Qwest sends man $4,600
By Andy Vuong
Denver Post
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
 
Former Qwest cable splicer Don Keller estimates he lost more than $300,000 in his retirement account because of the Denver company's dramatic stock-price collapse amid an accounting scandal and the tech downturn.

His cut from a pair of civil settlements stemming from the scandal that nearly pushed Qwest into bankruptcy in mid-2002?

$4,600.

Keller, 60, received the money just before Christmas and rolled it back into his retirement account.

"That almost made Christmas hurt," said Keller, a resident of Helena, Mont.  "You couldn't hardly get it any worse than that."

Current and former Qwest shareholders have begun receiving long-awaited checks from the company's settlement of a pair of lawsuits stemming from the era of former chief executive Joe Nacchio, who was ousted in 2002.  One suit, filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleged accounting fraud.  The other suit, filed by current and former employees, alleged mismanagement of the retirement fund.

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

http://www.denverpost.com/businessheadlines/ci_7971736