Martha Stewart Guilty on 3 Counts....and counting - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

MavKikiNYC · 03-05-2004, 03:05 PM

Guilty on 4 counts

Conspiracy, 2 counts of False statements, 1 count of obstructing agency proceedings.

LRB · 03-05-2004, 03:12 PM

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] What?!?! She got off on the being a royal pain in the @$$ charge!!!!!!

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

MavKikiNYC · 03-05-2004, 03:15 PM

Sentencing scheduled for June 17th.

Have a nice spring, Matty Stu.

madape · 03-05-2004, 03:27 PM

They should make her Leona Helmsey's cellmate

MavKikiNYC · 03-05-2004, 03:37 PM

She asserts her innocence, and vows to appeal the verdict.

Trading in the stock of her company was halted.

Drbio · 03-05-2004, 03:40 PM

A conviction on federal perjury charges guarantees prison time.

*CLANG*

EricaLubarsky · 03-05-2004, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: MavKikiNYC
She asserts her innocence, and vows to appeal the verdict.

Trading in the stock of her company was halted.

but not before the judge sold all 2,000 shares he had in Martha Stewart inc.

A trial is pending in his insider trading case. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Rockets34Life · 03-05-2004, 03:59 PM

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business...40305_1223.html

Martha Stewart Found Guilty on All Counts in Stock-Trading Trial; Ex-Broker Guilty on All but One

NEW YORK March 5 - Martha Stewart was convicted Friday of obstructing justice and lying to the government about a superbly timed stock sale, a devastating verdict that probably means prison for the woman who epitomizes meticulous homemaking and gracious living.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated three days before convicting Stewart of all counts against her. The charges carry up to 20 years in prison, but Stewart will most certainly get much less than that under federal sentencing guidelines.

Her ex-stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, 41, was convicted on all but one count against him.

The charges centered on why Stewart dumped about $228,000 worth of ImClone Systems stock on Dec. 27, 2001, just a day before it was announced that the Food and Drug Administration had rejected ImClone's application for approval of a cancer drug, an announcement sent ImClone's stock plummeting.

Stewart and Bacanovic claimed they had a standing agreement to sell when the price fell below $60. But the government contended that was a phony cover story and that Stewart sold because she was tipped by her broker that ImClone CEO Sam Waksal was frantically trying to dump his own holdings.

mary · 03-05-2004, 04:07 PM

No surprise really - I've always thought the prosecution's case was pretty solid.

According to the "legal dude" on Fox News, its unlikely she'll serve any more than five years.

Things could get interesting Monday when her stock goes back on the market. I've already heard many shares were shorted in anticipation of this outcome. Lucky bastards!

MavKikiNYC · 03-05-2004, 04:19 PM

Speculation is that she will likely get much, much less than 5 years--perhaps less than a year, possibly no jail-time, even.

Gotta say that even though I never cared for her or her show or anything related to her, and even though from everything I ever saw it seemed like she was guilty of the charges, I feel badly for her, knowing that this kind of thing goes on all the time, on a bigger scale, and she just happened to get caught doing something really stuipd, and just happened to be a high-profile enough b*tch to make herself a bull's-eye for a high-profile prosecution.

OutletPass · 03-05-2004, 06:05 PM

Kiki...unless something very strange and unexpected happens, she's going to do some jail time...the federal charges mandate jail time...but the judge COULD give her a bare minimum.

In related news (from Forbes):

Martha's Net Worth Drops $85 Million

NEW YORK - The jury's guilty verdict deprived Martha Stewart of not only her credibility but of approximately $85 million. When she woke up this morning Stewart was worth about $420 million. When she goes to sleep tonight--assuming she can sleep--her net worth will be around $335 million. And her fortunes aren't likely to improve upon the markets' opening next week.

Shares in her namesake firm Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (nyse: MSO - news - people ) closed down 23% at $10.86 after Stewart was convicted of obstructing justice and lying about her sale of 4,000 ImClone (nyse: IMCL - news - people ) shares.

The verdict is clearly a shock to Wall Street, which had bid Martha Stewart Living shares up by as much as 22% before trading was halted in the late afternoon. That indicates that traders expected the jury to go easy on the domestic diva.

--I'd like to know the names of the numnuts traders and brokers who were bidding the stock up while the jury was asking the judge for specific pieces of evidence and asking specific questions. That was the BIG indication that they were going to convict. Wish I would have shorted that one...

OutletPass · 03-05-2004, 06:07 PM

Honestly, the Enron people and the Worldcom people and a lot of others need to fall much harder...I'll be happy if that happens...and cynical if it doesn't.

madape · 03-05-2004, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: OutletPass
Honestly, the Enron people and the Worldcom people and a lot of others need to fall much harder...I'll be happy if that happens...and cynical if it doesn't.

Well, then you probably will be fairly cynical about this!

OutletPass · 03-05-2004, 07:58 PM

Actually, Mad, it's not unusual for some charges to be thrown out...prosecutors usually try to throw the kitchen sink on the initial charges. Even Martha had one charge thrown out...the one about her actions defrauding the shareholders in MSO...that one was a real reach...

So, no, the article you posted isn't compelling or dispositive at all.

Honestly, it's meaningless.

mercury_rev · 03-06-2004, 01:17 AM

Cover Charges

This was an SEC witch hunt, pure and simple. The SEC is out to make an example of wealthy CEO's, allegedly in the name of "the little man" to whom one of the jurors refers. Martha Stewart was a convenient target to pillory. What's disturbing is to what degree a visceral, mouth-foaming hatred of Stewart has superseded the question of whether she actually defrauded any stockholders through her alleged insider trading. It's like her bad reputation made her guilty until proven innocent. The judge threw out the fraud charge, so in effect Stewart is guilty for not proving that she didn't conspire to lie about a crime, involving a fraction of what she's worth, that apparently she never committed in the first place.

Sorry, but that's not justice. Moreover, what about all the "little men" who will lose jobs because of the hit MSO has taken?

OutletPass · 03-06-2004, 01:31 AM

A jury of 12 people, unanimously, after reviewing every piece of evidence, found her guilty on every charge that the Judge gave them...

but that was a nice "conspiracy rant" , Mercury...

madape · 03-06-2004, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: OutletPass
Actually, Mad, it's not unusual for some charges to be thrown out...prosecutors usually try to throw the kitchen sink on the initial charges. Even Martha had one charge thrown out...the one about her actions defrauding the shareholders in MSO...that one was a real reach...

So, no, the article you posted isn't compelling or dispositive at all.

Honestly, it's meaningless.

Good. Let's hope those book cooking bastards at Tyco fry.

I seem to remember the judge throwing out the most serious charge against Martha Stewart right before the jury went into deliberation.

Thanks for the legal insight.

mercury_rev · 03-06-2004, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: OutletPass
A jury of 12 people, unanimously, after reviewing every piece of evidence, found her guilty on every charge that the Judge gave them...

but that was a nice "conspiracy rant" , Mercury...

I can't speak for the jurors' own judgments, OP. They must make their decisions based on the laws applicable to this case. What I question is why this trial even proceeded when Stewart had not been charged with insider trading and the presiding judge threw out her fraud charge. If the SEC had no case, exactly WHAT was Stewart covering up or lying about?

mercury_rev · 03-06-2004, 02:54 AM

Martha Stewart: Political Prisoner

This piece is several months old, but it offers a global perspective beyond the legal minutiae.

OutletPass · 03-06-2004, 03:00 AM

That's easy Mercury...it's pretty easy to quote columnists....

The charge that was thrown out was :

1) Her actions, were an attempt to defraud the sharholders of MSO...That was a weird charge to begin with and almost impossible to prove for any prosecutor. As a former prosecutor, I wouldn't have wanted to try that charge...it assumes way too many things.

The charges that she wa found guilty of were:

2) False statements. Pretty simple...She either lied or she didn't.
3) False statements. Again, pretty simple..she lied again..or she didn't.
4) Conspiracy...a much tougher case...the jury HAD to find that she conspired with another person.
5) Obstruction of justice. An even tougher case on the Federal level. It requires facts that shows that after her first lie, she committed criminal acts to throw the investigators off the trail; in old cases, that could mean falsifying documents, asking others to commit perjury, hiding a witnes, or many, many other things.

Bottom line...the judge threw out the prosecutors "least case" and the jury convicted her on everything else...after a full review...

The thing that i was impressed with, as a lawyer, was that the jury went right into the most pertinent part of the trial transcript. Then they sent 2 or 3 questions to the judge that were like lasers. the questions were on points of law. Not on fact issues.

After I saw that, I would have bet you any amount of money, at 10-1 odds, that a conviction was going to follow.

Drbio · 03-06-2004, 08:59 PM

lose not sight of the fact that small investors were screwed over here.

stick her ass in prison.

Caliente · 03-08-2004, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Drbio
lose not sight of the fact that small investors were screwed over here.

stick her ass in prison.

Martha's new career

sike · 03-08-2004, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Drbio
A conviction on federal perjury charges guarantees prison time. *CLANG*

she will never see one minute behind bars....but if she did, I'd love to see what she would do to brighten up the gray of her room [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Drbio · 03-08-2004, 12:04 PM

I don't think the jury/judge has an option sike. I think she must spend some time in the hoosegow.

But I did hear that on CNN.......

sike · 03-08-2004, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Drbio
I don't think the jury/judge has an option sike. I think she must spend some time in the hoosegow.
But I did hear that on CNN.......

finally, a celeb who gets what they deserve when it comes to the law....

LRB · 03-08-2004, 12:42 PM

Maybe her punishment should include having to wear white after Labor Day and leaving her Christmas lights up year around in addition to jail time. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Mavdog · 03-08-2004, 02:53 PM

and then there are the folks who support her, and support her in a way that is a bit like she perhaps would think to do...especially that doily [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

FREE MARTHA...Now Available in Plaid, Faux and Doily; Entrepreneur Designs Button Collection Supporting Martha Stewart
Monday March 8, 2:27 pm ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- A Kansas City entrepreneur is taking a stand for Martha Stewart by creating a line of buttons in support of the domestic diva. Sharon Young creates campaign buttons for her PoliticalShop.com website, though usually for political elections. She decided to take on the Martha Stewart debacle for her latest line of "Current Events"-related buttons.
Young, who recently designed the popular "I Have A Scream" Howard Dean Button Collection, has gone with plaid, faux and doily backgrounds on the Martha Stewart button line. The "Stripe Collection" is due out soon. These tasteful, 3-inch round buttons are adorned with statements in support of Martha Stewart such as "FREE MARTHA," "Martha ... She's a Good Thing" and "I Still Love Martha" and will have limited edition printing through 2004. They are sure to become a collector's item.

"People tell me that I am swimming against the tide," says Young, "that I'd do a better job selling buttons blasting Stewart. I personally admire Martha Stewart's accomplishments. I don't know what happened the day she sold her ImClone stock, but it sure seems that she is being held to a different standard than some others."

Young says, "Martha Stewart has revived and brought value back to many of the lost arts. She has also proven that a woman, through hard work, dedication, and talent can build an empire. As a businesswoman, I am inspired by her. She may make some people uncomfortable and even jealous," says Young, "but personally, I think Martha Stewart is `A GOOD THING.'"

For an interview and/or FREE samples, call Sharon Young at 800-421-0865.

Caliente · 03-08-2004, 04:47 PM

OutletPass · 03-08-2004, 05:05 PM

Doc is correct about the "jailtime issue"...
Right now, I'm betting that she gets between 1 and 2 years based on the sentencing guidelines. I highly doubt that she gets more than 2 years. So, I'll predict 18 months.

(That's a lovely, lovely cell, Caliente.)

Caliente · 03-10-2004, 11:44 AM

Caliente · 03-18-2004, 03:44 PM

Martha Stewart Letter Asks for Support

link

Caliente · 07-13-2004, 12:15 PM

Martha Stewart to Be Sentenced on Friday

NEW YORK - Martha Stewart (news - web sites) and her former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, will be sentenced separately on Friday, a clerk for the sentencing judge said Tuesday.

Stewart will be sentenced at 10 a.m. and Bacanovic will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m., a clerk for Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum of Manhattan federal court said. Both sentencings had been scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday.

There was no immediate explanation for why the sentencings were separated. Prosecutors declined to comment, and a Stewart spokeswoman did not immediately return a call.

Each defendant is expected to get 10 to 16 months in prison after being convicted of lying to the government about why Stewart sold 3,928 shares of ImClone Systems Inc. stock in late 2001, just before the price plunged.

Last week, Cedarbaum denied new-trial requests from both defendants based on allegations that a government witness from their first trial lied on the witness stand.