Galleon Insider Trading Trial;" Oy Vey "

So after six days of deliberations, wiretap playbacks, a day off, foot surgery to the defendant during deliberations and plenty of waiting, a juror from the main panel was excused and an alternate was picked to replace the excused juror. The jury must now "start deliberations over again" due to a new juror coming into the mix.
Don't know the prosecution's and defense's take on the excused and alternate jurors...But certainly the prosecution cannot be overjoyed with these developments. Let's wait and see!

Raj Rajaratnam Trial; Jury Going into Day 4 of Deliberations....What do you make of it?

So as the jury goes into day 4 of deliberations, much is being made on their focus on the " replays of the wire tap recordings" of phone conversations between Mr. R and the "alleged insiders".
Here's my spin on that. Let's assume the defendant collected legitimate info on a merger and also collected "tainted insider info " on the same merger , and then trades and makes a healthy profit . What proof if any does The Prosecution have that defendant traded on "the illegal vs. legal information". And I'm not splitting hairs.. I see it as an acquittable issue. Real question is whether defense counsel pressed this point and whether jury is intelligent enough to understand it
My personal opinion is that jury will not buy it and will convict on most major counts. Your thoughts?

Galleon Case Goes to Jury Monday.

The case against Raj R , Galleon Hedge Fund manager goes to the jury Monday. "Let everyone get the holidays out of the way" and come in fresh Monday a.m. Both sides spent considerable time and resources prosecuting/defending the case, so I truly hope the jury spends sufficent time deliberating, running through the evidence and listening to fellow jurors points of view.
Too important of a case to base conviction/acquittal on a quickie decision. Never know what's in the mind of jurors !

Galleon Insider Trading Case; Defense has Rested, Both Sides Have Summed up and Case Will Go to the Jury.

In what one could describe as the biggest, most intensive and most vigorous prosecution of a Hedge Fund money manager on"insider trading charges " in history a lot is at stake beyond the obvious question for the jury on whether to convict or acquit Raj Rajaratnam. If convicted, will that give the Government the confidence and momentum they need to prosecute others. If he is acquitted of all major counts, will that dissuade Prosecutors from investing the huge time, money and resources needed to prosecute cases of similar type and magnitude. Only time will tell.
Regarding the case at hand, I believe it will all come down "to the tapes". Were they clear, how did the defendant come across on the tapes? Brazen, arrogant, cocky, sneaky or secretive ? Since Mr. R did not testify at trial, the tapes are the only true way for the jurors to listen to him, analyze him and judge him. If they dislike him they will convict...if not they may not convict. Obviously , we didn't hear the tapes.
In any event, my opinion....Conviction on all major counts! ....Remember, the defendant is not OJ Simpson being tried in L.A.

Your thoughts?

Galleon Insider Trading Case; The Prosecution has Rested.

The Prosecution has rested in "The Galleon Insider Trading Case ". Plenty of witnesses, plenty of wiretaps and lots of strong evidence. Defense is only expected to call 5 or 6 witnesses; Is less better? Only time will tell. The defense theme will be that Galleon managed over $7 billion and prided itself on unmatched market research and keeping "their collective noses to the grindstone" at all times . At the end of the day it will be an interesting issue for the jury to determine whether in fact defendant acted on (and profited from) "alleged illegal insider information"......Or whether he acted on market research and information that was legitimately gathered. Going to take an excellent defense summation to explain this to the jury and to plant a viable seed for aquittal. Tough one for the defense, especially in light of the vast resources the Government has pumped into this prosecution. Stay tuned!

Goldman Sachs Chief testifies in" Galleon insider trading case

Lloyd Blankfein ,CEO of Goldman Sachs testified yesterday in the "Galleon insider trading case ". It was noteworthy because rarely do "bigtime CEO's testify in criminal , let alone civil trials. Blankfein was subpoenaed by prosecutors to testify in the trial of Raj Rajaratnam .
Well nothing earth shattering came out of Blankfein's testimony and there were even a few "light moments" that occurred while he was on the stand. The thrust of his testimony was to demonstrate to the Court and jurors that information discussed at Goldman Sachs's "Board meetings" was private versus what information would become public....the essence of "insider information". Blankfein obviously had no "direct knowledge " of insider leaks, tips or communications between Rajaratnam and former Goldman director Rajat Gupta.
But for one day, having the CEO of the world's largest investment bank testify at an insider trading trial was bigger than the trial itself.
Go figure!

Raj Rajaratnam; Anil Kumar's testimony(if believed) is devastating stuff!

So this week Anil Kumar testified in the "Galleon Insider Trading Case". Kumar, a former financial consultant has already plead guilty to securities charges and is cooperating with the Prosecution.

In his testimony Kumar stated that he provided "hot " insider info to Rajaratnam on the ATI Technologies Inc merger, and that Raj paid him a million. Probably cash. If proved , that testimony alone will be sufficent to convict the former hedge fund magnate. We shall see how Kumar survives cross-examination!



Stay tuned!

Opening Statements in Galleon Hedge Fund Case; Going to be interesting to see what wiretaps say?

Well opening statements were finally made yesterday in the "Galleon Hedge Fund " criminal trial. The prosecution promised 2400 taped phone conversations, the defense promised that the evidence would show that "Raj R" was a meticulous researcher. We will see!
Usually in cases involving extensive wiretapping, the quality and clarity of the tapes is the first and foremost prosecution concern.
Then it will hinge on whether the conversations were unrestricted or whether the defendant and his accomplice(s) spoke in code, etc. We don't know that yet...
Stay tuned, afterall it's a 10 week trial.