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Ex-Qwest CEO Didn't Foresee Trouble Ahead

Nacchio appeals conviction in $52M insider-trading deal

By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 10, 2007 11:54 AM CDT

(Newser) – Former Qwest chief Joseph Nacchio yesterday appealed an insider-trading conviction, claiming he couldn’t have known the telecommunications company was in dire straits when he sold $52 million in stock in 2001. Rebutting a federal court’s guilty finding on 19 counts, the brief asserts Nacchio “believed more than anyone else in the company’s future,” the Wall Street Journal reports. 

Executives testified they’d warned Nacchio that Qwest’s finances were in trouble; prosecutors said Nacchio nonetheless gave rosy predictions to investors. The appeal calls “extraordinary" the charge that anyone could know financial projections eight months in advance. It also maintains the defense shouldn’t have been barred from presenting classified evidence that Nacchio knew government contracts were in the pipeline.

Joe Nacchio, the former head of Qwest Commincations arrives at the federal courthousewith his wife Anne in Denver, Colo., Friday, July 27, 2007,  for sentencing on insider trading charges . Nacchio is among the latest in a string of former top-level executives to be convicted in corporate fraud scandals targeted by...
Joe Nacchio, the former head of Qwest Commincations arrives at the federal courthousewith his wife Anne in Denver, Colo., Friday, July 27, 2007, for sentencing on insider trading charges . Nacchio is...   (Associated Press)
Joe Nacchio, former chief executive of Qwest Communications, accompanied by his wife, Anne, follows a federal officer and attorney Jeffrey Spizer, second from left, out of federal court in Denver after being convicted of 19 of 42 insider trading charges Thursday, April 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Joe Nacchio, former chief executive of Qwest Communications, accompanied by his wife, Anne, follows a federal officer and attorney Jeffrey Spizer, second from left, out of federal court in Denver after...   (Associated Press)
The Qwest Communications tower stands over other neighboring buildings in downtown Denver in this April 29, 2007 file photo. Qwest Communications International Inc. said Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007 second-quarter earnings more than doubled as sharply reduced operating expenses offset weak sales. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)
The Qwest Communications tower stands over other neighboring buildings in downtown Denver in this April 29, 2007 file photo. Qwest Communications International Inc. said Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007 second-quarter...   (Associated Press)
Joe Nacchio the former head of Qwest Communcations is shown in this courtroom drawing, holding a handkerchief used to wipe away tears, as he is sentenced to six years in prison by U.S. District Judge Edward Notingham on his insider trading conviction at the federal courthouse in Denver, Colo....
Joe Nacchio the former head of Qwest Communcations is shown in this courtroom drawing, holding a handkerchief used to wipe away tears, as he is sentenced to six years in prison by U.S. District Judge...   (Associated Press)
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