No More Get-Out-of-Jail Free Cards for Nacchio

Nearly four years after his arraignment and two years after his conviction for insider trading, former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio is finally reporting to prison.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer denied Nacchio's last ditch effort to remain a free man while the high court considers whether to review his case and hear his appeal. Nacchio's perseverance to delay the inevitable is almost admirable: He's tried to delay his sentence in three separate courts, including one requested postponement so he could have a doctor look at a "suspicious growth" on his leg.

A federal jury found Nacchio, 59, guilty of selling $52 million worth of Qwest stock in 2001 after learning that the company could not meet its financial goals, all while publicly upholding the strength of his company. He was convicted on 19 counts of insider trading and sentenced to six years in jail.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver had just rejected a motion for him to remain free on bail while pending the Supreme Court appeal. Under Supreme Court rules, individual justices evaluate the first filing of an emergency appeal.

Nacchio was one of several corporate executives convicted as part of a government push to convict executives after the rampant accounting fraud at companies like Enron and WorldCom.

By Joan R. Magee