Judge Sentences Ex-UBS exec to 6-1/2 Years Prison

NEW YORK (Reuters)- A U.S. judge sentenced a former UBS AG executive to 6-1/2 years inprison on Monday for his role in what prosecutors called the mostpervasive insider trading ring since the 1980s.

Mitchel Guttenberg, a former institutional client manager in UBS’equity research department, admitted in a guilty plea in February toselling nonpublic information about the bank’s stock recommendations.

In handing down the sentence, which includes three years ofsupervision after his release, Judge Deborah Batts of U.S. DistrictCourt in Manhattan said, "from the moment he joined the (UBS)investment review committee he planned to give that information toothers to use illegally."

Batts did not fine Guttenberg, who expressed his remorse to hisfamily, the court and his former employer. His lawyer Sean O’Sheadescribed Guttenberg as "a broken man" whose wife had left him, and hewas living in his sister’s apartment.

Guttenberg was among 13 people, including former employees of WallStreet firms such as Bank of America Corp, Morgan Stanley and BearStearns Co Inc, who were criminally charged last year in an insidertrading ring.

Guttenberg admitted in court that on numerous occasions between 2001and 2006 he told two traders about upcoming analyst stockrecommendations, including those for Caterpillar Inc and Goldman SachsGroup Inc shares.

The information about upcoming UBS analysts’ upgrades and downgradeswas used to execute hundreds of transactions, netting more than $17.5million, prosecutors said.

In court on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Fish told thejudge that the securities industry is "full of people like Mr.Guttenberg. They have access to information they can use to makemillions."

Guttenberg had pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and fourcounts of securities fraud. He had faced 78 months to 97 months inprison under sentencing guidelines.

The judge ordered Guttenberg to begin his sentence in 60 days. Sherecommended that he serve his term in the minimum security prison atFort Dix, New Jersey.

(Reporting by Grant McCool; Editing by Brian Moss)