Whether the report presages a victory so resounding that it ends the long war, or just another inconclusive skirmish, now depends on the 100 battle-hardened warriors of the Senate.
For a decade, Chevron (CVX) has been embroiled in an epic legal battle in Ecuador over allegations that the country was used as a dumping ground for billions of gallons of toxic drilling waste.
Saying he was "painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many many people", Madoff described a long-running scheme that he knew from the beginning was "criminal and wrong" but hoped would end shortly.