Manhattan federal judge Jed Rakoff has been nicknamed "Judge Dread" on Wall Street for his efforts to hold banks and financial execs accountable for their actions. (He's currently overseeing the case against Bank of America, which is accused of misleading investors regarding bonus payouts, and he's also presiding over the trial of Raj Rajaratnam, the hedgie charged with insider trading.) So how does Rakoff blow off steam when he isn't taking on big banks and crooked execs? He engages in a little ballroom dancing, that's what. [BusinessInsider]

So much for Bank of America's sweetheart settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At a hearing yesterday, Judge Jed Rakoff declined to approve the deal that the bank struck with the SEC a few weeks ago, allowing it to pay a mere $33 million to settle charges that it had failed to disclose Merrill Lynch's plans to pay out billions of dollars in bonuses on the eve of their merger.

Rakoff has served as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York since 1996.