Bernie Madoff is not the only crook in his Ponzi scheme.

Today Bernie Madoff was sentenced for his crooked acts in establishing a Ponzi scheme that bilked hundreds out of vast sums of money, some losing their entire life savings.

It is said that others involved in this scheme are also under investigation, including Madoff's two sone, his accountant, and others who ran his "business".

But the courts cannot touch those who made this whole scheme possible, and who are now feeling the impact of the collapse of the house of cards. The investors themselves.

Oh, you think that we should all feel sorry for those duped in this scheme? And why should we? It is likely that ALL those who gave their money to Madoff did so with the expectation of receiving huge returns. In fact, one number that has been talked about is that some hoped to receive returns of up to 18% on their investments!

Whoa! Wait just a minute here. Is there ANYONE who thinks that a legitimate investment is going to generate 18% returns? Or, did those investors have a pretty good idea that whatever Bernie was doing to be able to claim such returns, it was not exactly kosher! But the money poured in for Bernie to "invest".

That fact tells me that the investors wanted to make what appears to be unrealistic profits, and did not really care HOW they did it, just as long as THEY did not get caught or lose their money.

It is scary that so many rich people are so greedy. And what else is scary is, how did so many rich people GET rich, when they appear to be so stupid? It makes one wonder just how they made their money in the first place. Did they also do something a little (or a long way) over the line?

While I do have some sad feelings for any who lost their money because THEY had some money manager who wanted an unrealistic return, I have no sympathy for those who just wanted that 18% return, all the while knowing it had to be a scam of some kind!