Sandy Shore
Associated Press
Jul. 29, 2006 12:00 AM
DENVER - After issuing a
tearful apology for an "error in judgment," former Qwest
finance chief Robin Szeliga was sentenced Friday to two
years' probation, six months of home detention and a
$250,000 fine for insider trading during the company's
multibillion-dollar accounting scandal.
Szeliga, the highest-ranking executive from Qwest to plead guilty in the government's case, is expected to be a key witness in the trial of former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio, who faces 42 counts of insider trading. U.S. attorney Bill Leone called Szeliga's help in that case "very substantial."
U.S. Judge Walker Miller agreed with prosecutors who asked for a lenient sentence because of her cooperation in the investigation into Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc. "It is my practice to give careful consideration, considerable weight, to the parties' agreement because they know considerably more about the case than I will ever know," Miller said. He said the request for leniency was legal, though he questioned attorneys on both sides how Szeliga's plea deal compared with other Qwest cases.
"I do not divorce this conduct from the overall illegality," Miller said. "There does seem to be a culture of, I would use the word 'greed.' "
Szeliga, the highest-ranking executive from Qwest to plead guilty in the government's case, is expected to be a key witness in the trial of former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio, who faces 42 counts of insider trading. U.S. attorney Bill Leone called Szeliga's help in that case "very substantial."
U.S. Judge Walker Miller agreed with prosecutors who asked for a lenient sentence because of her cooperation in the investigation into Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc. "It is my practice to give careful consideration, considerable weight, to the parties' agreement because they know considerably more about the case than I will ever know," Miller said. He said the request for leniency was legal, though he questioned attorneys on both sides how Szeliga's plea deal compared with other Qwest cases.
"I do not divorce this conduct from the overall illegality," Miller said. "There does seem to be a culture of, I would use the word 'greed.' "