Former forklift operators Juan Renteria Jr and Nickolaus Shuster have entered not guilty pleas in a complicated insider-trading conspiracy, according to the US district attorney's office in New York.

Renteria and Shuster allegedly stole pre-release copies of Business Week magazine and fed tips to security traders from the magazine's "Inside Wall Street" column. Each worked on forklifts at separate times at the Quad/Graphics Inc printing plant, in Hartford, Wisconsin (Forkliftaction.com News #255).

Officials said David Pajcin and Eugene Plotkin were principals in the scheme, which involved more than a dozen people in the US, Croatia and Germany. The scheme began in 2004 and was disclosed in April 2006. The conspiracy allegedly fraudulently obtained nearly USD7 million.

Pajcin, a one-time Goldman Sachs Group trainee, accepted a government offer to cooperate in disclosing details in exchange for a possible lesser sentence. Plotkin, a Goldman Sachs analyst, entered a not guilty plea and is scheduled for trial in April.

Stanislav Shpigelman, a Merrill Lynch & Co analyst, entered a guilty plea to one count of insider trading. Jason Smith pleaded guilty to insider trading, conspiracy and contempt for violation of secrecy rules while serving on a federal grand jury investigating an accounting fraud. Each awaits sentencing. Charges against others are pending.

Agents of the US Securities & Exchange Commission and the US district attorney's office conducted the investigation.