Ex-Bear Stearns agent may plead guilty

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors expect a former registered representative at Bear Stearns BSC.N to plead guilty "shortly" to criminal charges, according to a court filing made public on Tuesday.

Ken Okada was among 13 people criminally charged in February in what authorities called one of the most pervasive insider trading rings since the 1980s. Eight people have already pleaded guilty.

"The government expects that defendant Ken Okada will be entering a guilty plea to criminal charges shortly," Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Fish wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.

Okada's lawyer, Peter Quijano, declined to say when or even whether his client would plead guilty.

"We are still in negotiations," Quijano said. "If that happens it will take place in open court."

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan declined to comment.

Prosecutors had said Okada, along with another former registered representative at Bear Stearns, Robert Babcock, obtained insider information by observing trading by another defendant in Bear Stearns accounts. Babcock has pleaded guilty earlier in the case.

Authorities had said some of those accused used clandestine meetings, disposable cell phones, secret codes and cash kickbacks to elude detection and avoid suspicion.

The U.S. Attorney had said those charged in the criminal case netted $8 million.