The failure to stop Mr. Madoff also is an embarrassment for Mary Schapiro, the Finra chief who has been nominated by President-elect Barack Obama as the next SEC chairman. Finra was involved in several investigations of Mr. Madoff’s firm, concluding in 2007 that it violated technical rules and failed to report certain transactions in a timely way.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111743915052731.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Yep, FINRA, while only being an NGO, and Mary Shapiro had direct “overseer” responsibilities over hedge funds activities. SEC mostly has regulatory power over activities in “public” markets.
Also, embattled Chris Cox, while being largely out of his element, became SEC chairman only few months before Markopolos letter “to SEC” when he took over from Bill Donaldson in summer of 2005. Bill Donaldson was one of Obama’s advisors on his transition team.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2154665/replies?c=39