yes, it seems that we have another case of 'who could have foreseen?'. Please, did the folks who knowingly invested in Madoff's scam think that Bernie's act was clean and pure? Remember, you had to be INVITED to invest. How flattering. You have been asked to join in the small group of those with deep inside knowledge of the market. This is, in itself a "tell" and an indicator of, at minimum, immoral behavior.
For those who are familiar with the mindset of the compulsive gambler, you are probably aware that many hardcore gamblers are at the higher end of the IQ scale. They see themselves as gifted with exceptional insights that allow them to beat the system, rising above the poor ordinary shlubs who actually make the world go 'round.
I could run a list of such deluded individuals who are presently in political office, or recently disgraced, but I will resist.
But re Bernie(Madoff, not Kerik)...I suspect that most of the missing billions are in deep offshore accounts and that "investigators" will locate a small percentage. Press coverage of this scam will fade and/or be lost in a stew of new scams, and the "investigation will taper off to zero.