Justices again say no to Nacchio

U.S. Supreme Court nixes ex-Qwest CEO's plea to reconsider passing on his appeal

By Andy Vuong
The Denver Post

December 1, 2009

 The U.S. Supreme Court, which in October declined to hear Joe Nacchio's appeal of his conviction for illegal insider trading, on Monday rejected the former Qwest chief executive's request to reconsider that ruling.

The new decision was issued without comment. The court did not solicit additional information from the government before turning down Nacchio's request, legally termed a petition for rehearing, which had been filed Oct. 30.

Monday's ruling marks the end of a slate of appeals Nacchio had filed, which included arguments that a defense witness had been improperly barred from testifying as an expert.

However, Nacchio still has a motion for a new trial pending before the U.S. District Court in Denver, claiming new evidence beneficial to him has been uncovered in an ongoing civil-fraud lawsuit that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed against him and several other former Qwest officials in 2005.

Nacchio was convicted in 2007 on 19 counts of illegal insider trading connected to his sale of $52 million in Qwest stock in early 2001. The Justice Department alleged Nacchio sold the shares based on insider information that Qwest's financial condition was deteriorating.

He appealed to the Supreme Court in March and began serving a six-year prison term in April.

Maureen Mahoney, Nacchio's attorney, didn't return a call seeking comment Monday.

In his pending motion for a new trial, Nacchio contends former Qwest chief financial officer Robin Szeliga's testimony in a deposition given in the civil case differs from testimony she gave in his 2007 criminal trial.

Szeliga's testimony in both instances covers warnings she gave to Nacchio in late 2000 that Qwest would miss revenue targets in 2001 — shortly before he started selling his shares.

Nacchio also has a resentencing pending in Denver federal court. A 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in July ordered him resentenced, saying the trial judge miscalculated when he sentenced Nacchio to six years behind bars and ordered $71 million in fines and forfeitures. The resentencing order means Nacchio's prison term could be shortened.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger is presiding over the resentencing and new-trial motion. No dates for either have been set.

Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com