Sunday, October 28, 2007

Inside an Insider Trading Scandal

My latest story takes you inside an insider trading scheme, one the government has called the biggest since the days of Ivan Boesky. Last spring, 13 people were indicted for using illegal tips leaked out of investment banks UBS and Morgan Stanley to reap millions of dollars. Among the conspirators was David Glass, a 32-year-old day trader with a relatively low profile on Wall Street. By wearing a hidden FBI wire for three days in December, however, Glass played an important role as the mole helping the Feds make a case against other key conspirators, including two of his own colleagues. Ironically, Glass has seen this cautionary tale before: He was the inspiration for the 2000 movie Boiler Room, starring Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck. Excerpt:

In Boiler Room, Giovanni Ribisi’s character is apprehended in an FBI sting and forced to cooperate in taking down the scheme. In reality, David Glass escaped that fate, leaving Sterling Foster before 23 brokers were convicted of securities fraud. Now, however, his life is taking on an uncanny likeness to his fictional doppelgänger.

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This week, only in NEW YORK magazine.