Joseph Nacchio

Joseph Nacchio

Joseph P. Nacchio (born June 22, 1949, in Brooklyn, New York), was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Qwest Communications International from 1997 to 2002. He was convicted of 19 counts of insider trading in Qwest stock on April 19, 2007. On July 27, 2007, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison. His federal register number is 33973-013. Federal Judge Edward Nottingham also ordered Nacchio to pay a $19 million fine and forfeit $52 million he gained in illegal stock sales. As of October 15, 2007 he was free on bail, appealing his conviction on the basis that the U.S. government retaliated against Qwest for his refusal to give customer data to the National Security Agency. On March 17, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overturned his conviction on the basis of defense expert witness testimony that was improperly excluded, and ordered a new trial before a different trial judge. On February 25, 2009, Nacchio lost his appeal in a 5-4 ruling by the 10th U.S. Court of Appeals. He was ordered to immediately begin serving his six-year prison sentence. His defense team will now attempt to petition the United States Supreme Court. Nacchio reported to the Federal Prison in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania on April 14, 2009 to serve his sentence.