Inmate Apologizes for Murder, is Executed in First 1-Drug Lethal Injection

After apologizing for murdering a 22-year-old woman in 1991 who he had offered to drive her home from a bar, a death-row inmate was executed in Ohio today in a historic one-drug lethal injection that the director of state prisons described as problem-free. Kenneth Biros, who is in his early fifties, died in about 10 minutes once thiopental sodium began flowing into his arm at about 11:37 a.m., according to the Associated Press. It took the execution team approximately 20 minutes to complete the injection process. The execution today follows a failed two-hour effort to execute another inmate in September… http://bit.ly/8SXIM7

FCPA Ending its ‘Most Dynamic Single Year’ With a Bang

A handful of individuals were indicted on Monday for their roles in an alleged bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering scheme involving access to Haiti's state-owned phone company. http://bit.ly/8ug8CE

Attorneys donate time to legal self-help groups, even as funding dwindles

The Riverside County Superior Court in February created a management position for a staff attorney to oversee its self-help program for family law, small claims, probate and eviction cases. The court program does not offer legal representation but can show... http://bit.ly/5eUcPZ

US Plans to Revise Blago Charges to Avoid ‘Honest Services’ Problem

Prosecutors plan to revise charges against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to avoid any delays that could be caused by an adverse Supreme Court ruling on honest services fraud. The court filing says the new charges will still focus on the same alleged misconduct, but the new charges will avoid the honest-services problem, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. Currently, 11 out of 19 counts against Blagojevich concern theft of honest services, according to WGN-TV. Oral arguments are being held today in two of three cases challenging the law that makes it a crime to "deprive another… http://bit.ly/779oBC

GQ Labels AG Holder ‘Maverick of the Year’

Attorney General Eric Holder didn’t win the Mustached American of the Year contest, but he has succeeded on another front: A men’s magazine has named him maverick of the year. GQ magazine named Holder one if its men of the year, and gave him a separate designation as maverick of the year, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. GQ writes: “Over the past ten months, Holder has learned to leverage his power—both actual and symbolic. He has reinvigorated the DOJ’s commitment to civil rights, launching long overdue investigations of banking discrimination and detainee abuse. But he has… http://bit.ly/6z6KsZ

Sotomayor’s First High Court Opinion Bars Immediate Appeal of Privilege Decisions

The Supreme Court issued its first argued decisions of the term today, and the very first was written by the newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor, in a dispute over an fired employee’s conversations with a lawyer. The opinion (PDF) by Sotomayor said a court’s ruling against a claim of attorney-client privilege is not subject to an immediate appeal, according to SCOTUSblog and the Associated Press. The employee, who worked for Mohawk Industries, had claimed that several temporary employees were aliens who weren’t qualified to work in the United States, and he alleged that Mohawk’s outside lawyer pressured him to recant. Mohawk… http://bit.ly/8xgnMA

LB Obit: DUI Lawyer Richard Essen, the ‘King of the Pretrial Motion’

A "Remembrances" column appearing WSJ on Tuesday about DUI lawyer Richard Essen proves that you don't have to be Marty Lipton, Bill Lerach or some other high-flier to be considered a legal pioneer. http://bit.ly/5DEDJy

Prof Who Equates Forfeiture With Bullying Won’t Get Due Process Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court won’t rule on the constitutional claims of six Illinois property owners who contended delayed hearings on the return of forfeited assets violated their due process rights. Today, the Supreme Court found that the case is moot because the underlying property disputes have all ended. “The state has returned all the cars that it seized, and the individual property owners have either forfeited any relevant cash or have accepted as final the state’s return of some of it,” Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote in the opinion (PDF) for the court. One of the plaintiffs, Tyhesha Brunston, lost… http://bit.ly/60mvT7

Judge Criticizes Harvard Law Prof, But Allows Client to Criticize Record Labels

A federal judge apparently didn't like the trial tactics of a Harvard law professor challenging record labels' quest for illegal downloading damages, but she sided with his client by refusing to issue an order that the student stop promoting illegal downloading. A federal jury in Boston had ordered the student, Joel Tenenbaum, to pay $675,000 in damages for illegally downloading 30 songs on the Internet. Yesterday U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner agreed to order Tenenbaum to erase the songs, but refused the labels’ request to stop him from promoting such activity, the Boston Globe reports. Gertner said the First… http://bit.ly/7Arxex

Who Will Represent KSM?

According to an NYT story out Tuesday, the duty of representing KSM could fall to a lawyer on the so-called "death list" -- a group about 20 veteran defense lawyers in New York who have broad experience in death penalty and other complex criminal cases. http://bit.ly/6keQZa

Lawyer Foreperson Who Criticized Defense Counsel Is Focus of New Trial Request

Lawyers for former McKesson chairman Charles McCall, convicted last month of securities fraud in a corporate accounting scandal, are seeking a new trial based on an alleged clarification by the jury foreperson—a California lawyer who was critical of their trial techniques. The lawyer foreperson was Christine Griffith, a land use lawyer at Ellman Burke Hoffman & Johnson in San Francisco and a graduate of Stanford Law School, the Recorder reports. After the trial, Griffith said McCall’s lawyers were less effective than prosecutors and the lawyer for former McKesson general counsel Jay Lapine, who was acquitted in the same trial, according… http://bit.ly/6INPhu

Justices Question President’s Power to Control Board’s $500K Salaries

Members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board make more than $500,000 a year, and the president can do little about it, conservative justices suggested in oral arguments yesterday on the board’s constitutionality. Critics say the watchdog board created by the Sarbanes-Oxley law to oversee accounting firms is doubly insulated from presidential review, the New York Times reports. Members of the board can be removed only for cause, and only by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The president can remove SEC commissioners, but only for cause. Challengers to the law contend the appointments procedure undermines the president’s appointments authority and… http://bit.ly/7soewP

Supreme Court Delay in Opinions Ties Two Other Post-War Terms

Today the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to issue its first opinion following oral arguments this term, tying two other terms in the post-war era for the longest period without an opinion. The Supreme Court has issued four per curiam summary reversals already, but it isn’t expected to issue an opinion on an argued case until today, according to SCOTUSblog and the Volokh Conspiracy. One of the opinions could come in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a challenge to restrictions on campaign spending by corporations, according to the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). Writing at the Volokh Conspiracy, Supreme… http://bit.ly/8j6B0a

Lawyer Finds Bronze Star During Law Firm Coat Drive

A Denver-area lawyer going through pockets of donated coats during his law firm’s coat drive had an unusual find: a Bronze Star. Lawyer Brett Buchheit told the Denver Post the medal was wrapped in a sandwich bag inside a black leather coat that looked like something you’d wear to a Bon Jovi concert in the 1980s. Buchheit told a colleague about the medal, and recalled his reaction, the story says. “You've got an obligation at this point," his colleague told him. “You can't just ignore a Bronze Star." Buchheit called a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post in hopes of… http://bit.ly/8vahrB

DLA Piper Downsizes Again in Dubai, Hires Alston Partner to Head Financial Practice Group in D.C.

DLA Piper is laying off seven lawyers and 10 staff members from its offices in the Middle East, due to a business slowdown there. Most of the layoffs are in Dubai, reports Legal Week, which also says the international megafirm plans to transfer another 14 individuals, including some partners, to offices elsewhere in the world. Adding to the mix another 11 individuals who resigned, the firm's Middle Eastern presence has shrunk nearly 40 percent in a year, the legal publication says. Meanwhile, the firm is adding a new partner to its Washington, D.C., office, where 37-year-old Jeffrey Hare will head… http://bit.ly/5HuMq8

AIG’s GC, In Middle of Pay Kerfuffle, Brings in Dickstein Shapiro

Kelly and four other high-ranking AIG executives said last week they were prepared to quit if their compensation is cut significantly by AIG's government overseers -- namely Ken Feinberg, the government's so-called "pay czar." According to Bloomberg, Kelly hired Dickstein Shapiro to help the individuals manage the situation. http://bit.ly/532Skh

Billionaire Gets Discovery in Bid to Force SEC to Pay His Legal Fees

A federal judge has agreed that billionaire Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, can proceed with discovery in his effort to force the feds to pay his defense fees in a failed insider-trading prosecution. A spokesman for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment on the Dec. 4 ruling by U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater in Dallas, reports Bloomberg. Cuban is seeking information to support his claim for attorney fees because the SEC allegedly pursued the case in bad faith, without an adequate factual basis. Cuban is seeking e-mails, phone records and other SEC communications,… http://bit.ly/5Blbmi

Ben Kuehne Wants to Party With You (Yes, You)!

It seems that Ben Kuehne still hasn't come down from the jolt of good news he got just before Thanksgiving, when the Miami lawyer got word that federal prosecutors were dropping their charges. He's throwing a party. In fact, a big party. http://bit.ly/6FybbC

Lawyer Told Now-Convicted Former Lawmaker Joseph Bruno to Avoid Fraud Charges By Avoiding Mail

A former longtime senior lawmaker in New York was convicted in a government corruption case today, after a state ethics lawyer on whom he relied for advice reportedly testified that he told Joseph Bruno to hand-deliver his financial disclosure forms to avoid potential mail-fraud charges. Former state Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno was found guilty on two felony counts in a case based on a "theft of honest services" statute and acquitted on five other counts, reports the New York Times. The jury deadlocked on another count against Bruno, who retired in 2008 as a federal investigation was heating up.… http://bit.ly/4KH83R

What Makes a Good Law School Exam Answer? Law Profs Weigh In

We checked in with a handful of professors around the country and asked them to complete the following sentence: "A good law exam answer is _______." http://bit.ly/5lmD4x

MOVERS: McDermott's new partners for 2010

McDermott Will & Emery has announced partner promotions for 2010. They include: Corporate Andrew T. Turney (Los Angeles) focuses in the areas of corporate securities and capital market transactions, mergers and acquisitions and finance, as well as assisting clients with... http://bit.ly/719BB9

Mistrial for Blogger Accused of Threat to Kill 3 Federal Appellate Judges

Developing: A deadlocked jury forced a mistrial today in the case of a so-called hate blogger accused of threatening three federal appeals court judges in an Internet tirade over an opinion they issued on gun control. Prosecutors contended the blog post by Hal Turner amounted to a death threat against the three Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges, William Bauer, Frank Easterbrook and Richard Posner. But the only juror willing to discuss the deliberations, truck driver Richard Gardiner, said a majority of fellow panelists saw the government's case as weak, although he himself wanted to convict, reports the… http://bit.ly/8GNvNp

Kozinski’s Turducken Dissent Sets Up Cert Petition in Privacy Case

The government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court ruling allowing engineers and scientists to pursue a suit that claims newly instituted background checks invade their privacy. The plaintiffs, employees of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, contend the government wants to ask friends and acquaintances about their emotional health, financial integrity and sexual histories, violating their right to privacy. Solicitor General Elena Kagan argues there is no violation by collecting, rather than disseminating, the information, according to a Los Angeles Times opinion column. A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued… http://bit.ly/5fTEql

When the Robots Attack, How Will We Hold Them Liable?

Robots turning on their makers used to be the stuff of science fiction. But for some Stanford professors, such a fiction is close to becoming reality and people need to start thinking about the legal implications now. http://bit.ly/717cKo

Unsealed court transcript may vindicate Monteilh's undercover claims

Earlier this year Craig Monteilh claimed he was recruited by the FBI to work undercover as part of an antiterrorist effort in Orange County. Citing bureau policy, the FBI declined comment. But according to an unsealed court transcript, state prosecutors... http://bit.ly/8zHuq1

Filing: Rothstein Made $35M in 2008; Name Partner: I Wasn’t Paid $6M

Observers wondered how a South Florida attorney that nobody had heard of a few years ago could have millions to spend on a lavish lifestyle and high-profile charitable donations during a recession. But, without specific evidence of wrongdoing, no one picked up the phone and called police or bar authorities with a viable tip before Scott Rothstein's law firm imploded this fall, reports the Daily Business Review. "Of course it raised lots and lots of eyebrows, but that is not enough," says law professor Robert Jarvis of Nova Southeastern University of the money spent by Rothstein and his Ft. Lauderdale-based… http://bit.ly/7oOV1i

Obama Nominates Wyoming’s First Lady for Judgeship

Wyoming’s first lady, Nancy Freudenthal, has been nominated to be a federal judge. Freudenthal’s husband, Gov. Dave Freudenthal, had recommended his wife for consideration along with a state judge and another lawyer, the Star-Tribune reports. Responding to criticism about the recommendation in May, the governor said his wife shouldn't be "penalized for having married me." Wyoming’s senators said they would support the nomination by President Obama. A majority of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary found Freudenthal to be well-qualified, and a minority found her qualified, according to the committee’s website (PDF). She is a litigation partner at… http://bit.ly/5x4xFa

On Wilson Sonsini’s Unusual Partnership Privileges

Kudos to the Recorder's Zusha Elinson, who, for the first time we know of, sheds some bright light on Wilson Sonsini's famed investment fund, called WS Investment Co. http://bit.ly/8c1aQf

High Court Rules for Officers Who Entered Home; Dissent Hits ‘Micromanaging’

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that officers don’t need “ironclad proof” of a likely serious, life-threatening injury to enter a home under the emergency aid exception to the requirement for a search warrant.

The court granted cert and summarily ruled for the officers in a per curiam opinion (PDF), Michigan v. Fisher, SCOTUSblog reports. Justice John Paul Stevens dissented in an opinion joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

“It is hard to see how the court is justified in micromanaging the day-to-day business of state tribunals making fact-intensive decisions of this kind,” Stevens wrote. http://bit.ly/5JyfUZ

Supreme Court to Decide if Law School Can Ban Christian Legal Society

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the University of California's Hastings College of Law violated the Constitution when it refused to recognize the Christian Legal Society as a sanctioned student group The law school refused funding and other benefits to the group because it does not admit nonbelievers as officers or members, according to SCOTUSblog and the Associated Press. The Hastings chapter of the group requires members to sign a statement of faith that has been interpreted to bar those with a “sexually immoral lifestyle,” according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. The San Francisco-based… http://bit.ly/6xnj7J

Hiring Lawyer Rejects Federalist Society Members—and Columnist’s Advice

A hiring lawyer from Greenwich, Conn., wrote to The Ethicist of the New York Times with this question: Is it ethical to recommend rejection of members of the Federalist Society simply because you disagree with their conservative politics? The Ethicist, Randy Cohen, said politics should not be a factor. “If candidates can do the job, bathe regularly and work well with others, you should hire them,” Cohen wrote. “Is it your position that only people who share your politics should be allowed to make a living? It was odious when membership in the Federalist Society was all but required for… http://bit.ly/8EakH8

Cell Phone Company and Service Provider Sued for Fatal Car Accident

The daughter of a woman killed in a car accident caused by a driver talking on his cell phone has sued the phone maker and the service provider, contending they should have provided better warnings about the dangers of talking and driving. The plaintiff, Jennifer Smith, alleges that the cell phone industry has successfully marketed to drivers, and that is why the phones are used so often on the road, the New York Times reports. “They should’ve told people from the beginning there was a real risk, and this would’ve never happened,” she told the newspaper. Smith’s mother, Linda Doyle,… http://bit.ly/7tYtpI

Sarbanes-Oxley (Heads to One First St., N.E.

For all those who’ve been privately (or publicly) railing against the Sarbanes-Oxley law since its passage in the summer of 2002, today’s the day you’ve been waiting for.
The Supreme Court will Monday morning hear arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of the law because of how the statute [...] http://bit.ly/8KWq2S

Lawyer Who Threatened to Neutralize Witness Gets 14-Year Sentence

A high-profile criminal defense lawyer convicted of witness tampering was sentenced to 14 years in prison Friday. The conviction of New York lawyer Robert Simels had “sent a chill through New York’s community of defense lawyers,” the New York Times reports. He had represented well-known clients, including accused drug kingpins and mob informant Henry Hill. He was convicted after being caught on tape talking about the need to need to "eliminate" or "neutralize" witnesses against a client in a major drug case. Simels had contended the threats shouldn’t be taken literally. “The tapes of Mr. Simels made for a rueful… http://bit.ly/8pUQzb

Baucus Recommended Girlfriend for U.S. Attorney Post

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has confirmed that he nominated his girlfriend along with two other candidates to be U.S. attorney for Montana. The woman, Melodee Hanes, withdrew from consideration to live with Baucus in Washington, D.C. Main Justice and Roll Call broke the news on Friday, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Hanes had been a county prosecutor and a law professor at Drake University before she became director of state operations for Baucus. Baucus says he and Hanes were separated from their spouses when the relationship began. Hanes is now counselor to the administrator in the Justice Department’s… http://bit.ly/6mHtpr

Italian Jury Finds U.S. Student Guilty of Murder, Gives Her 26-Year Sentance

American student Amanda Knox has been found guilty of murdering her British roommate after a 10-month trial in Perugia, Italy. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison and her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollcito was given 25 years in the stabbing death of British exchange student Meredith Kercher, CNN reported. They were both also ordered to pay $7.4 million to the family of the victims; Knox was additionally ordered to pay $60,000 to Patrick Diya Lumumba, who Knox had implicated in Kercher's murder. Knox and Sollcito both plan to appeal their verdicts. Under Italian law, the six jurors and two… http://bit.ly/4GbDZS

Blagojevich Evidence Stolen in Law Firm Break-in

A lawyer for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has reported that evidence in the corruption case was stolen from his Chicago office early this morning. The Chicago Tribune reports that at least one computer containing undercover recordings from the case was taken in a 4 a.m. break-in at the South Side law offices of Sam Adam and his son, Sam Adam Jr. Eight computers and a safe were taken from the office, Chicago police said. But Sam Adam Jr. told the Tribune that everything taken is backed up on other computers. "We did have some computers stolen, and we will… http://bit.ly/7JQvO2

Eminent Domain Week Continues: On New Ulm and Wind Space

Can a state or city build a wind farm and condemn the air space over adjacent private property? The issue is coming to a head in New Ulm, Minn. http://bit.ly/7Sek3e

Comcast-NBC Deal to Put a Fleet of M&A Lawyers to Work

Comcast's proposed purchase of a controlling share of NBC Universal yesterday, and troops are being assembled. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) calls the deal, valued at about $30 billion "legal boomlet amid a slow season of M&A activity." The deal is "likely to require a small army of lawyers and hordes of document reviewers," the Am Law Daily said. Comcast's firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell, has dispatched 38 lawyers and staffers on the deal; Weil, Gotshal & Manges, advising General Electric and NBC, has deployed about 30 lawyers; and Vivendi, which sold a minority 20 percent stake in NBC… http://bit.ly/5u4aWu

Hildebrandt, Baker Robbins & Co. to Combine

Two legal consultancies—.one focused on management consulting, the other on information technology strategy—announced their plans to merge on Jan 1. Hildebrandt International's and Baker Robbins & Co.'s consultants will work together under the Hildebrandt Baker Robbins name, according to a press release. Both are part of Thomson Reuters Corp., which announced Thursday that it will be cutting 240 jobs in its legal buisnesses, the Wall Street Journal reported. The merger "is a strategic response to better help clients deal with the significant changes occurring in the legal market, including globalization, pricing challenges and leadership development,” Hildebrandt founder Brad Hildebrandt said… http://bit.ly/7HSjBI

Is Akin Gump’s Tom Goldstein Television’s Next Big Thing?

Variety has reported that NBC is developing a show based on Akin Gump Supreme Court litigator Tom Goldstein's early career. http://bit.ly/6DWQrO

Lawsuit challenges building of war memorial

A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by advocacy group The City Project argues that the Eugene A. Obregon Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial would alter parts of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles site that have important historical... http://bit.ly/90h5jl

NBC Developing TV Series Based on SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein

NBC is developing a TV series based on the life of SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein. Press reports say the show will be called Tommy Supreme, but Goldstein says that’s likely just a working title, according to Washingtonian’s Capital Comment Blog. “It makes no sense, so I’m sure it will change,” Goldstein told the blog. “It can’t possibly be real.” Variety also had the news, saying the show will be an “inverse House,” depicting a likable guy in an unlikable profession. Writers are working on the pilot. Goldstein, named a legal rebel by the ABA Journal, told the magazine that the… http://bit.ly/6SyETb

Florida Hedge Funder the Big Loser in Rothstein Scheme

Wealthy Fort Lauderdale investor George Levin and his Banyon hedge funds sank $775 million into Scott Rothstein's supposed legal-settlement deals. That accounted for most of the money sucked into the lawyer's massive Ponzi scheme. http://bit.ly/79N2ES

Legal Sector Lost 2,900 Jobs in November

The overall U.S. unemployment rate fell to 10 percent from 10.2 percent last month, but the legal services sector still didn't get off too easy.

According to seasonally adjusted statistics, the law sector lost 2,900 jobs in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says in its monthly report (PDF). Yet it's an improvement over the 5,800 law jobs lost in October. In addition, 2,000 law jobs were reported lost in September .

The report indicates that legal services has lost 41,800 jobs in the past 12 months.

Hat Tip: Am Law Daily http://bit.ly/8OGiNi

Prop. 8 Supporters Get Boost From Three Clinton Appointees

On Thursday, a Ninth Circuit panel comprised of three Clinton appointees held up a ruling made by Vaughn Walker -- a Bush I appointee -- which had advanced the plaintiffs' case in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8. http://bit.ly/69pK86

Deputy Who Took PD’s Document Is in Jail, But Is He in a Cell?

A Phoenix-area courtroom officer who took a public defender’s document is in jail for refusing to apologize, but it’s not clear if he is in a jail cell. Adam Stoddard was ordered to publicly apologize for taking the document or to report to jail. He chose the second option. Stoddard said he took the document during an October court hearing and had it copied after he spied suspicion words in it. Stoddard’s lawyer, Deputy County Attorney Tom Liddy, wouldn’t tell the Phoenix New Times whether the officer was in a jail cell, saying authorities were not releasing “conditions of confinement”… http://bit.ly/8tK4No

Ex-Lawyer Released After 33 Months in ‘Debtor’s Prison’

A disbarred Massachusetts lawyer has been released from jail after being held 33 months for civil contempt. After Richard Birchall was released on Wednesday, he ate a roast beef sandwich with his lawyer at a deli in Orleans, the Cape Cod Times reports. He claims he doesn’t have the $1.3 million, plus interest and costs, that a former client is seeking. In his view, he was in debtor’s prison. Birchall was released because of a ruling by the state’s highest court that said he could not be held longer than the maximum sentence he would get if convicted of fraud… http://bit.ly/6XnDTa

Judge Says Hausfeld and His Former Firm Both Violated Settlement

A federal magistrate judge in Philadelphia says lawyer Michael Hausfeld and his former law firm both violated an agreement on the distribution of class-action attorney fees and the return of capital contributions. U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Rice refused to award attorney fees in the litigation over the settlement to either Hausfeld or the firm now known as Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll because of what he saw as bad faith on both sides, the Legal Intelligencer reports. "Even after the parties settled disputes arising from the break-up with judicial assistance, their mutual mistrust and bare-knuckle tactics spawned new disputes involving… http://bit.ly/8Al8ej

In Re the Raj Investigation, Did the Feds Pull a Madoff?

It's now a near legendary tale: SEC lawyers, prompted by calls by do-gooder Harry Markopolous, looked into Bernie Madoff years ago, but failed to nab him.

A similar story has now surfaced in regard to hedge-fund mogul Raj Rajaratnam, who was charged with insider-trading related securities fraud in October. http://bit.ly/5Sn911