Ex-firm exec pleads guilty in insider trading case

NEW YORK (AP) — A former executive at a New York investor firm pleaded guilty to an insider trading charge Wednesday, blaming long work hours and drugs in part for his use of information from drafts of press releases to earn nearly a million dollars.

Michael Lucarelli entered the plea to a federal securities fraud charge on Wednesday, his 52nd birthday, agreeing with prosecutors that federal sentencing guidelines call for a prison sentence of between three and four years. Sentencing was set for Jan. 8.