Thursday afternoon marked a turning point in the Raj Rajaratnam trial. While jurors had already been played tapes of Raj complimenting Danielle Chiesi on how she “played” a tech exec into giving her material non-public information and one of him telling a friend he knew to buy shares of a company because “one of our guys is on the board,” been told that his brother felt the need to destroy his “private notebooks,” and heard testimony from a former McKinsey exec that Raj paid him $1 million for his tip about AMD’s acquisition of ATI, they’d yet to be shown evidence of the Galleon founder’s massive pair. Until yesterday.
As we briefly discussed, during the cross-examination of defense witness Richard “Rick” Schutte, Galleon’s former head of research, prosecutors asked if it was true that Raj was a big investor in Schutte’s new fund and if, after an initial investment of $10 million several months back, the Rajaratnam family pitched in another $15 million just two weeks back? Indeed he was and they had! Since then followers of the case have suggested, by saying outright, that Schutte was paid off to say things like he never saw Raj asked for inside information, Raj was just really “well-educated on the issues,” and so on and so forth, and that the jury will surely see this a window into Raj’s corrupt soul.
Or will they?
Perhaps, instead, the initial reaction by members of the jury was, “Paying a guy scheduled to speak about your character millions of dollars before he took the stand in your insider trading case, a gift you’d had to have known people would find out about? That took balls. I like it.”
Or not! It’s all relative. In any event, it’s time to start taking bets.
And if yes, for how long will he go away for and how much time will he actually serve? (Closest without going over on the potential sentencing wins an ‘I love Dealbreaker’ button or a red item of apparel of our choosing.)
1 dollar Bob
I’ll take probation for 20, Bess.
He will get away with a mistrial!
“Above the Law” reader votes shouldn’t count!
Guilty, 20 years with probabtion, gets out after 15 for good behavior
House arrest for 5 in a red jumpsuit.
Forced to be a dance partner with Kirstie Alley on Dancing with the Stars.
sentenced to 5 years and serves 3. Do I have to wait for three years for my button? guidelines say more, but i am feeling generous today:
Sentencing guidelines are based on a point system. The base level for insider trading is 8 points and add 2 for abuse of position of trust. So the starting point is 10.
If the gain is more than $1.5 million, add 12 points, for a total of 22 points, and a sentence ranging from 41 months to 51 months. (Nacchio pinned the gain at $1.8 million)
More than $2.5 million, add 13 points, for a range of 46 months to 57 months.
More than $5 million, add 14 points, for a range of 51 months to 63 months.
More than $10 million, add 15 points, for a range of 57 months to 71 months.
More than $20 million, add 16 points, for a range of 63 months to 78 months.
He should be found guilty and forced to commute by car every day from Katy, TX, to the Downtown Federal Detention Center in Houston, TX, via Interstate 10 in a car with no radio or A/C for 15 years.
Guilty, sentenced to 20 years, serves 2 months, collapses and dies from inadequate meal portions.
That would be “cruel and unusual punishment”.
-Minnesota Born Cargill Trader Working in Houston
No jail time, but he has to work as Lloyd’s butler for 5 years.
Just out of curiosity, why would you trot out character witnesses if you, as you claim, didn’t in fact commit the crime in question?
… on Dancing with the Whales.
Generally speaking you can’t play a playa. If you do, jury may be mildly impressed.
Sentenced to 7 years, serves 23 months.
Don’t forget additional levels for being the leader of a group of five or more criminals, which I’m sure the Feds will pitch Galleon as being.
Also use of sophisticated means, I think.
Guilty. Sentenced to 10 years because the Feds want to prove a point. Released after 5. Pardoned by the POTUS after next as a gesture to US-Sri Lankan diplomatic relations.
7 years, out after 3 years of giving old fashioned western grip hand jibbers with his franken-hand because the other inmates can’t take it anymore
And no HOV lane either mister.
worse than death. i cant believe that was my life for a few years. sweatyguest, i think i know who you are…
5 years.
Not sure how long he’ll be in, but can we take bets on how much weight he loses? I don’t think he’s got the trading chops to procure enough calories to keep up his current stature, and, assuming that is in fact the case, perhaps upon his emergence from the big house, he’ll have a lucrative career as a weight-watchers spokesman ala Jared?
Plea bargain:
Makes move with Tyler Perry about Madea’s family reunion in Sri Lanka, starring in the role of Madea’s long lost cousin “Galleona”
Sentenced to 15 years but pays off judge 8 weeks before sentencing to get it all commuted.
20 years, 2 off for good behavior.
He’s Buddhist, so I’ll say seven lifetimes of un-peace followed by some seriously fucked Karma.
Sorry, but he’s Christian
I say he found innocent.
-Just say’n
15 years. feds want to make an example that when they get you, roll over do the five and move on. if you make them work it, pay the price and do 15.
What happened to the bets???