Markopolos Writes Book; Tells of Plan to Kill Madoff

Madoff whistleblower Harry Markopolos, appeared on CNBC this morning to talk about his new book, "No One Would Listen: A Financial Thriller," even admitting that he had a plan to kill Madoff.The book opens with the inspector general of the SEC interviewing Madoff at Butler Prison. When asked what he thinks of Markopolos, Madoff reportedly said: "He's a joke in the industry." Markopolos tells CNBC's Mary Thompson that he was gratified to be on Madoff's bad side. Whom did Madoff call a good friend? SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro.

For eight years, Markopolos tried to bring Madoff to the regulator's attention, without much success. According to Markopolus, the SEC failed to listen to him for two reasons: "They don't chase the big bad guys on Wall Street," and second, "They didn't understand anything I was presenting to them. They don't understand finance."

Markopolos who competed with Madoff in marketing a trading strategy to clients couldn't duplicate his returns. It took Markopolos four hours of modeling to prove Madoff was a fraud.

But as the sole whistleblower relentlessly pursuing Madoff, Markopolos had reason to fear for his life. If it came down to Madoff or himself, "I was going to take the law in my hand. I had a plan to kill him," Markopolos revealed in the CNBC interview. Local law enforcement and the FBI told him he had a right to protect himself, Markopolos said in the interview.

While the SEC has made many changes since the scandal broke last December, Markopolos told CNBC that they haven't gone far enough, but acknowledged they were moving rapidly to save the agency. As for what lies ahead, Markopolos with Frank DePasquale who masterminded the fraud and kept it going from the inside on the 17th floor, cooperating with the government, he expects more arrests. Comparing this to a ball game, we're in the second inning of an extra inning game. "The next several inning will be played at a quicker pace by the government."

Madoff whistleblower Harry Markopolus, appeared on CNBC this morning to talk about his new book, "No One Would Listen: A Financial Thriller," even admitting that he had a plan to kill Madoff. Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio