Source: CNBC

Newly released documents in the Bernard Madoff case paint a detailed picture of a feckless Securities and Exchange Commission, and an epic scam artist who was constantly amazed he did not get caught.

The documents, released Friday by the SEC following an August request by CNBC under the Freedom of Information Act, include thousands of pages of e-mails, transcripts and internal SEC documents compiled by Inspector General H. David Kotz in his investigation of the SEC's handling of the case. Kotz issued a scathing report in September citing multiple lapses by the SEC in investigations dating back to 1992.

While Madoff's Scam of the Century shocked the world, it appears Madoff was mainly shocked he got away with it so long, according to a jailhouse interview he gave to Kotz on June 17 as he awaited sentencing on 11 fraud counts. In the interview, Madoff says the fact that he did not get caught was "amazing to me." Madoff was not under oath in the interview.

"It never entered the SEC's mind that it was a Ponzi scheme," Madoff says, noting that all investigators would have had to do was contact his supposed counterparties, and they "would've seen it."

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/33590661