After two weeks of deliberation, today a jury in Manhattan agreed on a verdict against the billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, formerly of the Galleon Group, finding him guilty on all 14 counts of insider trading, carrying a possible maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.  The audacious and surprisingly harsh verdict has already become a media sensation, helped in no small part by a public meltdown by his defense attorney.

Rajaratnam is seen as a symbolic trophy by prosecutors, who in wake of the financial crisis have been zealously investigating Wall Street (the prosecutor’s case featured no fewer than 2,400 secret wire taps), opening up an ideological battle between US Supreme Court and the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The rising star prosecutor Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is proudly certain that justice has been served.  The New York Observer has gone as far as describing him as “gloating” following the conviction. 

“The message today is clear — there are rules and there are laws, and they apply to everyone, no matter who you are or how much money you have,” he said.  The prosecutor Reed Brodsky echoed these comments: “The defendant knew the rules, but he did not care.  Cheating became part of his business model.”

But even the most dedicated dedicated crusaders against financial crime acknowledge that certain features of the way the Galleon investigation and trial were conducted have send shivers down the spine of Wall Street, blurring the line between sensible enforcement and state interference in the business sector.