Roland Burris has avoided controversy in his decades-long public career in Illinois, but he is a seasoned political player with deep ties to the Cook County (IL) Democratic Party.

After spending half a lifetime being eclipsed by his famous father, J. Ezra Merkin is getting his 15 minutes of fame.

The Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme ranks as one of the most surprising and fascinating webs we’ve ever tracked.

Ignoring his self-described “evil twin,” Democratic strategist and spokesman Howard Wolfson is going to work for New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s 2009 re-election campaign.

They are shrewd survivors - onetime federal bureaucrats who oversaw the savings-and-loan bailout under then-President George H.W. Bush. Now, almost 20 years later, they are working for the other side, advising banks and private investors who are seeking to profit from the latest and greatest government bailout.

The past year has brought devastation to most on Wall Street, but for ex-powerhouse Dick Grasso, there has to be a bitter pleasure in watching so many adversaries knocked from their perches.

Good times generally make for self-congratulatory annual reports, which make for cheap entertainment when bad times hit.