"I create nothing. I own. We make the rules, pal...

The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, the price of a paper clip? We pick that rabbit out of the hat while everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it. Stick around pal, I've still got a lot to teach you."

Bernie Madoff will reportedly plead guilty this week to at least 11 felony counts in connection with his Ponzi scheme which defrauded victims of $50B+. Prosecutors say there has been no plea bargain. Good for them. Madoff faces 150 years in jail. Which sounds about right. While it remains to be seen whether and to what degree what Madoff did is different from what was done by AIG, Fannie, Freddie, Citi, Merrill, Lehman, et al, this guy is clearly a monster. He needs to go straight to prison and never be allowed to leave.

So... so far, so good. On the other hand, Madoff's lawyers are seeking a ruling which would allow Madoff's wife to keep $69M in assets held in her name, including a $7M Park Avenue penthouse, $17M in cash, and $45M in municipal bonds. They claim that these assets are "unrelated" to Madoff's fraud.

My guess is that Ms. Madoff will be portrayed as a victim and be allowed to keep some or all of these assets. This lady should get nothing. She should be put out on the street and allowed to earn her own keep or mooch off of her rich relatives and/or her remaining friends, as the case may be. I can't think of a single good reason to let her keep possession of these assets.

She's innocent? She knew nothing about this scheme? Highly improbable, but even if that were so, she didn't earn a dime of this money. And to the extent that she brought her own separate assets into the marriage, I'm guessing at some point she giddily ran all of these separate assets through Madoff's Magic Wealth Producing Vehicle, and then took them back out, along with a bunch of magic profits gained through her shrewd "investment", which she then used, in part, to buy her way onto a bunch of fancy charity boards and art appreciation societies. And lots and lots of furs, jewels, foie gras, and plastic surgery.

And if so, she ought to be paid back these separate assets (minus the magic profits) immediately after all other "investors" are made whole. Which will be never. You've had your fun. Now go live in Staten Island, bitch.