Secret contracts may surface in ex-Qwest CEO's insider trading appeal

[maddezmom]

Secret contracts may surface in ex-Qwest CEO's insider trading appeal

Federal court - A defense not raised in Joe Nacchio's trial may be cited on appeal Sunday, May 27, 2007SANDY SHORE
DENVER -- Former Qwest Communications chief Joe Nacchio, convicted of illegally selling $52 million in stock, may not be done talking about the spy business yet.

Attorneys working on Nacchio's appeal may resurrect a defense built on classified, potentially lucrative telecommunications contracts with clandestine government agencies. Early on, Nacchio claimed his stock sales were legal because he knew Qwest could land the contracts, yet the argument never surfaced at trial.

Legal analysts speculate the judge in the case issued a ruling restricting use of the classified information, prompting attorneys to scrap the strategy. But it could be cited on appeal.


"The issue of excluding evidence has gone before the Supreme Court and the court has said judges can apply the rules of evidence," said Wayne State University Professor Peter Henning in Michigan. "There is, at the same time, this right to offer a defense and there is a real tension in that -- how far can the judge go in restricting what a defendant can offer as evidence?"

more:http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/118015894050920.xml&coll=7

[acmavm]

1. OR the other question should be "how far can a CEO go in makind secret

deals with a corrupt administration?"