[ by Melanie Gretchen ] For 17 years, trader Garrett Bauer, 44, and journeyman lawyer Matthew Kluger had a good thing going.  As far back as 1994, Bauer received some 30 confidential tips about company takeovers, generated through Kluger's work at prominent law firms - including:  Cravath Swaine & Moore; Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom; Fried Frank; and Wilson Sonsini. One of the Most Complex Schemes. The success, or longevity of the scheme, might have been due, in part, to the low profiles of the participants.  Bauer was a relatively anonymous trader, while Kluger was a journeyman lawyer. The chosen method of communications also was a factor.  Rather than communicate directly with Bauer, lawyer Kluger used a middle man, Kenneth Robinson - who knew both men - to deliver the tips to Bauer.  Bauer used the information to generate illegal profits of $37 million.  After trading on the tips, Bauer would pay off Robinson for his effort and for Kluger's tips, often withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars at a time from ATMs. Communications were strategically made from payphones or disposable cellphones - an approach they possibly copied from the Baltimore crime drama, "The Wire." End of the Line. In early 2011, after the feds raided his home, Robinson alerted Bauer, who destroyed one of the cell phones and dropped the pieces in 2 trashcans at a McDonald's in New York.  Bauer advised Robinson to burn $175,000 for fear that his fingerprints were on the money. Robinson pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in April 2011.  Kluger's case is still pending - he has not entered a plea.  Bauer, however, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to insider trading, obstruction of justice and money laundering. Bauer's Sentencing. Bauer, who's scheduled to be sentenced in March 2012, faces up to 25 years in prison on 4 felony counts.  That's in addition to forfeiting his illicit profits, and homes he purchased with the proceeds. Busted. For more details, go to [DealBook, 12/8/11].