The news on the financial crimes of Bernard Madoff gets worse and worse. wOw reached out to the distinguished criminal psychologist, Stanton E. Samenow, author of Inside the Criminal Mind, to see if he could enlighten us on the question he himself posed on his website: "How can a man who is known for his decency and wisdom be so indecent?"

wowOwow: So, what would you label such a man as Bernie Madoff? Is he a Sociopath? Psychopath? Mentally ill? Was he in denial and did he somehow believe his scheme would work forever?

DR. SAMENOW: I have not found these individuals — and I have been evaluating psychologically individuals such as these for more than 30 years — to be mentally ill. Nor are they in denial. It’s very complex. There is a contradiction here in the minds of those who commit these financial crimes. They appear to be like anyone else — kinder, more charming — there is no badge announcing their intentions. They regard themselves as good people at heart. But they can be very insidious in the way they insinuate themselves into people’s lives.

wOw: So they de-compartmentalize?

Dr S: Well, they can do very kind things for people. No matter what harm they inflict, no matter what charitable organization they are cheating, they do not see themselves as bad people. Quite the opposite. They are narcissists … They are able to shut off whatever elements of conscience they have. It would be inaccurate to say they don’t have pangs of conscience, not unlike the Mafia, who engage in religious generosity even as they blow heads off their adversaries.

wOw: But this man betrayed his closest friends, his very family. He preyed upon the people who were closest to him as well as those he didn’t know.

Dr. S: Of course I never met him, never interviewed him, but I’ve evaluated psychologically individuals who are family men, officers of companies and pillars of the community, who have criminal minds. They can inflict devastating injury on those whom they say they love and who love them. These men have tattered, threadbare consciences. There are elements of conscience they can shut off. They are able to do these things by professing the noblest ideals. I’ll make you a bet that Mr. Madoff and others like him all say they’re good people; they by no means regard themselves as evil. I’ve interviewed serial killers who, despite leaving dead bodies in their own view, say they are good people.

wOw: But what about his wife? His closest family? Surely they must have known or sensed something. Were they enablers?

Dr. S: They appear to be enablers, but they are also victims. They are among the chief victims. There may be isolated cases where there is some collusion. They want to believe the best of their husbands. If you have a video tape and you could watch such a person in his daily life, I suspect you would see that he didn’t treat his family and others all that well. It’s my experience that the crimes he has been arrested for represent only the tip of the iceberg.

wOw: You mean he abused his family in some way?

Dr. S: I don’t know the facts here, but often the wives and other members of the family are so ground down, they yield. They make excuses and desperately want to believe their husband/father is a good man. So they appear to be enablers, but actually they just don’t want to believe the worst. By not thinking about the patterns that have unfolded over time, they perpetually live in hope. They are victims.