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"The Madoff Affair" (9 p.m. Tuesday on PBS, check listings) interviews those closest to Madoff's operation, with veteran Frontline correspondent Martin Smith unearthing the details of the world's first global Ponzi scheme -- a deception that lasted longer, reached wider and cut deeper than any other business scandal in history. With its unrelenting reporting, Frontline winds back the clock to reveal how Madoff got his start, how he amassed a fortune, became the king of Wall Street and ultimately the destroyer of fortunes. Clips on the "Frontline" Web site (and embedded below) tell us that Madoff started his first small investment firm in the '60s and hired two young accountants, Frank Avellino and Michael Bienes, to handle the books. In an exclusive interview, Bienes recalls how investor dollars flowed in -- "easy-peasy, like a money machine." "Producer Martin Smith: What made you think that he could return 20%? "Bienes: I don't know! How do I know? How do you split an atom? I know you can split them, I don't know how you do it. How does an airplane fly? I don't ask. "Smith: Did you ask him? "Bienes: Never! Why would I ask him? I wouldn't understand if he explained it. Something with arbitrage between bonds and stocks and blah blah blah." By the early '90s, Avellino & Bienes had amassed more than 3,000 clients. But the accountants were violating the law, selling unregistered securities. Acting on a tip, the Securities and Exchange Commission closed down Avellino & Bienes. Madoff was forced to return more than $400 million to investors. It was Madoff's first brush with the SEC, and as would happen again and again during the course of 30 years, Madoff became the Teflon man -- untouched by regulators. Sandra Manzke, founder of the hedge fund firm Tremont, recalls in her exclusive interview with producers Marcela Gaviria and Smith how secretive Madoff was. "He insisted that his name never be used in any prospectus or marketing materials. Of course it bothered you. But that was one of the conditions of doing business, that you accepted that. That was his proprietary trading model, the black box that he used, and he wasn't going to disclose what was in it." Not even to Manzke, who for more than 25 years placed upward of $3 billion of investors' money with Madoff. Madoff is currently residing at the Metropolitan Correctional Facility in Manhattan and is due to be sentenced in June. - Donna Block Watch the trailer below:
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On Dec. 11, 2008, Bernard L. Madoff confessed that his impossibly exclusive investment business was all "one big lie," a Ponzi scheme so huge in volume and scope that it cost investors $65 billion. In the blink of an eye, Madoff became the new poster child for Wall Street greed and corruption. Now, six months on, PBS' "Frontline" promises to give us a glimpse into Madoff's beginnings and his ultimate undoing. 
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