DENVER-
Prosecutors, defense attorneys and a federal judge met for more a little more than an hour behind closed doors Friday to discuss secret government documents that Qwest chief Joe Nacchio wants to use in his insider trading trial.
U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham did not convene the session in public, and attorneys for both sides left the courthouse without comment. A pretrial hearing in the case set March 1 is expected to be open to the public.
It was the latest in a series of closed sessions where the parties have debated documents that are withheld from the public’s view under federal law.
Nottingham has said Nacchio may use some classified information in his defense but no details have been released.
Nacchio, a former chief executive officer at Qwest Communications International Inc., is charged with 42 counts of insider trading, accused of selling $101 million worth of stock in 2001 based on inside knowledge that the Denver-based telephone company would be unable to meet revenue targets.
Each count against Nacchio carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Nacchio has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.
Defense attorneys have said Nacchio believed Qwest would get hundreds of millions of dollars worth of classified government contracts that would run counter to warnings he was receiving about the company’s financial prospects.
The trial is scheduled to start March 19.
Separately, Nacchio also is one of several former Qwest executives accused by federal regulators in a pending civil case alleging they orchestrated a financial fraud that forced the company to restate billions of dollars in revenue.
