Back in 2004, an SEC lawyer with the whimsical name of Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot raised questions to her boss, Mark Donohue, and his supervisor, Eric Swanson, about the unusual trading patterns and strategies of one Bernie Madoff. "Concentrate on mutual funds for the time being," they told her, and requested she turn over her research, which they packed up and put in cold storage. In 2007, Eric Swanson married Shana Madoff, Bernie's niece. Probably just a coincidence.

Staffer at SEC Had Warned Of Madoff [WP]