Lawyers for former Qwest official Marc Weisberg expressed concern Friday that publicity surrounding a potential indictment of former chief executive Joe Nacchio may complicate jury selection in Weisberg’s upcoming criminal trial.
They are seeking to query potential jurors about their knowledge and opinions of Nacchio.
“It will be an elephant in this courtroom … if we have to pick a jury with that information inundating them,” said Weisberg attorney Gary Lozow of the law firm Isaacson Rosenbaum on Friday morning during a hearing in federal court in Denver.
Weisberg’s trial on eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering is scheduled to begin Jan. 3.
At Friday’s hearing, prosecutors objected to the defense’s proposed jury questions pertaining to Nacchio. The questions “distract the jury from the person on trial,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff.
Lozow and co-counsel Stephen Peters of Lindquist & Vennum on Friday submitted proposed questions for potential jurors.
The questions include: “Please tell us anything you know about Joe Nacchio, his case or anything related to his case. Include if you have an opinion about the Nacchio case,” and “Do you think there is a relationship or any similarity between these two cases? If yes, explain.”
U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn did not rule. He set a hearing for Dec. 28 to resolve remaining issues.
Weisberg was indicted in February. He is accused of secretly keeping for himself, family and friends $2.9 million in stock from companies that did business with Qwest.
He also is accused of illegally cashing in on other investment opportunities, to the company’s detriment.
Weisberg denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
He was Qwest’s executive vice president of business development, handling Qwest’s investments.
Nacchio hasn’t been charged with a crime. He has denied any wrongdoing while he was at Qwest.
A grand jury investigation into potential crimes at Qwest is nearing completion.
Prosecutors may seek an indictment against Nacchio on insider-trading charges before the end of the year, possibly as early as this week, according to sources familiar with the case.
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-820-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com.
