The SEC attorney who failed, despite numerous red flags, to catch Bernie Madoff's colossal fraud received the highest possible performance rating from the agency -- citing her "ability to understand and analyze the complex issues of the Madoff investigation" -- soon after the probe closed in 2006.

That's according to an SEC inspector general report on the Madoff fiasco, whose executive summary (pdf) was released this afternoon. The full report will be made available in the coming days.

The summary also found that "[D]espite numerous credible and detailed complaints, the SEC never properly examined or investigated Madofi's trading and never took the necessary, but basic, steps to determine if Madoff was operating a Ponzi scheme," and that had the agency done so, Madoff could have been caught much earlier.

The attorney in quesiton isn't named, but, as we've reported, a document from the examination obtained last year by the Wall Street Journal lists the staff attorney as Simona Suh.

We'll have much more from the report's executive summary this afternoon, so stay tuned...