Ex-Goldman board member's NY lawyers: Nix wiretap

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Attorneys for a former Goldman Sachs board member accused of insider trading are trying to eliminate the only wiretap recording of their client from his New York City trial.

The recording features a 2008 phone conversation between defendant Rajat Gupta and former hedge fund boss Raj Rajaratnam (rahj rah-juh-RUHT'-nuhm). Rajaratnam is serving an 11-year prison sentence for his insider trading conviction.

The defense is using a Manhattan federal court filing this week to argue that the wiretap should be excluded.

They say Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein (BLANK'-fyn) recently testified that key parts of the call didn't involve confidential information. Blankfein is a likely witness at Gupta's trial.