Poor Ruth Madoff. She may have known nothing about her husband's fraud. Right.

Mrs. Madoff gave up most of her claims to cash and property she said was hers. According to The Wall Street Journal, she "has agreed to give up her potential claim to more than $80 million worth of assets, keeping just $2.5 million in cash in an agreement reached with federal prosecutors."

Mrs. Madoff may be giving up most of her fortune, but it is a small price to pay. The government could try to prove that she was aware of her husband's actions. Prosecutors may not have proven the case, but it would have tied Mrs. Madoff up in court proceedings for years.

To "get out of jail free", she gives up her homes in three cities and a number of asset and gets to walk away "poor."

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.