U.S. Supreme Court asked to hear appeal from ex-Qwest chief
Business First of Columbus... Monday, March 23, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to overturn the conviction of former Qwest Communications International Inc. CEO Joseph Nacchio or grant him a new trial on insider trading charges. In the meantime, Nacchio no longer must report to a federal prison Monday because of the legal maneuver.
Nacchio’s attorney, Maureen Mahoney, asked the high court in a filing late Friday to take up the case on the grounds of unresolved questions about jury instructions given during Nacchio’s U.S. District Court trial in Denver and over the exclusion of expert witness testimony in his defense.
Given Nacchio’s high-court appeal, U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger in Denver on Friday temporarily suspended an order that he report to prison Monday while she considers whether Nacchio can remain free on bond until the Supreme Court appeal plays out.
A jury convicted Nacchio in 2007 on 19 felonies related to insider trading when he ran Denver-based Qwest (NYSE:Q). The company is one of the largest telecommunications service providers in Central Ohio, with about 1,000 employees in Dublin. The New Jersey resident has been sentenced to six years in jail but has been fighting to have the conviction reversed through appeals.
The nation’s highest court isn’t guaranteed to take up Nacchio’s case. But filing the plea at the very least triggers a stay on the order that Nacchio report to prison by noon Monday in Pennsylvania. Denver jurors found Nacchio guilty of selling $52 million of Qwest stock in 2001 while he publicly proclaimed the company’s continued strength despite internal company projections that the telecom had looming financial difficulties.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in 2008, citing a ruling by District Court Judge Edward Nottingham during the lower-court trial that excluded expert testimony from a defense witness. A full panel of judges from the appeals court reconsidered that ruling and in a 5-4 decision last month reinstated the original verdict and sentence.
In addition to six years in prison, Nacchio has been ordered to pay $19 million in fines and forfeit $52 million.
