He regularly attended the insider trading trial of his former boss, Raj Rajaratnam, the founder and chief of the Galleon Group.  Today, Zvi Goffer, a former Galleon employee, will appear in Federal District Court in Manhattan - this time as a defendant in his own insider trading trial.   Mr. Goffer, along with brother Emanuel Goffer and Michael Kimelman, stand accused of leading an insider trading scheme that produced more than $20 million in illegal profits.  

        60 Taped Conversations.   As in Mr. Rajaratnam’s case, phone wiretaps are expected to play a central role in the case.  Federal prosecutors have told Judge Richard Sullivan that they plan to play as many as 60 audio tapes of conversations in which the defendants swap confidential information about publicly traded companies, including 3Com and Axcan Pharma.  

Prosecutors accuse Mr. Goffer and his co-defendants of trading on illegal tips about pending mergers and acquisitions from three lawyers, who have already pleaded guilty to securities fraud. At least one of those lawyers, Brien Santarlas, formerly of Ropes & Gray, is expected to testify for the government.

For further details, go to:   [NYT Dealbook, 5/15/11, "Former Galleon .."]