Ex-Goldman director Gupta sentenced to two years jail

[tk2kewl]

By Grant McCool and Basil Katz

NEW YORK | Wed Oct 24, 2012 9:18pm EDT

(Reuters) - Disgraced Wall Street titan and philanthropist Rajat Gupta was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday, a much lighter sentence than U.S. prosecutors had demanded, by a judge who called his insider trading crimes "disgusting" and "a terrible breach of trust."

Gupta was also ordered to pay a $5 million fine. He was convicted in Manhattan federal court last June for leaking Goldman Sachs boardroom secrets to Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge fund manager at the center of a U.S. government crackdown on insider trading over the past four years.

Some legal experts said Wednesday's sentence came as a surprise, while others said the judge struck a fine balance.

(snip)

Gupta had faced a maximum sentence of 20 years for securities fraud and five years for conspiracy. Federal judges have wide leeway in sentencing and Rakoff has a reputation for veering from guidelines for courts in handing down punishment.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-goldman-gupta-sentencing-idUSBRE89N06A20121025

[MinneapolisMatt]

1. That's all?

[Scuba]

2. But grow a little pot and get 99 years?

[jsr]

3. Exactly

Disgusting.

[tk2kewl]

8. compare and contrast

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021630097

[Scuba]

9. Zactly.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

4. It's good business

Make $20M, pay a $5M fine, come out $15M ahead...and you'll never have a problem finding your next job.

[MadrasT]

5. Sentence is too light but it's about time we saw banksters behind bars. n/t

[hifiguy]

6. Steal $10 worth of groceries or toke a little weed

and it's decades in the clink. This SOB would never see the light of day again in a country where justice was fair and equal. And I think Rakoff is a damned good judge.

[Bigmack]

7. I did notice that only a Brown Guy got slam time.... those White Guys are still on the loose... nt

[HopeHoops]

10. Good thing he didn't have a dime bag of pot on him.

What the FUCK is wrong with our judicial system?

[tk2kewl]

11. you got that right... comapre and contrast

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021630097