Editorial:

Someday, Bernard Madoff will die in prison, as he should.

That's not to gloat over the 150-year sentence that Madoff, 71, received yesterday from a federal judge. Even though it is richly deserved.

The sentence is a measure of justice for Madoff's victims, who are now assured that the swindler will spend the rest of his days being denied the lavish lifestyle he fueled with their investments. The victims aren't likely to get much, if any, of their life savings back.

Madoff had asked for a sentence of 12 years. But U.S. District Judge Denny Chin of Manhattan was justified in handing out the maximum term, to reflect the "staggering toll" Madoff inflicted on thousands of investors. The former Nasdaq chairman ruined many lives in a $65 billion Ponzi scheme that was the greatest financial crime in history.

Madoff told the judge that he is ashamed and "tormented." But the former money manager has not cooperated with investigators who are trying to identify his accomplices and learn where all the money went. Only one other person, Madoff's accountant, has been indicted, on charges of lying to investors about whether he audited Madoff's firm.

A bankruptcy trustee is working to unravel Madoff Securities, with the hope of repaying investors at least a fraction of what they lost. Also, a judge last week stripped Madoff of all of his personal property, including $80 million in assets that his wife, Ruth, claimed belonged to her.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued a New York brokerage firm, claiming it fraudulently fed investors' funds to Madoff. He then used the new investors' money to pay off older clients. The SEC found that Madoff hadn't made a stock trade in at least 13 years.

The SEC is on the job, but far too late. A whistleblower gave the SEC a road map to Madoff's scheme years ago, but the agency failed to stop his scam.

This case shows why the SEC needs to beef up its investigative arm. With all of the small-scale fraud prosecutions the agency brings, it shouldn't have allowed the biggest swindle of all time to occur in plain sight.

Investors, too, bear responsibility for monitoring their assets more carefully. A survey by the nonpartisan group ShareOwners.org found that nearly one in five investors would consider becoming involved in a group to protect their rights, and more than half want more information about their duties as shareholders. Those attitudes could help to prevent another Bernard Madoff from ripping off investors' life savings.