With SEC Chairman Chris Cox using his light saber to battle the imaginary sith lord of naked short selling, SEC Inspector General David Kotz has released a fourth report criticizing the commission for its oversight of Wall Street over the past two years.

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Kotz found that the SEC's Miami office dropped a case against Bear Stearns "and others despite negotiating a $500,000 settlement with the investment bank for failing to supervise a former employee. The case, which was described as 'strong' by at least three enforcement staffers, was dropped without being presented to the five-member commission for a vote."

The head of the Miami office, David Nelson, told Bear Stearns lawyers that "Christmas is coming early" this year, and "Bear Stearns can keep their money." The case involved an employee who was alleged to have given inappropriately high valuations to bonds and loans held by a Puerto Rican bank.

The SEC's enforcement staff responded to the report by saying that it is "misleading, and all too often relies on speculation and innuendo to support its harsh conclusions."

Harsh conclusions? You mean like the collapse of the financial sector and a $700 billion taxpayer funded bailout?

It's unclear whether a $500,000 settlement would have changed anything, but the announcement might have tipped off investors to the huge problems at Bear Stearns before it was too late.