Securities: Nacchio Trial Resumes

The defense attorneys in Joe Nacchio's insider trading case ended their case without calling Nacchio to testify about the $101 million in stock sales that he is accused of selling illegally. Nacchio used to be the head of Qwest Communications. However, U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham said that prosecutors can reopen their case in order to being financial analyst David Weinstein to testify. The defense attorney, Herbert Stern, called three witnesses over two days.

Nacchio Trial Resumes

Nacchio, 57, is believed to have illegally sold stock based on nonpublic information that Qwest was not living up to financial predictions. Each of the 42 insider trading counts against Nacchio carries a penalty of up to 10 years in jail and a $1 million fine. Testimony suggests that Nacchio sold his shares of the company at a greater rate once insiders began to realize that the Qwest's financial outlook would not meet expectations.