his lawyers have suggested a 12-year prison stretch); and two, that the door is still open for more Madoff-like frauds to be perpetrated in the future. Not enough has been done at the federal level, in her opinion, to make sure that agencies like the SEC can detect and investigate big frauds before they can do Madoff-scale damage. The activity reforming the SEC, and whatever form of "consumer financial protection" agency emerges from the government's shakeup, will continue for many years after Bernie Madoff's fraud is forgotten by most Americans. If only it was so easy for the Halios and other Madoff investors like them.