Rogues’ gallery

Mel GibsonHe spared nothing in a series of secretly recorded aural assaults aimed at his girlfriend. Women and
African-Americans bore the brunt of his bug-eyed rage. So far, Hollywood is refusing to forgive. Even his cameo in “The Hangover” remake—however pathetic a shot at redemption—was axed after a revolt by the film’s cast.

Lloyd Blankfein Goldman Sachs’s paltry $550-million fine to settle civil fraud charges was widely trumpeted as a victory for CEO Blankfein, unapologetic defender of Wall Street’s most repellent practices. His firm has also been accused of betting against clients, and of hiding Athens’s debt problems—“God’s work,” as Blankfein unforgettably once labelled it.

Christine O’DonnellThe Tea Party darling’s famous stances include firm opposition to masturbation, and a youthful dalliance with witchcraft. But despite national media attention, her nuttiness, and repeated lies—about academic credentials and past electoral triumphs—proved too much for centrist Delaware.

Terry NaugleHe is so notorious that Nova Scotia police have dubbed the incorrigible drunk driver “Super-Naugle,” a testament to his astonishing 36 convictions for related offences. Sentenced in February to 8½ years for—what else?—drunk driving, he is appealing the sentence, which he feels was “overly harsh.”

Silvio Berlusconi Another year in Italy, another sprawling sex scandal involving the PM, teen girls and a stable of nudes. This time, the aging lech is bleeding political allies. With Italy’s deep economic problems making waves, Berlusconi is now being compared to Nero: fiddling as Rome burns.

Viktor BoutThe accused arms dealer’s extradition to the U.S. has Russia, who fought it tooth and nail, on a knife-edge. The client list for the former Soviet officer, dubbed the “merchant of death,” reportedly stretches from al-Qaeda to Liberia’s Charles Taylor. His many secrets are thought to include some the Kremlin would prefer not to share.

Tiger Woods“I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to,” Woods told a hand-picked audience in February, delivering his stage-managed, 14-minute apologia. By summer, his closet had finally emptied of skeletons. But his No. 1 ranking was gone, as were his wife and $22 million in endorsements. In a hollow essay in “Newsweek” last month, Woods blamed golf for his problems.

Jan BrewerArizona’s governor enacted America’s most draconian immigration laws, citing terrifying claims that headless bodies litter the Arizona desert. In reality, the border region has never been safer. The bill so far? Hundreds of millions in lost economic revenue. Worth it?