Ex-Galleon trader pleads guilty to insider dealing

Danielle Chiesi, a key defendant in the Galleon hedge fund insider trading case, pleaded guilty to criminal charges in New York last night, tearfully admitting that she wrongfully spread information on technology stocks including IBM and Advanced Micro Devices.

Ms Chiesi, a former trader with New Castle Funds LLC in New York, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud before the same US district judge who will preside over the criminal trial of Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of the Galleon hedge fund next month. Mr Rajaratnam has pleaded not guilty in the case, which prosecutors describe as the biggest insider dealing investigation in the US.