All was quiet at Martha Stewart’s Turkey Hill Road South home today as New York newspapers reported she is back in Westport planning strategy to try to clear her name.
The Daily News made it appear as if Martha Stewart posed outside her Westport home, but the small type said “photo illustration.” WestportNow.com photo

A black SUV with a private security guard was parked facing outward in her driveway and several photographers waited discreetly up the street. Joggers and dog walkers passed by in sunny, 50-degree weather.

Stewart spent the day inside. Her 89-year-old mother, Martha Kostyra, arrived late in the morning and later went out to run some errands.

Curious neighbors drove by her house and some stopped by to offer words of support.

The New York Post reported she returned home late Friday night while the New York Daily News said she was back Saturday where she was comforted by family and friends.

The Daily News said Stewart was scheduled to hold a teleconference with her attorneys and public relations advisers today to map a strategy to fight her felony convictions and rescue her reputation.

In a “Dear Friends” letter posted on her Web site, Westport’s Martha Stewart said she is distressed by today’s jury verdict but will fight to clear her name.

“I am obviously distressed by the jury’s verdict but I continue to take comfort in knowing that I have the confidence and enduring support of my family and friends,” Stewart said.

“I will appeal the verdict and continue to fight to clear my name. I believe in the fairness of the judicial system and remain confident that I will ultimately prevail.

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the words of encouragement I have received from thousands of supporters.

“It is your continued support that will keep me going until I am completely exonerated.”

News that Westport’s Martha Stewart and her former stockbroker were found guilty in their federal stock fraud trial brought members of the media scurrying to her hometown looking for reaction.

A television satellite news truck takes up a position outside Westport Town Hall following the Martha Stewart verdict. WestportNow.com photo

On a drizzly Friday afternoon, however, reaction was not easy to come by.

Photographers and camera crews gathered outside Stewart’s Turkey Hill Road South home on chances that she would return there this evening. They found a private security guard in a red SUV sitting in her driveway.

The Westport Police Department stepped up patrols in the area but, as in the past with developments in the Stewart case, did not place a patrol car there, a police source said.

A New York TV station reported that Stewart left the courthouse and returned to a lower Manhattan building where her daughter has a penthouse apartment.

A federal jury today found Westport’s Martha Stewart guilty of lying to investigators over a suspicious stock sale.

Stewart, 62, stood stone still in the courtroom and showed no emotion as she heard the verdict, which ended a seven week trial. She later said she would appeal.
Martha with Paw Paw and Tutu on steps of her Westport home. Marthatalks.com photo

She remains free but was ordered to report to the Probation Department Monday.

The eight women and four men returned their verdict on the third day of deliberations. Stewart was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, two counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction of agency proceedings.

Wearing a black pantsuit, Stewart solemnly left the courthouse among a throng of hundreds of people and a small group chanting “We Love you Martha.”

She will be sentenced on June 17. Each count carries a possible prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine, although legal experts believe Stewart will receive a sentence of less than five years, perhaps only 18 months, based on federal sentencing guidelines.

Jurors at the trial of Westports Martha Stewart stock trial finished a second day of deliberations today after indicating they were focused on a charge of perjury against StewartҒs former stockbroker.

In a note to the judge before wrapping up for the day, the jurors asked about the standards of evidence required to convict on the count.

It accuses Peter Bacanovic of lying in sworn testimony to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 13, 2002, about Stewart’s sale of ImClone Systems stock.

U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum told jurors before deliberations that perjury requires special rules: Jurors must rely on testimony from two witnesses, or one witness whose testimony is supported by a document.

Deliberations were expected to resume Friday morning.

The fate of Westport’s Martha Stewart is in the hands of jurors today.

Following instructions from the judge, the 12 jurors and six alternates are deciding whether she is the innocent victim of overzealous prosecutors or if she engaged in a criminal coverup of a stock trade, tripped up by her own arrogance.

The jury got the case shortly before noon.

The jury made requests twice in its first few hours to review voluminous evidence from the trial, including segments of the testimony of Douglas Faneuil, the star government witness.

But jurors ended the day without reaching a verdict. Their deliberations were to resume Thursday morning.

The lawyer for Westport’s Martha Stewart today implored jurors to let her “return to her life” by acquitting her of federal charges.

“Martha Stewart’s life is in your hands,” defense lawyer Robert Morvillo said in closing arguments in Manhattan federal court. “I ask you to let her return to her life, and improving the quality of life for all of us.”

“If you do that,” Morvillo said, echoing Stewart’s well-known slogan, “it’s a good thing.”

Lawyers on both sides concluded their closing arguments, and jurors were expected to begin deliberating Wednesday after they receive lengthy legal instructions from the judge.

RUBB Natural Bath and Beauty, the latest addition to Westport’s natural products scene, opened Monday in the Compo Shopping Center. Owned by Westporter David Potsubay, RUBB offers a wide variety of natural skin care, makeup, soaps, aromatherapy and bath products as well as a customer lounge with complimentary South American teas. WestportNow.com photo

The prosecution began its closing arguments today in the trial of Westport’s Martha Stewart, telling the jury that Stewart knew going into a meeting with federal authorities in 2002 that she would lie about her sale of ImClone Systems stock.

“She would conceal from the FBI and the (Securities and Exchange Commission) the true reason for her sale,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Schachter. “Martha Stewart would lie.”

His summation took about three hours and ended with him urging the jury to use common sense in their deliberations. He said if they did, they would find the defendants guilty on all counts.

Schachter argued that Stewart and her co-defendant, broker Peter Bacanovic, hatched a cover story claiming that they had a prearranged agreement to sell ImClone shares when they fell to $60.

“Martha Stewart probably thought she would never get caught,” said Schachter.

But she “left behind a trail of evidence,” including an altered phone log, which combined with the testimony of brokerage assistant Douglas Faneuil, proves her guilt, he said.