Appeals court upholds conviction

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 | 9:58 a.m.

A federal appeals court Thursday upheld the conviction of a man sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar stock scam in Las Vegas.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of Keith Shwayder, who was convicted of racketeering and other charges in the scam.

Shwayder, of Denver, Michael Swan of Las Vegas and Kevin Orton of Salt Lake City were convicted of paying bribes to stockbrokers to promote stock in Las Vegas-Based Teletek Inc. and its subsidiary United Payphone Services Inc.

In his appeal, Shwayder said his attorney at trial, John Schlie, had a conflict of interest because he previously represented Swan.

The appeals court agreed Schlie had a conflict of interest but said that it did not adversely affect his representation of Shwayder.

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