In the end, a settlement was the safest play for all participants: Angelo Mozilo, the reviled ex-CEO of Countrywide; Bank of America, which bought Countrywide; and the SEC, which could ill afford another courtroom loss in a high-profile case. In what the SEC says is the biggest financial penalty ever against a public company's CEO, Mozilo has agreed to a $67.5 million settlement of fraud charges that hold he profited from certain mortgages while misleading investors about the risks.

He will be asked to repay $45 million in profits and $22.5 million in civil penalties. Former Countrywide President David Sambol will pay $5 million in profits and $520,000 in civil penalties, and former Chief Financial Officer Eric Sieracki will pay $130,000 in civil penalties.

But most of these penalties will be paid for by Bank of America; $25 million of Mozilo's restitution will come from an escrow fund the company set up to cover shareholder litigation, according to the Associated Press. Countrywide will pay the remaining $20 million. The other two penalties are likely covered as well.

So what do you think? Did they effectively escape justice, even as the SEC claims a victory? To some, this will ring hollow.

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