Stewart was convicted of four counts, including obstructing justice and lying to the government about her sale of ImClone stock. The judge in the case dismissed a securities charge fraud earlier in the trial.
Stewart's former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, was convicted on four of five charges facing him. The jury acquitted him on the charge of submitting a false document.
Stewart, who has made a career as the person to turn to for tips on homemaking and gracious living, will almost certainly see jail time. The charges carry up to 20 years in prison, but under federal sentencing guidelines, Stewart will probably get much less time than that. Sentencing is set for June 17.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also could revoke her seat on the board of her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and force her to step down as chief creative officer.
The jury of eight women and four men was in its third day of deliberations when it reached the verdict.
One of the jurors in the trial said the verdict may be "a victory for the little guys who lose money in the market because of these kinds of transactions."
A federal prosecutor said the case against Stewart boiled down "to lies."
U.S. Attorney David Kelley told reporters outside a New York courthouse after Friday's guilty verdicts were announced that Stewart had lied to the FBI and the Securities Exchange Commission "about very important matters."
Kelley said it's vital for law officials to "protect the integrity of the stock market." He said failure to enforce the laws "results in a flood of corruption," and "the entire American public" was the victim of Stewart's crimes.
Word that prison might be in her future brought a grimace to Stewart's face. The businesswoman's eyes widened after hearing the guilty verdicts. Her daughter was in tears.
She bolted from the courtroom without speaking to anyone on the defense team.
In a statement on her Web site, Stewart said she will appeal the verdict and continue her fight to clear her name. Stewart said she can "take comfort" in knowing she's done nothing wrong. Read Full Statement
"I believe in the fairness of the judicial system and remain confident that I will ultimately prevail," she said.
Robert Morvillo, Stewart's lawyer, said he's "disappointed with the outcome," but he's confident that her conviction will be reversed on appeal. He said this was just "the first round."
Morvillo said he believes that once the case goes through the appeals process, Stewart "will be found not to have done anything wrong."
The charges stem from Stewart's sale of shares of ImClone Systems stock in December 2001 a day before the Food and Drug Administration issued a negative ruling on an ImClone drug. The ruling caused the price of ImClone stock to plummet.
Federal investigators said Stewart was tipped off about the ruling by ImClone founder Sam Waksal through Bacanovic. Prosecutors said Stewart and Bacanovic had concocted a cover story to make it appear that they had a pre-existing agreement to sell the stock.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/money/2899415/detail.html
Stewart's former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, was convicted on four of five charges facing him. The jury acquitted him on the charge of submitting a false document.
Stewart, who has made a career as the person to turn to for tips on homemaking and gracious living, will almost certainly see jail time. The charges carry up to 20 years in prison, but under federal sentencing guidelines, Stewart will probably get much less time than that. Sentencing is set for June 17.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also could revoke her seat on the board of her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and force her to step down as chief creative officer.
The jury of eight women and four men was in its third day of deliberations when it reached the verdict.
One of the jurors in the trial said the verdict may be "a victory for the little guys who lose money in the market because of these kinds of transactions."
A federal prosecutor said the case against Stewart boiled down "to lies."
U.S. Attorney David Kelley told reporters outside a New York courthouse after Friday's guilty verdicts were announced that Stewart had lied to the FBI and the Securities Exchange Commission "about very important matters."
Kelley said it's vital for law officials to "protect the integrity of the stock market." He said failure to enforce the laws "results in a flood of corruption," and "the entire American public" was the victim of Stewart's crimes.
Word that prison might be in her future brought a grimace to Stewart's face. The businesswoman's eyes widened after hearing the guilty verdicts. Her daughter was in tears.
She bolted from the courtroom without speaking to anyone on the defense team.
In a statement on her Web site, Stewart said she will appeal the verdict and continue her fight to clear her name. Stewart said she can "take comfort" in knowing she's done nothing wrong. Read Full Statement
"I believe in the fairness of the judicial system and remain confident that I will ultimately prevail," she said.
Robert Morvillo, Stewart's lawyer, said he's "disappointed with the outcome," but he's confident that her conviction will be reversed on appeal. He said this was just "the first round."
Morvillo said he believes that once the case goes through the appeals process, Stewart "will be found not to have done anything wrong."
The charges stem from Stewart's sale of shares of ImClone Systems stock in December 2001 a day before the Food and Drug Administration issued a negative ruling on an ImClone drug. The ruling caused the price of ImClone stock to plummet.
Federal investigators said Stewart was tipped off about the ruling by ImClone founder Sam Waksal through Bacanovic. Prosecutors said Stewart and Bacanovic had concocted a cover story to make it appear that they had a pre-existing agreement to sell the stock.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/money/2899415/detail.html
Let her prisoners take care of that one for now. Martha is not goin' to have a good picnic. Jail is a jail and there's no pamperin' for 20 years. 
then they can sue me :-x
