Defendant pleads guilty in NY hedge fund case

``A woman accused of using passion to fuel insider trading pleaded guilty to federal charges Wednesday, tearfully admitting that she shared tips about public companies with others in the hedge fund industry. The investigation that resulted in Danielle Chiesi's arrest has led to an ever–widening, ongoing federal probe of insider trading... Chiesi admitted to passing along tips to at least three other people, including hedge fund operator Raj Rajaratnam, who founded the Galleon Group of hedge funds. Rajaratnam has pleaded not guilty to federal charges and remains free on $100 million bail. He has said any trades he made was based on publicly available information.''