A CEO who resisted NSA spying is out of prison. And he feels ‘vindicated’ by Snowden leaks...

[geek tragedy]

69. Here's the related SEC complaint for a primer:

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2011/comp21825.pdf

Here's coverage of the prosecution witnesses:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/witnesses-nacchio-aware-qwest-wouldn-t-hit-2001-revenue-goals

Two former top-level Qwest executives testified in the Joe Nacchio insider trading trial on Tuesday, supporting the prosecution's assertion that the company's former CEO knew Qwest was not going to make its 2001 revenue goals.
Nacchio is accused of dumping more than $100 million worth of stock in 2001 based on nonpublic information that the company could be at financial risk and may not meet revenue targets.

Former Qwest CFO Robin Szeliga gave testimony for the second day Tuesday, saying that Nacchio made revenue goals his top priority despite repeated warnings from top executives and mid-level managers that the company might not meet its 2001 financial targets.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/nacchio-defense-attorneys-ask-for-mistrial

Prosecutors have lined up several lower-level managers and executives to testify about Nacchio's actions and beliefs when he sold $101 million in stock in 2001.

On Monday morning, former CFO Robin Szeliga took the stand. She testified that Nacchio reiterated the need for the company to hit the five-year growth rate, saying it was "very important" for Qwest to be considered a growth company by Wall Street.

The prosecution presented a DVD in which Nacchio is seen in a meeting with employees, saying, "It's grow or die. We'll grow, die or sell."

Szeliga said that in late 2000, several mid-level managers within the company presented concerns about not hitting the revenue projections for 2001. Szeliga said the managers were concerned budgeted growth could not meet target numbers.

At which point, Szeliga said, Nacchio consistently demanded the company hit those numbers, and even asked a mid-level manager to, "Go back, figure out a way to close the gap and meet the target numbers."

The "gap" refers to the discrepancy between internal target numbers and budgeted growth. In some instances, the "gap" was hundreds of millions of dollars short of the target goals.

Note, btw, that Nacchio's claim that there were secret agreements between him and the government are blatant lies, as such contracts have a lot of documentation and need sign-offs from inside the company by people other than the CEO. The government does not hand out contracts based on telephone conversations with CEOs.