Joe Nacchio won his appeal and a new trial as his six-year insider-trading sentence was thrown out on appeal.
The former Qwest CEO who oversaw $2 billion in bogus revenue bookings off capacity “swaps” and sold $52 million worth of stock ahead of a looming industry collapse, was granted another day in a court Monday. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a conviction reached in April of 19 counts of insider trading, saying Nacchio was not given a fair trail because a defense expert was not allowed to testify.
Nacchio, who has been out of jail on a $2 million bond awaiting appeal, was sentenced last year to six years in prison and told to pay $71 million in fines and forfeited gains.
Nacchio was fired in 2002, leaving the local phone giant teetering on the brink of insolvency. The new management team had to sell money-making assets like the directory business and layoff thousands of employees to stay afloat.