It's a sad day for the integrity of the financial markets.

The United States Senate confirmed Obama's choice of Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission -- unanimously.

It's no surprise that she was confirmed. But there were certainly enough red flags that someone should have been able to muster a no vote. She has a dismal track record as the head of FINRA and as a self-regulatory body insider, she represents the polar opposite of "change we can believe in." She's actually "more of the same" personified. As Gary Weiss reported on his blog, she also has a history of being a lapdog for some of Wall Street's shadiest elements. As Weiss wrote, "The chances of Schapiro shaking things up in the securities industry -- instituting real, meaningful, desperately desired change -- are about the same as the chances you can make a black bear curtsy and serve tea. This is a terribly disappointing selection."

This is not a pick that most people really care about and the media didn't raise hell over it. 90% of voters still probably have no idea who she is, or what FINRA is. But the fact that the Senate rubber stamped such a dubious pick so quickly and without dissent could be a sign of much worse things to come.

Convicted felon Sam Antar, who was the CFO of the Crazy Eddie fraud and now speaks out against white collar crime told me that "If I was still the criminal CFO of Crazy Eddie, Mary Schapiro is not someone I would be afraid of."