This year, expect Santa's sleigh to be way less heavy than it's been in years prior. And no, it's not just the recession crunch that's got old Saint Nick down. Rather, it's that the list of naughty and nice is a bit skewed this year, as the economic climate seemed to have sent a Grinch-y chill through some of the nation's richest and sleaziest.

While enjoying your eggnog, take some time to remember these five conniving hucksters, and consider that saying: "If you have one roach, you have hundreds."

Rod Blagojevich

How he scrooged you: Rod "Blago" Blagojevich was just another governor from Illinois, riding high on his state senator's win for the presidency. But that soon left a little bit of conundrum in Blago's court: How could he fill Barack Obama's Senate seat while perhaps getting a piece of the pie himself? A couple phone calls to some anonymous Senate hopefuls later, and Blagojevich was setting up his own personal eBay in his office for bidding on the government seat. Sure, technically they're called "bribes," but to Blagojevich, it was just another day of Chicago politics at its finest. He also tried to strong-arm Sam Zell into firing Chicago Tribune editors that spoke out against him.

Oh, also, he was one of the Democrats that supported the war in Iraq.

Why he better watch out: All good things must come to an end, even if they have super shiny politician hair and enough room in their cheeks to hide walnuts through the winter. Blagojevich was arrested after the government seized a bunch of his phone records, Jesse Jackson Jr. was involved somehow (either working with the Feds or on his own volition) and Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan has already begun impeachment proceedings.

Fun fact: Did you know that since 2005, there have been a dozen federal investigations against old Rod? It's true! Wikipedia says so!

Bernie Madoff

How he scrooged you: Oh, how didn't Bernie Madoff Scrooge you?! Well, he might not have personally, unless you happen to be one of the hundreds of clients who invested in what might amount to the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. Basically, billions of investor dollars were put into one of the former chairman of the NASDAQ stock market's hedge funds, which was then turned around and used to pay off earlier investors, creating a $50 billion, unstable disaster. It might not have ever been found had Madoff not told his kids, who then turned him into the police. Merry Christmas, dad! Because Bernie was both a scuzzy thief and a big-hearted philanthropist, many charities that he was involved with had their assets frozen right before the holidays.

Why he better watch out: Madoff better hope the federal court locks him up for the rest of his life, otherwise he will have an angry mob of Jewish millionaires on his hands. Not to mention all his old employees, the people who invested their money into firms which then invested that money into Madoff, and overseas banks that lost "billions" in Madoff's scam. So if you're looking for a new reason to shout "Death to America" from your rooftop, Madoff is as good an excuse as any.

Fun fact: We coined the term Swindler's List to refer to Madoff's famous clients that happened to be part of the tribe, including Stephen Spielberg and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. Not so Happy Hanukkah.

Marc Dreier

How he scrooged you: No Christmastime fraud list is complete without adding a scumbag lawyer into the mix. Enter Marc Dreier, stage right: The sleazy forger of promissory notes for companies he was advising, which amounted to up to $380 million in swindled funds, mostly from hedge-fund companies and other investors. Now his firm Dreier L.L.P. has filed for bankruptcy, his investors aren't going to be getting their money back, and his staff just found out that they aren't getting paid (and their healthcare just expired because of unpaid bills).

Why he better watch out: Police now suspect Dreier didn't act alone, although for right now he's certainly playing the fall guy for whoever his accomplices are. The fact that there is no clear motive for why Dreier would frantically (and somewhat sloppily) try to steal all that money points to big bad creditors the swinging bachelor owes somewhere. And the fact that he was arrested in Canada means that, technically, it's an international crime.

Fun fact: Dreier's experience with impersonating other lawyers will come in handy when he has to start defending himself.

Anthony Pellicano

How he scrooged you: Let's see, so far on our "Naughty" list we have a lawyer, a hedge funder, and a politician. Now for the screwy P.I. and we'll almost have rounded out our list of "sleazy professions." Anthony Pellicano's crimes — which include wiretapping, racketeering, and defrauding his famous clientèle — have been known for awhile, but his recent sentencing has brought Hollywood's most famous private investigator back into the shameful spotlight. Even though Pellicano cried that he was only engaging in illegal activities to pay the hospital bills for his autistic son, the judge still sentenced the blackmailer to 15 years in the clink.

Why he better watch out: Pellicano is one unlucky son of a bitch. Even though a host of wealthy ex-clients came forward and admitted that they hired Pellicano for his services, including Michael Ovitz and Chris Rock, the prosecuting attorney chose to single out the investigator, not the wealthy celebrities with tons of money in the bank. Unfair? Sure, but this is the same guy whose ties to the mafia once lead him to threaten Steven Segal with grenades.

Fun fact: Using family members as a bargaining chip is a trend in the Pellicano family, as his wife is in talks to develop a reality show about her and her daughters trying to restart the family business while daddy's in jail. Funny enough, the autistic son is never mentioned in any of these show summaries.

Sarah Palin

How she scrooged you: Are you part of the RNC? Then get your little cutey-patooty up to Wasilla and ask for your money back. What money? How about that $40,000 $150,000 the former vice-presidential candidate spent on clothing for herself and her family. (Not to mention all the rabble-rousing racism she whipped up during the election campaign.) Palin and her family of grifters are pretty much the best swindlers this country has seen since the current administration. Zing!

Why she better watch out: Her daughter is about to give birth to a child whose grandmother (on the other side) just got arrested for dealing Oxycotin. Also, there are still those little pesky charges of using a private e-mail account for state business that never got resolved.

Fun fact: If Sarah Palin's career were a bird, it would be a turkey.