There is no way to substantiate what he did. His lawyers were better than the SEC's. Just like OJ's were better than the LA public prosecutors. If he were not a 5% holder, than it might be different. Seeing that he was an 'insider', all 13D (5% holders) are considered insiders already simply by the size of their holdings according to securities laws and are subject to certain restrictions different from smaller shareholders, there is no doubt that he acted on 'material non-public information'. These laws are in place to protect the other shareholders and purchasers of stock. Even with regards to research now, Reg. FD (Full Disclosure), insures that all shareholders receive analyst info at the same time. There is no doubt that he violated not only the law, but the 'spirit' of the law.
Besides law, ethically what he did was so wrong. As one of the largest shareholders, the CEO had the respect to call him and say we are selling stock tomorrow and want to give you the first crack at it. He declined and acted as a 'frontrunner' in selling his stock first. This is such a scumbag thing to do. This is the equivalent of horse-thievery. This guy has not one ounce of chivalry in his body.
If Morgan Stanley called us and said they were a seller and we ran out and sold stock in front of them, besides potentially being in trouble, it is wrong at its core. One of the problems with Wall St. in general today. Used to be 'your word was your honor', now we have guys like this as major shareholders crapping all over CEO's and us, - the investing public. Glad the Mavericks got their ass-kicked in playoffs. If not jail, I hope he rots in hell!