[ by Larry Goldfarb ]

If you have been married for a while, you might feel a sense of trust and don't give any thought to leaving your wallet on the dresser.  Or you might feel unabashed about relating your innermost personal feelings or thoughts.  Conversely, you might expect your partner to have a similar sense of trust.  And of course, lies and cheating about serious matters is totally out of the question. 

We introduce a well-known couple - or at least a couple with a well-known wife.  We're referring to Ms.  Christie Hefner, former CEO of Playboy Enterprises Inc., and her husband of 15 years, William Marovitz.  Ms. Hefner recently got the shock of her life when husband William confessed to her that he was being investigated for suspicious trading in Playboy shares.  The couple have separated.

Why Couldn't You Just Sleep With Another Woman?   “The popular notion is betrayal in terms of sexual infidelity,” said securities lawyer Thomas Ajamie, who is managing partner at Houston-based, Ajamie LLP.   “Another type is the betrayal of trust that destroys the marriage partner’s reputation, or career.” 

The intimate details of Hefner’s case are recorded in SEC interviews with her and her husband, revealed here for the first time, and based on transcripts obtained by Bloomberg News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The move of insider trading from the boardroom into the bedroom in cases like Hefner’s is one indication that the crime has become so pervasive that even people with significant assets figure it’s like bending down to pick up a quarter on the street. A spike in criminal convictions and SEC enforcement actions in the last five years shows the U.S. government does not share that blasé attitude toward a crime that cheats other investors.

“The SEC is determined to send a message to big investors as well as Everyman that insider trading is against the law and is not going to be tolerated,” said Marc Powers, a former SEC attorney in the Washington office of Baker & Hostetler LLP.  [C-I Note:  Even if it has a deleterious effect on one's marraige.]

For information, please read [Bloomberg, 12/9/12].