Court throws out Nacchio insider trading verdicts

LOS ANGELES, March 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday threw out all guilty verdicts against former Qwest Communications International Inc (Q.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Joseph Nacchio, ordering a new trial in an insider trading case seen as a test of government attempts to squash corporate fraud.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver voted 2-1 to overturn all 19 guilty counts and ordered a new trial in front of a new judge, saying that Judge Edward Nottingham had improperly excluded an expert witness ready to testify for Nacchio.

In April, a Denver federal jury found Nacchio guilty of 19 of 42 counts of insider trading. Prosecutors had accused him of unloading $101 million of Qwest shares after company insiders warned him that the phone carrier could not meet its financial targets. (Reporting by Robert Boczkiewicz, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)