STEWART
Now that Martha Stewart has been safely confined behind the no-bars Alderson minimum-security Federal Prison for Women, in West Virginia, we can all sleep better at night knowing justice has prevailed.
It is time, however, for a question which I have been wanting to set forth for some time.
Agreed, Martha Stewart is in jail for lying about her activities in regard to the sale of ImClone stock.
The point I would like to see clarified is one which would be little or no trouble at all for the team which hunted Martha Stewart down valiantly and threw a big chunk of the book at her.
Is it possible for authorities to go back to existing records - those of the brokerage houses concerned, the phone companies, e-mail and delivery services - all the means used to bring Martha Stewart to justice, to determine who else might have sold ImClone stock in the week before the demise of the stock's price. Is it logical that Martha Stewart, a relatively small investor, could possibly have been the only person so “favored” with a warning to sell. Certainly, she was not the only holder of such stock which “moved” during that critical week or so. If there were others who sold, they should be asked to explain why they did so. If they deny having done so because of any suggestions by insiders are they, then to be considered as fabricating, decorating the facts - lying?
Certainly, Martha Stewart's sale was not the only piece of business brokerage firms did during that time period. Isn't it only fair that further investigations be done to find out who did sell and why at that particular moment in time? How many will say they don't remember? How many will be hoping the records have been properly adjusted or conveniently misplaced or accidentally destroyed or lost to minimize any possibilities of retracing business activities of those dated, contact made and actions taken?
We owe it to Martha Stewart to investigate the “also rans” in this
seeming series of mis-deeds.
And another thing that irks me no end: this media thing of calling the[prison “Camp Cupcake”. No prison is, in any way, like any “piece of cake” in whatever form or shape. An individual never knows what the attitude of fellow prisoners might be or become, and, that alone, makes residence therein potentially a property leased from Hell itself.
A. L .M. October 10, 2004 [c414wds]
