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By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, July 12 (Reuters) - A former director at BarclaysPlc pleaded guilty on Tuesday to U.S. charges that heengaged in insider trading by tipping off a plumber friend toimpending mergers that he learned about at the bank.
Steven McClatchey, 58, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federalcourt to conspiracy and securities fraud charges, admitting thathe provided stock tips to the plumber, Gary Pusey, whoprosecutors say made $76,000 through his insider trading.
"I knew what I was doing was wrong," McClatchey said incourt.
McClatchey, who worked at Barclays from 2008 to 2015, wasarrested on May 31 amid a resurgence of insider trading cases inManhattan, where prosecutors have wrestled with a 2014 appellateruling that limited the scope of insider tradinglaws.
The ruling resulted in charges being dropped or dismissedfor 14 defendants prosecuted by Manhattan U.S. Attorney PreetBharara, who has overseen an insider trading crackdown that hasresulted in 107 people being charged since 2009.
While 2015 resulted in a eight-year low of just four peoplebeing charged, the number of defendants so far in 2016 has hit11.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York Citymeanwhile says it has about 30 undisclosed probes into suspectedinsider trading schemes.
Prosecutors said that McClatchey, of Freeport, New York, wasresponsible for tracking all potential deals involving theBritish bank.
He began tipping Pusey, a friend he met through boating, asearly as 2013, enabling the plumber to execute trades ahead ofmerger announcements involving 11 companies, including ForestOil Corp and PetSmart Inc, prosecutors said.
In exchange, prosecutors said, Pusey paid thousands ofdollars in cash to McClatchey, sometimes placing cash in a gymbag that McClatchey brought with him to a marina in Freeport,New York, and provided free bathroom renovation services.
Under a plea deal, McClatchey agreed to not appeal anysentence of five years in prison or less and to forfeit $76,000.He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by FrancesKerry)
