Court OKs Nacchio's Request To Drop Appeal

DENVER (AP) -- A federal appeals court in Denver has approved former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio's request to drop the appeal of his insider trading sentence.

Nacchio filed the request Friday with the 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals. The Denver Post reports it was approved Monday.

Nacchio was convicted in 2007 on 19 counts of insider trading. He was sentenced to six years in prison, and ordered to pay a $19 million fine and forfeit $52 million. A judge last year shaved two months from the prison term and $7.4 million from the forfeiture after the appeals court ruled Nacchio's gains from stock sales were miscalculated.

The U.S. attorney's office says ending the appeal lifts a hold on the fine and forfeiture money that has been in escrow during the legal wrangling.

Nacchio resigned from Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc. in 2002.

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