With all eyes on the sentencing of convicted insider trading mastermind Raj Rajaratnam, it's easy to overlook some of the less media-genic but equally compelling human-interest stories that have fallen out of the scandals.

Michael Kimelman was a bit player in the hedge fund world. He'd only met Rajaratnam once. When Kimelman was arrested for his role in an insider trading scheme, which involved a former Galleon trader, he was offered a chance to plead guilty and cooperate with the feds in return for probation only. Quite a deal. But he rolled the dice and went to trial, where he was convicted. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 30 months hard time.

He tells the New York Times, "Of course I have regrets about not pleading guilty; I could've ended this ordeal two years ago. But at the same time, I wouldn't have been able to look myself in the mirror if I admitted to doing something that I didn't do."

He must report to the within 60 days to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which will assign him to a new home. He seems to be preparing intelligently. He has sought advice from former inmates to get a feel for his new life. He will leave three kids--all below the age of 7--with his wife. He has yet to inform them that he's going away.

This is in many ways heart-breaking stuff. We can't know if he was truly guilty or not. But the jury had their say. There was a great line in the Woody Allen movie "Crimes and Misdemeanors" about an eligible bachelor who just happens to be in prison--"Nothing terrible, insider trading," someone quips. It might be funny someday to Kimelmans but not for quite a while, not until their second act gets underway.   

For more:
- here's the profile

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