Posts on ‘August 3rd, 2009’

The New Jersey state Supreme Court on Thursday denied a new trial to reputed mobster Martin Taccetta and reinstated his life sentence for racketeering and extortion, rejecting his claim that bad legal advice led him to reject a favorable plea deal. In 1993, Taccetta, an alleged member of the Lucchese crime family, was accused of extorting money from two brothers in a business that made video slot machines, and of murdering their uncle, allegedly for missing payments to the family. He was acquitted of murder.

A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit concluded on Friday that a district court erred in sentencing former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio to six years on the basis of alleged insider trading gains of $28 million. In a ruling that continues Nacchio’s long roller-coaster ride through the criminal justice system, the federal appeals court reversed the lower court’s sentence Friday and remanded Nacchio to federal district court for resentencing. He could face a new sentence of as little as 3 1/2 years.