Cross David Slaine And He'll Make You Wish You Were Never Born

Author:
Publish date:
Updated on

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journalouted trader David Slaine as one of the cooperating sources in the Galleon case (although when reached at home and confronted about his role in the ring, Slaine told reporters "you've got the wrong guy"). Big D was first approached by the FBI in 2007, when authorities came to him with evidence he'd traded on inside info. Hoping to save himself, Slaine told prosecutors that his friend, Craig Drimal, was part of an "insider-trading conspiracy involving a wide ring of other hedge-fund managers and lawyers." Obviously, throwing one's colleague under the bus is no easy thing to do, especially when the guy also happens to be one of your close friends. Drimal and Slaine go way back-- they were not just buds, but weight-lifting partners, too, which is probably the tightest bond of all (the two originally met during Slaine's clubbing days, when Drimal was a bouncer at Vertical and "quickly formed a friendship based on a shared passion for weight lifting and their mutual ability to bench-press 400 pounds"). They were so close, in fact, that soon after taking a gig with Galleon, Big D convinced his bosses to give Drimal-- then working as a bouncer at the Roxy-- a job as an assistant at the firm. But along the way something must have happened. A confrontation. A blow-up. Something dark, at the gym, involving spotting, for Slaine to rat his special friend out like this. One thing I can tell you about Slaine is that he wouldn't have done it unless provoked. Like the time at Morgan Stanley, in the nineties, with the French Fries.

In 1993, Slaine triggered a fist-fight with a colleague on the trading floor after needling him because he wouldn't share his french fries. Others broke up the fight.

You just can't do that, okay? You can't not share your fries and expect the Slaine-ster to just sit back and take it, no you cannot. Similarly, you can't expect to confront Slaine about his unsatisfactory performance and think you're not going to get your teeth knocked out by a sweaty, glistening, stark-naked Big D.

Mr. Slaine's performance trading stocks for Galleon's health-care fund faltered, creating tension, a person familiar with the matter says. One morning early in 2001, before trading began, Gary Rosenbach, then was the No. 2 executive under Mr. Rajaratnam, and Slaine were in a steam room together after exercising at an Equinox Fitness Club. Mr. Rosenbach was pressuring Mr. Slaine to improve his performance. As Mr. Rosenbach lay on his back on a bench, Mr. Slaine punched him, giving him a black eye and ending their friendship.

So obviously Drimal must have done something really bad. The question is what. And while we're at it, would anyone else like to come forward and discuss a) the various ways in which you wronged David Slaine and b) what his response was? Did you accidentally trip him and for the offense have scalding hot coffee thrown in your face? The D-man's been doing this thing for a while (he's a former Nasdaq trading chief at Morgan Stanley, also traded at Jefferies, Galleon and Oracle Partners, and ran a fund with two former SAC employees, Robert Jaffe and Robert Cannon) so you will not be alone in sharing your story.

Related

News

David Slaine, Government's Undercover "Tip-Mining Machine," Apparently Under The Impression Insider Trading Works On A 3-Strike Basis

Remember David Slaine? For those who need a refresher, he is the former Morgan Stanley managing director and ex-Galleon trader who began working as an FBI informant in 2007 and who was outed for doing so by the Wall Street Journal in January 2010. At the time, we learned a few notable things about Slaine, some of them germane to his role in helping the government go after people trading on material non-public information, others special in their own way, like: 1. He takes french fries, and perhaps all snacks, very seriously. In 1993, Slaine triggered a fist-fight with a colleague on the trading floor after needling him because he wouldn’t share his french fries. Others broke up the fight. 2. He doesn't wait for people to towel off and get dressed before knocking their teeth out. One morning early in 2001, before trading began, Gary Rosenbach, then was the No. 2 executive under Mr. Rajaratnam, and Slaine were in a steam room together after exercising at an Equinox Fitness Club. Mr. Rosenbach was pressuring Mr. Slaine to improve his performance. As Mr. Rosenbach lay on his back on a bench, Mr. Slaine punched him, giving him a black eye and ending their friendship. 3. Humans aren't the only ones often asked "you want a piece of me?" He once smashed a computer keyboard in a fit of rage, says a person familiar with the incident. 4. While working on Wall Street, he eschewed the traditional channels of employee recruitment (Wharton, etc), preferring instead to pick up fresh analysts at the club. While at Morgan Stanley, he met [Craig] Drimal, then a nightclub bouncer at the Vertical Club in Manhattan. The two quickly formed a friendship based on a shared passion for weight lifting and their mutual ability to bench-press 400 pounds...Shortly after arriving at Galleon, Mr. Slaine persuaded Galleon officials to give a position to Mr. Drimal, who then was working as a bouncer at the Roxy nightclub in Manhattan. 5. Being a person with whom he "formed a friendship based on a shared passion for weight lifting and [a] mutual ability to bench-press 400 pounds," possibly the greatest line written about anyone who's ever worked on Wall Street and which which cannot be said enough, means little in the long run if he knows you've been playing it fast and loose with securites laws. In July 2007, the FBI showed up at Mr. Slaine's door on W. 57th Street in Manhattan and confronted him. Mr. Slaine agreed to help the government. At the time, federal prosecutors in Manhattan were trying to make headway on another investigation that eventually led to the charges involving Galleon. They asked Mr. Slaine who he knew that might be participating in insider trading. Mr. Slaine's answer: his friend Mr. Drimal, according to people familiar with the matter. In September 2007, Mr. Slaine—identified in the complaint as CS-1—tried out his body wire for the first time, meeting Mr. Drimal in New York. During the meeting, Mr. Drimal gave Mr. Slaine a piece of paper with four stock symbols, according to the complaint. He told Mr. Slaine the four companies were all acquisition targets. At the meeting's end, Mr. Drimal told Mr. Slaine to destroy the list. He warned him to "be careful" in trading the securities because no news of the takeovers had surfaced publicly...After the meeting, Mr. Slaine went to a nearby hotel where an FBI agent was waiting, says a person familiar with the matter. The pair went to a room where Mr. Slaine removed the wire. Anyway, Bloomberg recently checked in to see what Slaine's been up to these last couple years and other than his "multi-year experience" with the FBI being "tremendously traumatic," he seems to be doing pretty well.