NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - A former Goldman Sachs

and Blackstone analyst was sentenced to 28 months

in prison on Wednesday for insider trading, after admitting that

his conduct was "catastrophically stupid."

Anthony Viggiano, 27, of Baldwin, New York, was sentenced by

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan, after pleading

guilty in January to securities fraud.

Viggiano was accused of passing tips on eight planned

corporate mergers and partnerships between 2021 and 2023 to

college friend Stephen Forlano and construction sales

representative Christopher Salamone, a childhood neighbor.

Prosecutors said the scheme resulted in more than $400,000

of illegal profits for Salamone and Forlano, both of whom have

also pleaded guilty, with Viggiano receiving $35,000 from

Salamone in a bag of cash.

Forlano passed some tips to a U.S. Army captain he was

friends with, prosecutors added.

The eight transactions included American International

Group's ( AIG ) sale of part of a business to Blackstone, and

the purchase of satellite operator Maxar Technologies by private

equity firm Advent International, a Goldman client.

Prosecutors had sought 30 months in prison, calling Viggiano

"far more financially sophsticated" than his friends and "the

most culpable."

Viggiano's lawyers sought one year in prison, saying the

case involved not "staggering greed" but "seemingly overgrown

frat boys."

They also said Viggiano hopes to reenlist in the U.S. Marine

Corps, where he served in 2019 before fracturing his hip.

In a letter to the judge, Viggiano said he believed his

actions would help his friends address financial hardships, but

that in hindsight "this was a catastrophically stupid decision."

Viggiano's lawyer Steven Brill said in a statement after

his client's sentencing: "His inherent values and work ethic

will lead him back to the right path."

Forlano was sentenced to 13 months in prison in May.

Salamone's sentencing is on Aug. 20. The Army captain was not

criminally charged.