The New York Post reports that the Westport real estate agent described as Martha Stewart’s best friend, who has been called to testify against her in her stock fraud trial resuming today in Manhattan, is a “mercurial” Connecticut real-estate agent battling her own financial and legal problems.

Mariana Pasternak, 50, who the Post said “lives in a tony beach house in Westport,” has known Stewart for more than 20 years.

The newspaper said its research into her background included a check of records at the Westport Town Clerk’s office.

Stewart is the godmother of two of Pasternak’s daughters, Monica, 20, and Lara, 17, and once took them on an exotic trip to the Galapagos Islands, the newspaper said.

“They’ve been close for a long, long time, so I don’t know how they’re going to handle this can of worms,” said one acquaintance quoted by the Post.

The snowstorm that rolled into New York and Westport forced a one-day postponement today in the stock fraud trial of Westport’s Martha Stewart.

During opening arguments Tuesday in a packed courtroom in Manhattan, Stewart was branded a liar by federal prosecutors.

But her lawyer defended her as a self-made businesswoman facing criminal charges based on nothing more than speculation and guesswork.

Stewart was seated at the front of a packed courtroom and, wearing an olive-colored pantsuit, listened intently as federal prosecutor Karen Patton Seymour and defense attorney Robert Morvillo delivered their opening statements.

The initial salvos from both sides featured detailed descriptions of Stewart’s financial situation, from her three brokerage accounts to her need to sell some stock at a loss in late 2001 to offset the capital gains from other trades.

Westport’s Hotel Data Systems (HDS) announced today that its Magellan Reservation Services group had signed a comprehensive multi-year partnership agreement with Ft. Lauderdale-based International Travel Services (ITS).

The company is an outbound reservations provider for more than 400 hotels and 20 car rental companies throughout Europe, Australia, the Caribbean and Africa.

The agreement calls for ITS to use the Magellan ERS for providing a wide range of reservation services.

The stock fraud trial of Westport’s Martha Stewart got underway today with the prosecutor saying she lied and committed “serious federal crimes” by selling off almost 4,000 shares of stock based on a tip no one else had.

“She was told a secret that no other investor had,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Patton Seymour said in opening statements at the trial in a Manhattan courthouse.

Seymour, addressing the jury, said Stewart had lied to federal agents, and “multiplied that lie by feeding it to investors in her own company.”

One count accused Stewart of deliberately trying to prop up the stock of her own company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, by saying in 2002 that she had done nothing wrong and was cooperating with investigators.

The Westport Board of Finance will consider a $50,000 appropriation at its Feb. 4 meeting to demolish the former Allen’s Clam House restaurant on Hillspoint Road. The Zoning Board of Appeals rejected a design for a scaled-down restaurant on the now town-owned property in November. It said it was not in harmony with the neighborhood. WestportNow.com file photo

A jury of eight women and four men was chosen today to hear the stock fraud trial of Westport’s Martha Stewart.

Lawyers for the government and defense were expected to present their opening statements beginning Tuesday.

Six alternates—four men and two women —also were selected.

There was more questioning today in a Manhattan federal courthouse of prospective jurors in the insider trading-related case of Westport’s Martha Stewart.

The questioning began today with 40 potential jurors qualified for the next round, according to transcripts of questioning from earlier this week. Sources have said the judge wants a pool of about 50.

Stewart was back in court for the fourth straight day watching juror questioning in the private robing room of U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum.

In 12-degree cold, Stewart arrived at the courthouse wearing an overcoat and cream-colored scarf, along with black ankle boots. She briefly glanced to her right, at a man who was shouting encouragement to her.

Leaving court in the evening, she briefly raised her eyebrows at reporters but did not answer questions. “Good night,” she said.

Too many prospective jurors in the case involving Westport’s Martha Stewart wrongly think she is charged with insider trading, her lawyer complained to the judge, according to transcripts released today.

In the transcripts from the closed-door jury selection process, Robert Morvillo said Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum shared blame for the misunderstanding because of her own choice of words, according to an AP account.

The judge replied that she would make sure the jury is properly informed.

Stewart is charged with obstruction of justice and securities fraud—but not insider trading—over stock she sold in 2001.

In the transcripts, which cover the first two days of juror questioning, the judge appears to have given up on finding 12 people completely unfamiliar with Stewart, zeroing in on those who say they can be fair despite heavy pretrial publicity.

The press was barred from watching questioning of potential jurors in the insider trading-related trial of Westport’s Martha Stewart, but a transcript released today of Tuesday’s session showed the jury pool is diverse.

The potential jurors ranged from a man who said Stewart could not be trusted to a woman who told her: “I am a huge fan of yours. Good luck.”

The transcript offered a glimpse into the painstaking process by which lawyers for the government and Stewart are trying to detect whether jurors might favor one side or the other.

Stewart arrived at the courthouse today to watch the second day of juror questioning.