The U.S. Department of Justice began investigating Qwest in early to mid-2002.
Since then, several former Qwest executives have faced criminal charges, a few have reached plea deals and two have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
But they all were just the opening acts to the government’s nearly four- year-long probe, which culminated Tuesday in a criminal indictment of former Qwest chief executive Joe Nacchio.
“In a complex white-collar investigation, it’s not unusual to see years of efforts,” said John Walsh, a former federal prosecutor based in Denver.
U.S. Attorney Bill Leone in Denver has spearheaded the investigative team, which has reviewed millions of pages of documents and hundreds of potential-witness interviews.
“Insider-trading cases are difficult cases,” Leone said Tuesday at a news conference. “I don’t think we do our job if we don’t investigate difficult cases because they’re difficult. The burden of proof in a criminal case is beyond a reasonable doubt. We understand that burden. We welcome it.”
Leone has been “methodical and comprehensive” in his approach, said Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, the former U.S. attorney for Colorado who appointed Leone first assistant U.S. attorney in Denver in 2001.
“It has been piece of paper by piece of paper,” Suthers said. “Everything has been analyzed very thoroughly.”
James Hearty of the major-crimes unit and Michael Koenig, a Justice Department trial lawyer based in New Hampshire with expertise in accounting fraud, are assisting Leone with the Nacchio prosecution.
Tim Neff and Peter Walsh of the economic-crimes unit, meanwhile, are pursuing a wire-fraud and money-laundering case against Marc Weisberg, Qwest’s former executive vice president of business development.
Weisberg has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin next month.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Denver also have assisted Leone’s team with the Qwest investigation.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-820-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
