* Rajaratnam draws 11 years in prison for insider tradingBy Grant McCoolNEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - When asked whether he had anything to say before being sentenced to 11 years in prison for insider trading, Raj Rajaratnam politely declined.It was characteristic silence for the one-time billionaire hedge fund founder, who chose not to testify in his defense during his trial and has said almost nothing publicly since his arrest two years ago.Most prominent white collar convicts, from Martha Stewart to Bernard Madoff, accept the opportunity to say something on their own behalf before hearing their sentence, a last chance to perhaps change a judge's mind about the length of a prison term or show contrition.On Thursday, Sri Lanka-born Rajaratnam, 54, lifted his bulky six-foot frame out of a leather chair to stand in the Manhattan federal courtroom, and said: "No, thank you, Your Honor."From the time of his Oct. 16, 2009 arrest on insider trading charges that stunned Wall Street, to Judge Richard Holwell handing him his sentence nearly two years to the day later, Rajaratnam kept his public silence.Rajaratnam's sentencing lasted about 80 minutes. His wife Asha, who did not attend his trial or other court appearances, stared ahead expressionless from the third row of the public seats.When the sentence was delivered, Rajaratnam and three of his lawyers, all wearing dark suits, stood in the courtroom. After Judge Holwell announced the sentence plus a $10 million fine and $53.8 million forfeiture, the fund manager and his defense team sat down without a word or gesture.At the end of the hearing, defense lawyer Terence Lynam put his right hand on Rajaratnam's left shoulder and the one-time high-flying money manager looked at him glumly.At his trial, which ended in May with his conviction on 14 criminal charges, the jury heard his voice over and over again on dozens of phone calls secretly recorded by the FBI, the linchpin of the government's evidence.Rajaratnam, whose now shuttered hedge fund was once one of the world's largest with $7 billion under management, plans to appeal the use of phone taps and his conviction.Many other defendants, like celebrity homemaker Stewart and Enron's Jeffrey Skilling, take the opportunity at their sentencing to make a plea for leniency or to express remorse.Madoff, who was sentenced to 150 years for orchestrating the biggest financial fraud in history that ruined thousands of investors, apologized at his June 2009 proceeding. "Nothing I can say will correct the things that I have done," he said.Lawyers not involved in Rajaratnam's case said it was always an individual choice whether or not a defendant should speak at sentencing and it is not always recommended."There's no script in a sentencing. Every sentencing is different," said Jonathan New, a former federal prosecutor now at law firm Baker Hostetler. "In this case, they decided having Raj stand up and say something would not have made a difference one way the other."The case is USA v Raj Rajaratnam et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 09-01184.
