This is the first detailed study of how Bernard L. Madoff and his accomplices perpetrated a Ponzi scheme of epic proportions—what has been referred to as the "con of the century."• Presents the first study of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, the organization where the fraud began, was centered, and flourished by duping investors for at least a decade• Documents how investors who depend on and trust investment professionals can lose money, especially given that some investment companies do not always act in their clients' best interests and that Wall Street regulators are often ineffective• Takes readers backstage to see the intricate details of the "theatre production" of a con game—the playacting, performances, pretending, utilization of props, and false representations that are required to achieve a "standing ovation" (i.e., the total fleecing of the marks)