Closing the barn door

MANIFESTO

In her never-ending attempt to make sure that everyone in Connecticut lives a happy, stress-free, and immortal life, Governor Clubwoman this afternoon signed into law a provision wherein

the state's organized crime law will be expanded to include securities fraud and state officials will be able to freeze the assets of anyone convicted of investment fraud ...

The bill-signing fell on the same day that disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme that ensnared thousands of investors.

The law will not help Madoff's many victims in Connecticut, but Rell said she hopes it will help prevent other Madoff-type scams.

"What happened to the people who believed in Madoff serves as a warning sign to all of us that the criminal element is everywhere. White collar criminals are as slick as the schemes they peddle," the governor said.

In other words, we should all be verrrry afraid, but not if Mama Mary has anything to do about it.

For what it's worth, it seems to me that one of the underlying elements of the entire Madoff fiasco was the fact that he's

a Jew accused of cheating Jewish organizations trying to help other Jews ... and of betraying the trust of Jews and violating the basic tenets of Jewish law ...

So in synagogues and community centers, on blogs and in countless conversations, many Jews are beating their chests — not out of contrition, as they do on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, but because they say Mr. Madoff has brought shame on their people in addition to financial ruin and shaken the bonds of trust that bind Jewish communities.

I know that this perceived treachery has always been in the background since the story became known, but it's an additional piece to an already sordid episode.