News item: “Arthur Nadel, a former Florida fund manager dubbed a ‘mini-Madoff’ for running a decade-long investment fraud, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges of bilking investors out of as much as $360 million.

“Mr. Nadel, 77, disappeared for two weeks before his arrest in January 2009. He had left a letter for his wife imploring her to use a trust fund for her benefit and “sell the Subaru if you need money,” a reference to their motor vehicle.”

Remember when $360 million was a lot of money? Heck, time was when a man accused of stealing that much money would have had to have conned the government of a developed country. Nowadays, thanks to Bernard Madoff and the Wall Street bailout, a $360 million fraud is nothing. Front-pocket money. Whoops, did I just compare the bailout to a con job?

“I understand the anger and rage of all of the people I let down so badly,” Mr. Nadel told the court. “I want them all to know I will carry this burden for the rest of my life.”

And the people he bilked won’t be nearly so burdened, since they’re hardly carrying anything now that all their money is gone. Although in hindsight, maybe they should have known something was amiss when he showed up for the investor meetings in a Subaru.

“Under the sentencing guidelines for his crimes, he can expect to spend the rest of his life in prison.”

At 77, let’s be honest, that ain’t gonna be that long.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 3:56 pm and is filed under Wednesday's Random Shots. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.