From page 21 of the executive summary of the Kotz report on the SEC's bungling of the Madoff case.

Until we get to see the entire Kotz report on the SEC's monumental failure regarding Bernie Madoff, the above anecdote, from near the end of the executive summary, will have to do.

Picture, if you will, the look on the face of Madoff's lawyer when he realized that the SEC enforcement staff actually believed him when he lied to their faces. Even if he'd burst out laughing, they probably still wouldn't have caught on.

Don't blame Madoff's lawyer (unnamed in this report) for lying. That's what lawyers do on behalf of their clients. Blame the SEC enforcement staff — of all people — for taking lawyers' statements at face value.