Wyden, Merkley to return Madoff money

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and Senator-elect Jeff Merkley said they will donate money they received from disgraced Wall Street money manager Bernard L. Madoff to charity. Madoff, 70, was arrested last week for securities fraud in what prosecutors are calling a $50 billion scheme to bilk investors. He remains free on $10 million bail. Federal campaign records show that Wyden collected $33,000 from Madoff and members of his immediate family between 1979 and 2008. He also gave $2,300 in April to Merkley, The Oregonian newspaper reported. Read more at the Gazette-Times...

SEC launches Madoff probe, says decade of warnings ignored
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox late Tuesday announced a probe into how his financial regulatory body failed to detect an alleged 50-billion-dollar fraud scheme that Bernard Madoff is accused of running despite a decade of warning signs. More at Breitbart.com...