Dear FRONTLINE,

I have been a compliance officer in regulated broker dealers for decades. I have had considerable experience with regulators (NASD, SEC etc). I do not accept the SEC explanation that they were understaffed.

After the tech bubble burst, there was a distinct shift from regulation to "gotcha". The "gotcha" approach gave the regulators a way to quantify the number of violations they detected. However, as the number of reported incidents increased and fine revenue increased, there was no explanation as to whether the act was a clerical oversight or fraud. They were aggregated together and reported as increased regulation.

I know of an incident in which regulators were asked for feedback on a pending transaction where the firm was taking an aggressive stance. They were told the transaction would be canceled if they thought it was excessive. The regulators' response was that it is not their obligation to answer. The gentleman who gave the SEC the roadmap in the Madoff scheme is one of thousands of people trying keep the financial industry a responsible industry. He is also one of thousands of people that the regulators have turned their back on.

If the proposed increased regulation will only result in more violations and fines for failures to jump through clerical hoops, there is no point to it. Until the regulators design their audits to detect harm, fraud and depraved indifference, this type of scheme will recur.

Stamford, CT

Dear FRONTLINE,

What's the difference between Madoff and the rest of us? None. People would rather spend 200 dollars for an Ipod more than cheaper MP3 player that does the same thing. We are as greedy as the rest of those people who invested in him or Madoff who scammed everyone to live a life at a higher standard. We live in a society that encourages beautiful front cover, not contents. And guess what some people are doing now -- buy cheap stocks to make quick profits! Nothing will change for as long as social value is evaluated by wealth. Congraulation to everyone!

CHARLES CHARLES
NY, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

I hope Frontline follows up on "The Madoff Affair" with another documentary regarding this fraudulent scheme -- but the next documentary should uncover the exact nature and extent of the complicity at the SEC. Were, for example, individuals at SEC corrupted by Madoff? The SEC investigation that found no wrongdoing is especially mindblowing. There IS more to this story, and what remains to be uncovered (assuming it CAN be uncovered) could be even more disturbing than what we know right now. So, please, take your time to thoroughly investigate the SEC's complicity.

Steve Kane
Portland, OR

FRONTLINE's editors respond:

FRONTLINE's interview with The New York TImes' reporter Diana Henriques offers some interesting context on some factors that help explain the SEC's failures in the Madoff case. Read this last part of the Henriques interview.

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a friend of Dianne and Michael Bienes I would like to point out that they were victims too. The real villains in this sorry tale are not only Mr Madoff but also his family - if anyone should be investigated beyond those already implicated it is Mrs Ruth Madoff and her sons.

A friend of Michael and Dianne Bienes n/a
London, United Kingdom

Dear FRONTLINE,

Wow, how could people in the U.S. invest with someone who didn't allow access to their account on the Internet? If that's not the most obvious warning sign in today's 21st Century world then I don't know what is.

Eric Haynes
Springfield, Missouri

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a relative of a former Madoff client, and a computer guru, I remember examining a Madoff end of month statement wherein I thought it was very strange to be printed on a dot matrix printer, an early 1980's method. Then, on behalf of my relative, I spoke with a Madoff employee, over the phone, asking if we could see the daily purchase & sale, monthly statements, and equity balances upon the Madoff client web site. I was told that such capability did not exist.

I immediately told my relative that, in this day & age -- then being about three years ago -- he should immediately remove all his assets from Madoff, as Madoff was undoubtedly a Mickey Mouse operation that could not be trusted, as no broker dealer, that is, NONE, printed their monthy statements on dot matrix printers, and most all have available online equity statements for end of day viewing, particularly if one has their own brokerage account.

My relative followed my advice and withdrew his several million dollar valued account that he had had with Madoff for some 17 years at that time. Today, that account, having been then parked in gold shares, is up some 55% to date.

W. Colby
New York, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

Good start Frontline. In reading the comments left there is a lot of resentment to towards the SEC that I do not agree with. I remember seeing Madoff testify before the congressional finance committee on the very subject of hedge fund disclosure. Of course he was against it. These investments are limited to those with large amounts to invest. It is common knowledge that hedge funds are of greater risk due to there minimally regulated status. If a finger is to be pointed it should be at congress for not providing the necessary laws for the SEC to enforce and the investors who seem to a T to have grown amnesia to the added risks they knowing took on.

Pittsburgh, Pa

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a subscriber of PBS and a fan of Frontline. I feel that you covered many of the important issues such as the SEC dropping the ball and the failure of other regulatory bodies.Coincidently My son was out to dinner with several heavy hitters from wall street investment firms two nights before Bernard Madoffs confession. He mentioned that Bernie was managing his widowed mothers money.They responded by saying "she is in good hands, he is the gold standard of wall street" She is very lucky. Granted I knew little about investing and like Judy Stone stated, I must have been one of the "dumbest people alive" particularly since I was not getting close to 20% a year. Ms Stone do not believe all that you read. The press is a gold mine of misinformation. This deception goes deeper than you might suppose.

Armonk , New York

Dear FRONTLINE,

How is he different from AIG, Citibank or FreddieMac? They likewise are giant Ponzi schemes that collapsed when the market fell. I heard one of the commentators say that Madoff could have lived out his entire life without getting "caught." As long as people believed he still had their money then it was true. As soon as one doubted that premise it was all over. Madoff never believed he was a crook. He was just playing the same magic money game they all play.

Charles Izzo
Camden, New Jersey

Dear FRONTLINE,

It is so frustrating to work so hard for all you have only to be taken advantage of by finacial institutions. Be they Bernie Madoff, mortgage brokers, mutual fund managers or the state and Federal governments. Whose standard of living is rising? Those scamming the everday person out of their few extra monthly dollars. Where is the accountability? It seems as one rises up the earnings chain accountability and transparency disappear. Government entities have wasted hard earned tax dollars. States, due to lack of fiscal responsibilty, find themselves basically bancrupt. Tax payers, maybe too trusting tax payers, are losing their homes thanks to the mortgage industries greed. If a tax payer also has a 401(k) then he/she has lost even more. If one was foolish enough to become indebted to a credit card company, that person is hurting even more. If one had personal savings either in a savings account, money market, or mutual fund then one has lost even more. O, did I mention your lucky if your still working. Social security will be insolvent in a decade or so yet workers must continue to pay into this insolvent fund. God help anyone not in public service or wealthy that should become sick with any serious disease. Medical coverage? Our employers' plans change yearly as does the coverage, deductibles, etc. Kids? Schools continue to be badly underfunded. How is the next generation to do any better? What is happening? Where is our government for the people by the people? Why do special interests votes count so much more than the everyday person? I guess it comes down to money and greed and a lack of interest in the future and betterment of all Americans as well as humankind.

j roberts
sacramento, ca

Dear FRONTLINE,

Simple greed. That's all it was. The investors and the companies that sent the money to Madoff were all crazed by greed. Nothing more, nothing less. Each chose to ignore the obvious and now they are crying about their "loss".

No way. Madoff should go to jail, but if you were blind enough to take the profits and only complain when the fraud was admitted (the SEC knew it was there before), you should sit down and HUSH! GO AWAY! YOU CAUSED IT. Wonder what they will tell their children? We were taken advantage of? Yeah, likely.

Ken B
olive branch, ms

Dear FRONTLINE,

The FRONTLINE edition on Bernie Madoff reinforces the undeniable fact that a one hour TV show is no substitute for a well written print accounts. The online references to your readings and links gave me access to some excellent published articles on this topic. Thanks.

Brian Mendes
Kitchener, Ontario,CANADA

FRONTLINE's editors respond:

FRONTLINE's Madoff readings and links section is here.

Dear FRONTLINE,

I find it ludicrous that SEC claimed off the record that the reason it didn't catch Madoff sooner was that the agency was "under-staffed and under-resourced" What a load of baloney.

Markopolous virtually handed SEC the Madoff case on a silver platter; in effect, he was SEC's special investigator by proxy. Markopolous did the heavy lifting by providing a long list of red flags, and all SEC had to do was follow up on them. It's an agency that's inept, negligent, or corrupt--perhaps all three. "Thanks" to the financial crisis for exposing Bernie Madoff; no thanks to SEC.

Will we have to relive "Weekend at Bernie's" over and over?

john Selig
Huntington, Indiana

Dear FRONTLINE,

Every 7 years at an annual rate of 12% (interest compounded) your original investment will double. All Bernie's client's who were in for this period of time would have at least received all their original money back less federal and state taxes. Those who were gettilng up to 18% and were in longer would have done better. It would appear they spent all their principal believing it was income. Yes it was a horrific situation but untill we figuare out where all the money went could we not suppose it went back to the "investors" ?? Alot of investors have been wiped out or lost huge percentages of their portfolios just by the deregulation on wall street last year. If you were saving in a retirement plan you might not even receive your original contributions back. Bernie is just another brick in the wall of the "You only live once, so you might as well live well-- till you get caught", mentality.

gregg hollingsworth
vancouver, british columbia

Dear FRONTLINE,

There is a portion of the story that Frontline never touched. In spite of having at least some responsibility in the matter, the Federal government is one of the big winners. Along with various State taxing authorities they have be collecting billions of dollars in taxes over the past 25 years, money they are very reluctant to return.

Most investors are not covered by SIPC insurance and the recovery of taxes is all that is between many and a retirement in poverty after a lifetime of hard work.

Irving Picard, the trustee attempting to recover assets can go back six years to recover the gains he calls "ill gotten" from victims. Most state governments have no trouble keeping all the taxes victims ever paid. Apparently, keeping the taxes paid on income that never existed is not a problem for our political leaders.

burton meerow
park ridge, new jersey