Witness: Gupta a VIP to Rajaratnam

Carolyn Eisenberg, Raj Rajaratnam's personal assistant, testified today that Rajat Gupta, who is charged with passing Rajaratnam tips for insider trading, was, along with people who have pleaded guilty to insider trading, on a list of 10 VIPs for whose calls Rajaratnam was to be interrupted, the Associated Press reports.

She said that she gave Rajaratnam a call from one of the VIPs before Warren Buffett's investment in Goldman Sachs was made public and her boss then bought Goldman stock. Under cross-examination, Eisenberg acknowledged that there was a Goldman employee on the list. But the prosecution submitted documents showing a call from Gupta's assistant's phone line.

The prosecution maintains that the deal was worth $1 million to Rajaratnam's firm.

Eisenberg testified that Gupta was a "good friend" of Rajaratnam's, but she also testified that the latter tried to avoid him on at least one occasion.

The Wall Street Journal offers a who's who of figures likely to figure in the case.

I have previously defended (mostly) the morality of insider trading and argued that we should care about Gupta's case despite Goldman's receipt of a government bailout.

spiderID=2615

‍