SEC disciplines 8 staffers for how they handled Madoff case

Or didn't handle it. The punishments included suspensions, pay cuts and demotions. One employee who was initially pegged to be fired got a 30-day suspension along with a reduction in pay and grade. Another was given a pay cut of about 5.7 percent. From the Washington Post:

When [SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro] became chairman in early 2009, dealing with the Madoff fallout and addressing the institutional weaknesses the scandal had revealed were among her most pressing challenges. Madoff continues to cast a long shadow over the SEC. Republican members of Congress have invoked the SEC's handling of the matter as a reason to oppose its budget request. And lawmakers have inquired from time to time about what the agency was doing to hold employees accountable.

These rather light sentences are sure to rile Madoff victims and other critics of the agency, though there are signs that the enforcement process has been much improved over the last three years.