Martha Stewart Refused April Deal To Avoid Prison

PR Newswire ^ | 3/7/04

[11th Earl of Mar]

Prosecutors Offered Martha Stewart a Deal Last April: Cop To One Count of Making a False Statement and Receive Probation and Continue to Work at Omnimedia, Sources Say

She Refused to Plead Guilty to a Felony

NEW YORK, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Newsweek has learned that the Feds gave Martha Stewart an opportunity to avoid prison. Federal prosecutors offered Stewart a deal last April to cop to one count of making a false statement, say several sources familiar with the offer. She would have received probation and could continue working at her company, they say. But she refused to plead guilty to a felony, and a defense source says the Feds couldn't guarantee she would stay out of jail.

And federal investigators say she could have avoided the entire mess if she had confessed in the beginning. Had she admitted wrong doing in early 2002, she could have gotten off with a $200,000 fine and no jail time, report Detroit Bureau Chief Keith Naughton and Special Correspondent Barney Gimbel in the March 15 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, March 8).

After a seven week trial, the jury deliberated for three days before convicting Stewart on all four counts.

One juror sobbed as the judge ticked off all the guilty counts. Martha's daughter, Alexis, doubled over in tears in the front row of the gallery. Alexis's husband John Cuti, also one of Martha's lawyers, buried his face in his hands at the defense table. Stewart stared straight ahead, showing no emotion.

Martha Stewart's case may set the new standard for judging fat cats who don't play by the rules, write Naughton and Gimbel. "We're now going to see the 'Martha test' as a fair punishment for white-collar crimes," says Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean of the Yale School of Management.

"This is going to have a strong influence on jurors from here on out." And legal experts say she'll likely go to prison for one to three years, probably at a minimum- security "prison farm."

[Howlin]

GW might offer her a pardon...if she donates a heck of alot to his campaign

BS.

[tbeatty]

(i>So you admit that this is not about insider trading, just a prosecutor manufacturing crimes during the course of a failed investigation into insider trading that did not exist?

No. She was not the original target. The information that she had was that another person, who was an insider, was selling stock. While investigating the other person for insider trading, they received false statements from Martha. That's what she was convicted of. I think it is also clear that she received information that was not available to the public and when she took action on that information she stole from the other stockholders. She's a liar, a cheat and a thief.

[Howlin]

LOL!

[Howlin]

yes it is class warfare "The Haves vs The Have nots!

I beg to differ; it's The Law Abiding v. The Crooks.

[Howlin]

and her calling a summit today to formulate strategy doesn't show she's anywhere near admitting guilt.

She is? Wow, is that the latest fad for accused people? Didn't Michael Jackson do the same thing?

[killroy]

She was a Member of the Board of the NY Stock Exchange at the time she committed these crimes. If she isn't prosecutable then no one is. She will lose on appeal.

[mass55th]

"Wow, is that the latest fad for accused people? Didn't Michael Jackson do the same thing?"

Knowing Martha, she won't even serve them snacks. She's such a tight-wad.

[Paleo Conservative]

Since Martha's legal team did not put on a defense how can their team claim that their client was not represented? Martha's arrogant legal team is stuck on stupid.

She still probably would have been worse off if she had taken the stand. She might have talked her way into a harsher sentence.

[Howlin]

No plum pudding?

[winker]

No difference from what I said basicly!

[Howlin]

If she isn't prosecutable then no one is.

She still has the SEC -- not to mention the IRS -- to deal with.

[Howlin]

Well, now that I think about it, that is true.......LOL......but I do like to consider myself a law abiding have. :-)

[mass55th]

"No plum pudding"

ROFL!!!

[aynrandfreak]

The conviction will probably not be overturned. Martha is probably counting on Hillary in '08 to pardon her. "See, I wasn't a felon after all."

[Carolinamom]

When she had a meeting w/K-Mart executives early on to discuss her marketing in their stores, she served them apple pie and later billed them for it @$20.00 per pie.

[Truth29]

I don't know if she will win on appeal, but she had better. In my opinion, if she goes into prison, she won't come out alive. If they can get her locked up during the appeal process, the appeal will become moot. She is too tasty a morsel for what lives inside prison walls

[tbeatty]

The caste system has never been more clearly defined than in this case, yes it is class warfare "The Haves vs The Have nots!

In what way? The liberal tactic is to place circumstance over fact. That race or religion or economic status ought to be considered before any facts.

In this case, the facts were put before economic status and it so happens that a rich person was convicted. The rule of law prevailed

[winker]

Me too I cain't be any other way but true to myself, always works for me!

[Howlin]

I think you should come out of retirement. Special assignment, you know? :-)

[winker]

Perhaps this is why the blindfold rests on the face of the scales of JUSTICE!