Arthur Cutillo, a former Ropes & Gray patent attorney, pleaded guilty on Friday to insider trading and conspiracy charges. He admitted to peddling inside information on pending acquisitions by firm clients and was paid $32,500 for his efforts. Mr. Cutillo admitted to Southern District Judge Richard J. Sullivan that he and fellow Ropes & Gray attorney Brien Santarlas in 2007 passed information on the upcoming acquisitions of 3Com Corp. and Acxan Pharma Inc. to Mr. Cutillo’s old college roommate, Jason Goldfarb, then an attorney with personal injury firm Brecher Fishman Pasternal Walsh Tilker & Zeigler.
In turn, Mr. Goldfarb passed the information to broker-dealer Zvi Goffer, allegedly dubbed “Octopussy” by his co-conspirators because his scheme reached into so many companies. Mr. Cutillo, 34, was arrested in 2009 as part of a broader probe into insider trading centering on the Galleon Group hedge fund scandal. Mr. Santarlas pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud in 2009 and is cooperating with the government (NYLJ, Dec. 11, 2009). Mr. Goldfarb is scheduled to go to trial in May.
