White Collar: Court Upholds Conviction of Qwest Ex-CEO

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the insider trading conviction of former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio. The decision reinstates the federal conviction of April 2007, in which a jury found Nacchio guilty of 19 counts of insider trading.

In March of 2008, a three judge panel of the 10th Circuit vacated Nacchio's conviction and ordered a new trial. The panel found that the trial judge had improperly excluded expert testimony. After that appeal, the circuit court agreed to a request by Nacchio rehear the case en banc. The most recent decision overrules the prior appellate decision and reinstates the conviction and sentence of six years. The en banc panel consisted of nine judges who split 5-4 in deciding to reinstate the conviction.

The only avenue left for Nacchio's legal defense team is to seek Supreme Court review.