It had been expected but became official today neither Westport’s Martha Stewart nor her co-defendant in their stock fraud trial, broker Peter Bacanovic, will testify in their own defense.
Stewart’s attorney, Robert Morvillo, made the decision about Stewart after it became apparent that Bacanovic would not testify.
With the trial winding down, Morvillo said he intends only to call a couple more witnesses, including, if the judge permits, a memory expert who would testify why Stewart was unable to remember some details of her ImClone stock sale.
Courtroom observers said final prosecution and defense arguments in the trial could begin later in the week or the judge might put them off until next Monday and Tuesday.
That would allow the jury to hear them together without interruption of the weekend.
Meanwhile, Stewart’s business manager today backed up a contention by Stewart’s lawyers that their client likely based statements to investigators about a suspect stock sale on information she was given by others.
Heidi DeLuca testified that six days before Stewart was to be interviewed by investigators she reminded her boss that Bacanovic had long wanted to sell the ImClone stock if the share price fell below a certain threshold.
DeLuca said Stewart asked her, “What do you remember about ImClone?” and she replied, “I remember Peter wanted to set some kind of bottom price of $60 or $61.”
Stewart’s lawyers maintain her conversation with DeLuca was fresh in their client’s mind days later when she was questioned by investigators about the sale of nearly 4,000 shares of the biotech company.
Stewart told the investigators during the interview that she sold her ImClone stock because of a pre-existing deal with Bacanovic to unload the shares when the price fell to $60.
Government lawyers say no such agreement existed, arguing that Stewart sold the stock after she was tipped by the stockbroker’s assistant that the biotech company’s founder was dumping his shares.
Prosecutors maintain Stewart and Bacanovic were worried the trade was illegal and lied to cover it up in a criminal conspiracy.
They are charged with the criminal conspiracy and Stewart is further charged with securities fraud.
Morvillo, Stewart’s attorney, has indicated that DeLuca’s testimony will be one of the key elements of his defense.
“This information, right or wrong, was given to Ms Stewart five days before she went before the government,” Morvillo told the judge on Monday in arguments about how much of DeLuca’s testimony would be allowed.
“She (Stewart) remembered the conversation … she reiterated part of that memory to the government.”
