Madoff and bankers both got 150

The crimes of Bernie Madoff pail in comparison to those of the Banksters from Wall Street investment houses.

Madoff spent decades swindling the rich - people who closed their eyes to his ridiculous return on investment rates higher than was legally and rationally possible. Celebrated by virtually everyone in the financial community as a genius, it turns out his only genius was being able to fool the best and brightest year after year.

During the boom years he was helped by the folks who cashed out with the advertised earnings, which were simply the new investors' capital. When the economy imploded in 2007-08, the spike in cash outs lowered the curtain on his Ponzi scheme, and Madoff was revealed as the crook he always was.

While Madoff was fleecing the rich, the Banksters from Wall Street were fleecing everyone else. They sliced and diced millions of shaky mortgages, sold them off for a fortune, and then made another fortune betting those investments would fail. Then, when their house of cards collapsed, Uncle Sam came to their rescue so the entire economy wouldn't collapse along with them.

Madoff, who was simply a perverted version of Robin Hood, robbing from the rich to give to the rich, got 150 years in prison. The Banksters, for their part in nearly destroying our entire economy, also got 150 ... millions in salary and bonuses, that is.

Walt Zlotow

Glen Ellyn