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CNN Live At Daybreak
Sam Waksal Sentencing
Aired June 10, 2003 - 06:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: He captained his company from humble beginnings to one of the nation's most prominent biotech firms, but today Sam Waksal pays the price for corporate greed. Tipped off the FDA would reject ImClone's application to market a cancer drug, Waksal allegedly tried to dump company stock. He pleaded guilty last October to charges of insider trading.
In the recent series of corporate scandals, Waksal is the first CEO to plead guilty to criminal charges. He faces a maximum of 75 years, but six to seven years is much more likely. He also faces up to $3.5 million in fines.
So, time for a little "Coffey Talk" right now, legal analyst Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami to talk Waksal.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so how much time will he get, do you think?
COFFEY: Well, the range that's being talked about is 70 to 87 months. Obviously, the defense is going to try to argue extraordinary circumstances to go below 70 months. The prosecution may seek higher than that.
But let's face it. The days of six months at club fed are long over. So, I think we can expect a sentence in the high end of that range...
(AUDIO GAP)
COSTELLO: ... CEO, will that make a difference to the judge?
COFFEY: Well, it does in several respects. First of all, as a CEO, it's pretty hard to cooperate against anyone else. It's lonely at the top, and there are no higher-ups for him to go after. So, the big way to get a sentence reduction is, of course, cooperation. That's not available here.
And beyond that, because he's going to be seen as, in effect, that leader of the pyramid, accountability is going to be at its highest.
COSTELLO: And, of course, how will this case affect Martha Stewart? Because he indirectly gave her information to dump her ImClone stock. COFFEY: Well, that would have been the one source of cooperation he might have provided to reduce his sentence, but apparently the only allegation in the federal papers that were filed last week indicates that Martha Stewart tried to contact Waksal to find out what was going on. Not clear that he ever even returned her call.
So, apparently there was really no direct communication between the two of them, so ultimately his sentencing today may have very little impact, if any, on the Martha Stewart case.
COSTELLO: And I should have put a big "allegedly" in my question to you, and I apologize to Martha Stewart for that.
You know, he's pleading guilty to many charges, I should say, instead of reaching some sort of plea agreement by spilling information about his friends; that investigators want him to spill, that is. Why is he doing that?
COFFEY: Well, of course, what's frustrating from his standpoint is he can't cooperate. As we've talked about, there is no one higher up at ImClone, and apparently he has nothing against Martha Stewart. I think he made the unusual deal he did to try to get the charges past him and hope that the federal authorities won't continue to go after either his father or daughter, both of whom were allegedly implicated in the scheme.
So, I think the unusual plea deal or plea agreement that he made was really based on trying to get most of this past him and hope that the feds will never go after family members.
COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey, thanks for your insights and waking up early with DAYBREAK.
COFFEY: Thank you, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired June 10, 2003 - 06:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: He captained his company from humble beginnings to one of the nation's most prominent biotech firms, but today Sam Waksal pays the price for corporate greed. Tipped off the FDA would reject ImClone's application to market a cancer drug, Waksal allegedly tried to dump company stock. He pleaded guilty last October to charges of insider trading.
In the recent series of corporate scandals, Waksal is the first CEO to plead guilty to criminal charges. He faces a maximum of 75 years, but six to seven years is much more likely. He also faces up to $3.5 million in fines.
So, time for a little "Coffey Talk" right now, legal analyst Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami to talk Waksal.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so how much time will he get, do you think?
COFFEY: Well, the range that's being talked about is 70 to 87 months. Obviously, the defense is going to try to argue extraordinary circumstances to go below 70 months. The prosecution may seek higher than that.
But let's face it. The days of six months at club fed are long over. So, I think we can expect a sentence in the high end of that range...
(AUDIO GAP)
COSTELLO: ... CEO, will that make a difference to the judge?
COFFEY: Well, it does in several respects. First of all, as a CEO, it's pretty hard to cooperate against anyone else. It's lonely at the top, and there are no higher-ups for him to go after. So, the big way to get a sentence reduction is, of course, cooperation. That's not available here.
And beyond that, because he's going to be seen as, in effect, that leader of the pyramid, accountability is going to be at its highest.
COSTELLO: And, of course, how will this case affect Martha Stewart? Because he indirectly gave her information to dump her ImClone stock. COFFEY: Well, that would have been the one source of cooperation he might have provided to reduce his sentence, but apparently the only allegation in the federal papers that were filed last week indicates that Martha Stewart tried to contact Waksal to find out what was going on. Not clear that he ever even returned her call.
So, apparently there was really no direct communication between the two of them, so ultimately his sentencing today may have very little impact, if any, on the Martha Stewart case.
COSTELLO: And I should have put a big "allegedly" in my question to you, and I apologize to Martha Stewart for that.
You know, he's pleading guilty to many charges, I should say, instead of reaching some sort of plea agreement by spilling information about his friends; that investigators want him to spill, that is. Why is he doing that?
COFFEY: Well, of course, what's frustrating from his standpoint is he can't cooperate. As we've talked about, there is no one higher up at ImClone, and apparently he has nothing against Martha Stewart. I think he made the unusual deal he did to try to get the charges past him and hope that the federal authorities won't continue to go after either his father or daughter, both of whom were allegedly implicated in the scheme.
So, I think the unusual plea deal or plea agreement that he made was really based on trying to get most of this past him and hope that the feds will never go after family members.
COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey, thanks for your insights and waking up early with DAYBREAK.
COFFEY: Thank you, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
