Bernie Madoff dead: Ponzi schemer was 82

Bernie Madoff, who came to epitomize Wall Street corruption with his epic $65-billion Ponzi scheme, has died in prison of natural causes at age 82. “The sense of frustration, the sense of betrayal, the sense of having given up — it’s mind-boggling.” The cleanup of Madoff’s fraud added even more pain for many. Why can’t I do this too?” Madoff told journalist Diana Henriques, who chronicled Madoff’s fraud in her 2011 book, “The Wizard of Lies.” “I never believed that I was stealing. One of his complaints, in 2005, was titled: “The World’s Largest Hedge Fund Is a Fraud.” Madoff nonetheless escaped three SEC examinations and two investigations. SEC staff also failed to even verify Madoff’s trading records — a misstep that “astonished” Madoff, he would later say.