MarketBeat uses the conviction of Raj Rajaratnam as an occasion to revisit some oldies but baddies:
Here’s a quick run down on the kind of prison sentences other notable Wall Streeters have served:
Ivan Boesky: Takeover-stock trader who once intimidated Wall Street. Brought down in 1986 in Wall Street’s biggest insider-trading scandal. Paid a then-unfathomable $100 million SEC fine and served two years in prison.
Michael Milken: Feared and respected 1980s junk-bond king at Drexel Burnham Lambert, Beverly Hills. Pleaded guilty to securities-law violations in 1990. Served two years of a 10-year prison sentence. Reborn as philanthropist and deal maker, later sanctioned by SEC for violating lifetime ban from securities business.
Martin Siegel: Merger banker at Kidder Peabody. Pleaded guilty in 1987 to insider trading. Reflecting the value that courts and prosecutors were placing on cooperation by defendants in securities-fraud cases, Mr. Siegel was sentenced to just two months in prison.
Robert Brennan: In the ’70s and ’80s, Brennan made millions peddling stock as the founder and president of First Jersey Securities. “Come grow with us,” he urged potential investors in TV commercials. Found guilty in 2001 of charges, including bankruptcy fraud and money laundering, Brennan is serving nine years, two months at the federal prison at Fort Dix.
Richard Whitney: One of the best-known figures on 1930s Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange president, 1930-1935. Convicted of stealing securities from customers, including the New York Yacht Club. Sent to Sing Sing prison; served part of a 5-to-10-year sentence. Died in 1974.
For an interactive look at some prominent corporate convictions, check out this graphic.
