Aug 11, 2006 10:40 am US/Mountain
Lead Prosecutor Withdrawing From Nacchio Case
DENVER (AP) ―
The lead prosecutor is withdrawing from the insider-trading case against former Qwest Communications International chief executive Joseph Nacchio.
Bill Leone, the acting U.S. attorney for Colorado, said Thursday he is returning to private practice. He said he wants to step down as soon as possible but will help with the transition to a new prosecutor.
Leone is the second prosecutor to leave the case. Mike Koenig, of the Justice Department's Washington-based criminal fraud section, withdrew two months ago to return to private practice.
Leone, 49, has been lead prosecutor in cases stemming from Qwest's accounting scandal since 2002, when he was an assistant U.S. attorney.
He has been acting U.S. attorney since December 2004 but soon will be replaced by Troy Eid, who was appointed by President Bush and has been confirmed by the Senate.
No date has been set for Eid to take office.
"I respect Bill's decision to return to private life -- and his commitment to serve on the Qwest prosecution team as long as necessary to ensure an effective transition," Eid said in a statement.
Nacchio faces 42 counts of insider trading related to the sale of $101 million in Qwest stock in early 2001. He has pleaded not guilty.
He left Qwest in June 2002.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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