Bernie Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme dwarfs the scams committed by prior fraudsters convicted in the unprecedented wave of corporate accounting scandals that deluged the stock market at the outset of this decade, when the Internet and telecom bubble burst.

Madoff is expected to serve the rest of his life in jail, but how does that expected sentence stack up against the sentences meted out to the rogues' gallery, which includes Enron's Jeffrey Skilling, Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski and WorldCom's Bernie Ebbers? See the table below.

Madoff has pleaded guilty to 11 charges, and awaits sentencing. A source who used to work for Madoff says officials are now desperately trying to sell its broker dealer operation, and has enlisted Lazard Freres to help in that effort. It may get $10 mn or more in the sale, or as much as $50 mn.

My source also says this: that what really led to the unraveling of the Ponzi scheme at Madoff was his feeling that the Europeans were demanding their money, and that they were pulling their money out en masse. "G------n those Europeans!," he was heard to shout before the fraud blew up in his face. Madoff was also seen lying down on the floor of his office complaining about a bad back.

Where are the Perp Walks?

To date, Madoff remains the most high profile alleged fraudster to do a perp walk. So far, only the two hedge fund managers at Bear Stearns and two brokers at Credit Suisse have been led away in handcuffs.

Justice Dept. officials have told Fox Business that 2009 will be a "bumper crop" year for perp walks, but so far only lower level mortgage scamsters and white collar criminals have been arrested, not high profile Wall Street officials or bankers, although the FBI has opened up numerous probes, bureau officials tell Fox Business.

Cooperating to Reduce Sentences 

Will Madoff squawk about others who may have aided and abetted his massive fraud to reduce his sentence after the fact? That remains to be seen, however, there is precedence here. Enron's chief financial officer Andrew Fastow did just that, cutting his sentence to ten years in 2004 by giving information to law enforcement officials against  other Enron officials. Fastow then got that 10-year sentence cut to a six-year prison term in 2006.

Fastow has turned over nearly $30 mn in cash, assets and property. Fastow's wife, Lea, served a year in jail for failing to report the income received from the Enron partnerships. Enron, one of the biggest frauds in US history, had been worth more than $68 bn-the fraud wiped out the savings and retirement funds of thousands of investors, and hundreds of employees also lost their jobs.

And we may not see Madoff immediately sent to prison. It took four and a half years to put Enron CEO Skilling behind bars, and nearly three years to send WorldCom's Ebbers to prison. 

White House Steps In

The White House's proposed budget may give more money to hire more FBI agents, which Senators Richard Shelby and Charles Schumer have been agitating for, as well as  to probe mortgage fraud and white-collar crime. The Securities and Exchange Commission would get a 13% hike in its budget.

And Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, wants to conduct a hearing on March 20 to get testimony from US Attorney General Eric Holder and SEC officials about their efforts to crack down on the frauds. 

Rogues' Gallery

Criminal                        Age      Company          Sentence                                 

Jeff Skilling                    50         Enron                24  years, federal prison  

Kenneth Lay                  62         Enron                Died before sentencing  

Andrew Fastow             47        Enron                6 years

Dennis Kozlowski          56         Tyco                 8 1/3 to 25 years, state prison

Bernie Ebbers                62         WorldCom         25 years, Fed prison                             

Scott D. Sullivan            42         WorldCom         5 years, Fed prison

John Rigas                    80         Adelphia            15 years, Fed prison

Timothy Rigas               52         Adelphia            25 years, Fed prison                             

Mike Millken                  43         Drexel, Burnham, Lambert          10 years (served 2)   

Ivan Boesky                   49         Arbitrageur        3 ½ years, released 1990

Notes: Does not include monetary fines, penalties and court settlements. Sources: Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons