EX-HUBBY SAW FALL COMING (Martha)

New York Post ^ | 3/08/04 | JOHN LEHMANN

[kattracks]

March 8, 2004 -- Martha Stewart's ex-husband, Andy Stewart, feared the princess of perfection's long-held habit of telling whoppers would one day trigger her downfall, a former business partner told The Post yesterday. Norma Collier, who was Martha Stewart's first business partner when they started a catering business in Connecticut in 1974, said yesterday that Stewart's self-made disaster was "very sad" - and almost inevitable.

[cynicom]

Prison time for non violent crime has always been for a deterrent value. It is her fault she is in this position, no one else's.

[Reelect President Dubya]

Very well stated, Maria. These are crooks who undermine investor confidence and destabilize our market economy. Vultures like Waksal, Bacanovic and Stewart build companies and profit from them on the backs of thousands of investors like you and then rob them blind. It amazes me that such obvious criminals would have so many apologists.

Martha did not commit insider trading.

Not a single one of your pennies is safer with Martha behind bars.

[RichardW]

I disagree. Modeling those orange jump suits is very important to these high rollers. They actually fear going to prison, much more than common pedestrian criminals. I've seen those clowns actually laughing and cutting up when they are paraded around in chains. Martha won't be laughing.

[pepperdog]

Thank you for your concise outline of the case, I haven't really kept up with it. Your conclusion of "I would probably dump my shares too" is exactly what I have been thinking.

My question to the learned people of this forum is: What would have been the proper thing for Martha Stewart to do after hearing that her investment was going down the tubes?

[Ditter]

Martha in an orange jumpsuit is important for other would-be Marthas to see. Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, the consenquences just need to be very easy to see. Remember the dunce cap & the chair in the corner? Well, I don't actually remember seeing anything like a dunce cap either but I remember pictures of it. That was enough for me.

[Quix]

I'm glad I've finished my shredded tweat. I'd hate to have to try and clean out all the little bits from my keyboard!

FARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

We'd have to ship them all off to Australia! And what a load of tankers and QE2's that would take!

[painter]

"IOW, when she emerges from prison she will be worth 100 million instead of 500 million"

If her company goes bankrup she may not be worth even that.

[Capriole]

Some people on this thread are imagining Martha in an orange jumpsuit doing hard time in the state correctional facility with a lot of enormous tattooed women whose hair is cut very, very short. But this is unlikely to be the case. There are quite a few no-security facilities or pre-release centers where the more delicate can be sent. Someone I know committed a rather serious crime, but was extended some mercy by the judge because his age and background made it unlikely he'd last long in an ordinary prison. He was sent to a "prison" that looked like an office building in a nice suburb. You would never guess that this place was a prison. Many of the inmates were allowed out during the day to go to jobs or church. It's likely that Martha will be sent to the same sort of place. It's not a hotel, and she'll have to pull some pretty menial tasks, but this will be as well, for she might just learn a bit of humility.

Do you not see? Martha could well give the government $30 million and do a meals-on-wheels sort of activity rather than going to prison--but what message does this send? The message would be that a rich arrogant woman could engage in securities crimes and then buy her way to freedom. Believe me, there are a lot of other rich people in New York who would like to hear that if they get caught commiting securities crimes all they'd have to do is spend six months in a comfortable pre-release center; they might well consider that the gamble was worth it. If Martha can buy her way out or is perceived as too delicate to be punished, this gives a green light to all the arrogant, high-rolling risk-takers who infest Wall Street and think they too are too smart to get caught.

The government does not need her money, which is a drop in the federal bucket. What it needs desperately is to communicate to people who are the big players in securities trading that this sort of dishonesty will not stand. Investors must be able to believe that the markets are basically well-policed and that investors who are not Martha Stewart can trade in safety, without being backstabbed by insider trading.

[Bluntpoint]

Yeah, it is just white collar crime. It ain't like looting a store during a riot.

White collar criminals don't need the distraction of a riot to loot.

[Miss Marple]

Quite true, regarding the ex-husband. As I understand it, the downward departure has been taken into consideration in the estimates of time she will serve. I am not an expert on federal sentencing guidelines and am only reporting what I have heard two legal experts on Fox say.

If you have a source that explains the guidelines in more detail it would be grat if you could post it.

[Savage Beast]

"Goodness...if they put people in jail for telling whoppers or breaking the laws.......where will we put all the Democrats?"

Good one, Rave. I guess that's why, to Democrats, perjury and obstruction of justice are no big deal.

[Xenalyte]

My question to the learned people of this forum is: What would have been the proper thing for Martha Stewart to do after hearing that her investment was going down the tubes?

Were I in her position, I would have held the shares, taken a small bath on the loss, and reported Bacanovic for passing on inside info.

Avoiding not just impropriety but also the appearance of impropriety is crucial.

[HitmanLV]

One subtlety lost in the post verdict analysis is that the defense also decided to make John Ashcroft a defendant in the case. They pushed the 'send a message to John Ashcroft and his Constitution shredding cronines' angle.

I am glad it didn't work, in of all places, manhattantown.

[camas]

no one is suppose to be above the law, not even a rich bit#h. let her do the time.

[camas]

wrong town. DC is not New York. no way could you a conviction of a clinton in a black town.

[camas]

yes

[Cboldt]

Martha did not commit insider trading.

True. But the SEC has a pending civil suit against Martha for illegal insider trading, so there is a case to be made that she did in fact commit insider trading.

You might want to take account of the fact of a civil suit in your posts, lest somebody come to the conclusion that you are being deceptive.

[Reelect President Dubya]

You might want to take account of the fact of a civil suit in your posts, lest somebody come to the conclusion that you are being deceptive.

And pretending like being charged with something is the same thing as being convicted is not deception?

[devane617]

I say fine her 25-50 mil and send her to prison. She did the crime, had an opportunity to plead to a lesser charge and do no time. She continued her lying pompous ways until she got what she deserved.

[Cboldt]

And pretending like being charged with something is the same thing as being convicted is not deception?

You flat out asserted, with no explanation: "Martha did not commit insider trading."

The allegations against Martha, made by the SEC, do amount to illegal insider trading. Therefore, your flat out assertion is still up for grabs. There is no "pretending she was charged with insider trading," she has IN FACT been charged, and the charge is pending in a civil court.