Bernie Madoff, the mastermind behind the world's largest ever Ponzi scheme, arrived at a federal prison in North Carolina to begin serving his 150 year prison sentence.

It will be hard to find anyone sympathetic to the 71 year old investor who will be spending the rest of his life behind bars. We still do not know if Madoff will serve out all of his time at the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, but for now that is where he can call home.

On Monday, convicted con man Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in jail, and today federal authorities took possession of his $7 million Manhattan penthouse, forcing his wife to leave and look for somewhere else to live.

Ruth Madoff was told ahead of time that she would be forced to vacate her lush Manhattan penthouse, and reportedly she did leave the property this afternoon around 1 PM EST. The penthouse, on East 64th Street will be sold, with the proceeds being used to help reimburse the victims of the nations largest ever Ponzi scheme.

Bernie Madoff, at 71 years old, may be staring down what would be effectively a life sentence. The prosecution and defense have vastly different views heading into court today, but the answer will come at 10 AM (EDT), when the hearing is scheduled to begin. Approximately 100 letters have been sent to the judge, and 10 people will relate their opinions directly.

Madoff's family members are not expected to be in the courtroom for the sentencing, as they haven't been to any of his appearances following his arrest last September.

Hedge fund manager Michael Regan has pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme. Manager of the Massachusetts-based River Stream Fund, he admitted to defrauding around 70 investors. The fund held just shy of $20 million in assets ... despite the relatively meager $101,600 sitting in its accounts. The fund purported to return 20 percent a year since 2001, paying out $9 million in "profits" and returned capital.

Imagine this scenario: Let's say that I'm a con-man and you give me $1,000 to invest. I then tell you that the $1,000 has turned into $5,000 -- but then a few years later my scheme collapses and you are wiped out.

Now here's the question: How much money did you lose? Bankruptcy trustee Irving Pickard concluded, quite reasonably, that you only lost $1,000. You can't count the $4,000 that you never had as a loss. But now lawyers for some of Madoff's victims see it differently, and want the losses to be tallied based on the last account statements the investors received from Mr. Madoff -- even though the statements were fraudulent!

Bernard Madoff has become one of the most infamous non-violent people in the history of the world for operating the largest Ponzi scheme ever, widely quoted at something like $50 billion.

But some experts say that the number is exaggerated, and suggest that the actual figure could be less than $20 billion. Stephen Harbeck, president of the Securities Investor Protection Corp. told the Associated Press that the $50 billion figure includes fictitious returns reported to investors.

The two circumstances sort of symbolize the U.S.'s decade of descent, although opinions certainly will vary on what led to them. At minimum, they don't represent the most flattering moment in the nation's history.

Money manager Bernard Madoff, if proven guilty, will have substantially hurt, if not ruined, the financial lives of hundreds of investors -- from charitable organizations to Zsa Zsa Gabor -- in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

Meanwhile, on the heels of President Barack Obama's $500,000 compensation cap for executives and employees who receive federal government bailout assistance, criticisms have been voiced in and around Wall Street and in think tanks, with some executives complaining that the compensation is not high enough and/or that the federal government has no right to limit how much someone can be paid.

Let us know what you think.

Nicholas Cosmo, a convicted felon who somehow turned himself into an investment adviser who bilked people out of $370 million, allegedly has ties to organized crime, according to CNBC's Charlie Gasparino.

Former Genovese family associate Michael Durso and another unidentified man met Cosmo during the 1990s and "put pressure on Cosmo to pay around $139,000 owed to loan sharks connected with the Genovese family," Gasparino reported.

Like the victims of the Madoff swindle, investors who had money with Cosmo's Agape World in Long Island are probably out of luck. Agape is in Hicksville, NY, far from the tony world of Manhattan and Palm Beach that Madoff called home for decades. He nonetheless was a bold liar.

Leave it to some aspiring comedian to come up with the "official" blog of accused fraudster Bernard Madoff.

That's right someone writing under the pen name "Not the Devil" offers readers Madoff's "opinions" on the a variety of issues and Wall Street personalities. The results can be amusing, particularly if you did not lose money in Madoff's immense Ponzi scheme.

The blog takes aim at the media's fascination with Madoff. "To whoever it was that managed to get yourself a bi-line in today's Sunday business section: You need to get more credible people to comment; a former FBI agent portrays me as a 'psychopath," the fake Madoff argues.

Madoff should have asked for protective custody
Instead he asked for bail
The judge sent him home in bracelets
When he should have sent him to jail

Madoff admits stealing $50 billion with no remorse over 30 years
Investors and foundations lost millions and are raining tears

A thousand questions cannot be answered
How could this scandal go on so long?
Undetected by the regulators and investors around the world
Who didn't think always winning meant something was wrong

They turned a blind eye while they were charmed by a smile
From a friendly man with a key to the city and connections that could beguile

The Securities and Exchange commission did not do its job
Incompetence in the highest office for three decades
Giving the swindler Bernie Madoff a license to rob
And pretend he was a genius trader when few were ever made

I'm always on the lookout for advice on how to live a successful, happy life: And I'm not above taking tips from Bernie Madoff, the biggest con-artist in the history of the world if the allegations are to be believed. If you skip to 2:45 into the video, you can some great advice from him: Don't take anything for granted etc.

The man interviewed by Fox Business said that his father -- a Madoff friend and investor -- told his son on his death bed that he should "trust Bernie Madoff."

In the U.S.'s decade of descent, its near-decade of policy errors, investors could no-doubt cite their nomination for financial or economic low point.

Enron, the Bear Stearns hedge fund defaults, the mismanagement of Lehman Brothers and AIG (NYSE: AIG), the to-date secretiveness of the TARP money allocation, Citigroup's (NYSE: C) missteps that now expose the U.S. government to potentially more than $200 billion in liabilities, or the myriad bad decisions by mortgage borrowers and lenders that sent the housing market into recession would, undoubtedly, be mentioned as candidates for the biggest scandal.

A few 'candid and frank' discussions in CT

Still, during a year-end, holiday trip to relatives in Connecticut, I received "a full and complete report," as we say in the news/publishing business, concerning what many people -- at least what many of my relatives -- feel is the biggest scandal or mistake. Now, my extended family is by no means a scientific survey, but it's a pretty good cross-section of the American public, comprised of high-powered professionals and typical employees; those who've done very well financially, and those who haven't done as well, with all age groups represented.

And what was everyone really peeved about? The alleged Ponzi scheme and rip-off masterminded/perpetrated by Bernard Madoff.

If legendary comedian W.C. Fields were alive today, he would argue that there is a sucker born every second, particularly among investors looking for a quick buck. If you were shocked by the $50 billion Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, get ready to hear more tales of investors wronged by scam artists.

Madoff and his ilk can keep their alleged frauds going as long as there is an endless supply of gullible individuals eager to make "fast money" without asking too many questions. It was only when the market tanked that investors started to withdraw money from the one-time Wall Street legend and that the scheme was therefore unraveled. The same scenario may have occurred with clients of Joseph S. Forte of Broomall, Pa.

According to the SEC, Forte told investors that he would invest their money in an account that would trade in securities futures contracts including S&P 500 stock index futures.

Bernard Madoff tried to raise millions in the last few weeks [subscription required] before he finally confessed to his $50 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal today. This story lends even more credence to my suspicion that Madoff may have acted alone in building what will likely be the world's largest Ponzi scheme. When I said that on Fox Business News on Monday, I was definitely in the minority. In fact at the end of the show, a poll taken during the hour long show indicated that 95 percent of the people watching did not believe he had acted alone.

The Wall Street Journal details all the people he contacted in what appears to be a last minute, desperate attempt to raise cash and keep his dirty little secret. Carl Shapiro, a 95-year-old philanthropist and entrepreneur, which the WSJ states was one of Madoff's oldest friends and biggest financial backers, gave Madoff $250 million sometime around December 1, 2008 - just days before he confessed to the $50 billion scheme. Some believe it was a loan, others an additional investment. Either way Shapiro's friends say he was promised a quick payback with interest or gains. Shapiro did not comment for the story.

MassMutual became the latest big investor to admit losing money because of Bernard Madoff.

According to Wall Street Journal, the company's Tremont Financial Group lost $3 billion -- more than half of its assets -- because of Madoff's $50 billion scam. Then there's the problem of disclosure.

"Tremont marketing documents did not always disclose the relationship between Mr. Madoff and the feeder funds, even when mentioning other investment managers," the paper said.

So let me get this straight: MassMutual entrusted some of its investors' money to one of the supposed geniuses of Wall Street and did not want anyone to know? Maybe the company did not want its customers to know that it was collecting fees that it did not really earn. I suspect many aggrieved investors will sue. I sympathize with their plight, ,but I do not feel sorry for people who invested with Madoff directly.

Many Madoff customers turned a blind eye to many red flags that should have sent them running for the hills. First of all, no one understood the Madoff's "investing philosophy." Questions about his strategy went unanswered.