Qwhite-collar conviction

Another high-profile sentencing is now in the works after, as detailed here, another high-profile white-collar conviction:

Joseph Nacchio, who built Qwest Communications International Inc. into the fourth-largest U.S. phone company and presided over a $100 billion drop in market value, was convicted of insider trading. A federal jury in Denver today found Nacchio, Qwest’s former chief executive officer, guilty of selling stock based on private warnings from top lieutenants that the company would miss revenue targets.

Prosecutors said Nacchio made $101 million by illegally trading on inside information he withheld from investors.  “If you don’t tell, you can’t sell,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Conry told jurors in closing arguments.  The jury found Nacchio guilty on 19 counts of insider trading for stock trades totaling $52 million. He was found not guilty of 23 counts relating to earlier trades totaling $49 million.

The conviction of Nacchio, 57, caps a U.S. crackdown on corporate fraud that began when Enron Corp. collapsed in 2001. Hundreds of executives have been convicted, including three ex- CEOs, Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling, Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom Inc. and John Rigas, founder of Adelphia Communications Corp.

Nacchio left the courthouse with his wife Anne without commenting. The panel of eight men and four women convicted Nacchio after six days of deliberations. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count. U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham set Nacchio’s sentencing date for July 27.

Any sentencing predictions, dear readers?