Madoff scam Boston whistleblower was clandestine U.S. Army Special Ops commander

January 9, 12:09 PMBoston Progressive ExaminerMichael Richardson

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Harry Markopolos, the Boston financier that spent a decade trying to warn the Securities and Exchange Commission about Bernard Madoff's massive $50 billion Ponzi swindle, was a secret commando leader before turning his attention to Madoff.

Markopolos spent seven years in the U.S. Army Reserve and was active from October 1993 to April 1995 commanding a secret "special ops" unit.  Trained in advanced courses at the U.S. Army JFK School for Special Warfare, Markopolos had to be eligible for a Top Secret security clearance.

Entry into the elite Army school was rigorous and applicants had to swim 50 meters wearing boots and battle dress uniform just to qualify.  Markopolos passed with flying colors and was assigned to command a 64-man special operations unit.

Markopolos was assigned to command Detachment A of the 411^th Civil Affairs Battalion stationed in Hartford, Connecticut.  In an on-line biographical entry Markopolos describes his military duties.

"Commanded a 64-man special operations unit in support of special missions in Europe and West Africa.  Unit made up of 8 function teams to include lawyers, doctors, engineers, law enforcement personnel, and scientists.  Worked closely with host nation governments in clandestine offices overseas."

The official history of the 411^th CA Battalion does not list assignments in those months to Europe or West Africa so Markopolos was assigned duties that remain secret.

Besides the JFK School for Special Warfare, the crusading accountant was trained at the U.S. Army Infantry School where he studied coursework for platoon leaders and company commanders.  Markopolos was also trained at the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center where he attended the Command & General Staff College taking Brigade Corps Command & Staff courses.

Following his stint in military special operations, Markopolos became president of the Boston Security Analysis Society where he served for a year before delivering his opus on Madoff's scheme to the SEC titled The World's Largest Hedge Fund is a Fraud. 

Markopolos found the SEC to be even more impenetrable than the military bureaucracies he was trained in and submitted his study three times to the SEC without raising a ripple.  Despite his special operations training, Markopolos was unable to penetrate the protective shell around Madoff and convince SEC regulators that a massive fraud was being perpetrated on unsuspecting investors.

Members of Congress are now beginning to ask why did the SEC ignore Markopolos?

For more info: www.examiner.com/x-1969-Boston-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m1d13-Inspector-General-investigating-Boston-and-New-York-SEC-offices-in-wake-of-Markopolos-allegations