Another one bites the dust in Madoff saga

Nearly three years after it came to light, the Bernie Madoff scam is still unraveling itself.

The FBI’s New York City office’s “open and active investigation,” that targeted Madoff’s family for a probe earlier this year has now trained its focus on Enrica Cotellessa-Pitz, controller of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS).

Cotellessa-Pitz pleaded guilty Monday in Manhattan federal court to four counts including conspiracy to falsify books and records of a broker-dealer; falsify books and records of an investment adviser; make false filings with the SEC; obstruct and impede the lawful governmental function of the IRS.

Cotellessa-Pitz, if found guilty as charged, could face a statutory maximum sentence of up to 50 years in prison. The largest financial fraud in U.S. history, Madoff’s ponzi scheme defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars and shook up the global financial industry and exposed large gaps in Wall Street’s regulatory systems which has since undergone a drastic and dramatic overhaul.