What would you do to stay out of prison?

We can only hope we never have to answer that question, but David Slaine wasn’t so lucky. Back in the summer of 2007, FBI agents showed up at his home and confronted him with evidence of insider trading. He ended up becoming a government witness in a case that soon exploded into headlines, thanks largely to him.

Amid lots of big characters--the likes of Raj Rajaratnam--Slaine stands out. A long profile by the WSJ lays out his saga, which involves him wearing a wire to implicate several people that eventually ended up going to jail. One was Slaine’s best friend.

So was it worth it?

If the goal was to stay out of jail, it might have been. A judge has just sentenced him to three years of probation. He was facing 25 years in prison. Prosecutors went over the top to praise his work for a judge, who said, “Mr. Slaine, you have your life back. I think you’ve earned it, by virtue of the work you’ve done over the last five years,” as reported by Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg reports that Slaine is now an investor at Spot, which provides training, grooming and daycare for dogs. He also works there.

For more:
- here’s the profile  
- here’s the Bloomberg Businessweek article

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