Good behaviour may cut Gupta's two-yr jail term

Must surrender by Jan 8, judge calls him 'good man'

Rajat Gupta, the former Goldman Sachs director who was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison for insider trading, can get a slight reduction in his sentence for good behaviour.

The judge refused Gupta’s request to remain free while he appeals his case. Gupta must surrender to federal prison authorities by January 8. The federal prison system does not have parole, but Gupta can get a reduced sentence for good conduct.

“He is a good man,” judge Jed S Rakoff said of Gupta. “But the history of this country and the history of the world is full of examples of good men who did bad things.” At the sentencing, Gupta appeared more haggard and strained than he did during his trial in May. After the sentence was issued, he sat expressionless, flanked by his lawyers.

Just behind him, his wife, Anita, pinched her fingers tightly into her eyes, which were hidden behind dark sunglasses. His four grown-up daughters, who attended their father’s trial nearly every day, were teary-eyed throughout. “The last 18 months have been the most challenging of my life since I lost my parents as a teenager,” Gupta, who became an orphan at 18, said in a statement to the court. “I regret terribly the impact on my family, friends and institutions that are dear to me.”

“The court can say without exaggeration that it has never encountered a defendant whose prior history suggests such an extraordinary devotion, not only to humanity writ large, but also to individual human beings in their times of need,” the judge said.

 

© 2012 The New York Times News Service