The folks at the Washington Post report that the Justice Department official credited with bringing down hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam is a wisecracking, self-effacing, Bruce Springsteen-loving prosecutor who is deadly serious about what he views as rampant insider trading on Wall Street.
Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, has been hailed by some in the financial media as the “sheriff of Wall Street.” His office has ramped up white-collar enforcement, charging nearly 50 people in an insider trading crackdown that led to Wednesday’s conviction of Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon hedge fund, on 14 counts of fraud and conspiracy.
Yet some who know Bharara, while crediting him with aggressive enforcement, say he is following the tradition of an office known for policing Wall Street since Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken were sent to prison two decades ago. The Rajaratnam investigation began during the George W. Bush administration, though Bharara oversaw the case after taking office in August 2009.
“I think this ‘Sheriff of Wall Street’ stuff is a bunch of press hype,” said David N. Kelley, a former U.S. attorney in Manhattan. “Preet is doing what all U.S. attorneys have done. . . . He’s a very effective prosecutor and lawyer, and he’s very smart.’’
Read more at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/prosecutor-credited-with-bringing-down-galleon-head-has-had-successful-run/2011/05/12/AFMaWW1G_story.html
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