Stewart repercussions begin

Erin Mcclam

Monday, March 8, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.

NEW YORK -- Martha Stewart arrived at a federal courthouse today to meet with a probation officer, the first step toward her June sentencing for lying about a stock sale.

Stewart, wearing a black overcoat and carrying an umbrella, stepped out of a sport utility vehicle just before 11 a.m. at the courthouse in lower Manhattan.

She did not speak with reporters. She was accompanied by Robert Morvillo, her lead lawyer, and Rebecca Monck, another member of her defense team.

Peter Bacanovic, the former stockbroker who was convicted along with Stewart on Friday, spent about a half-hour at the same courthouse earlier in the day at his own probation meeting.

At the probation meeting, newly convicted defendants give profile information to an officer and answer some basic questions. Probation officials later write a report for the judge handling the sentence.

Bacanovic and Stewart are each expected to get 10 to 16 months in prison after they were each convicted on four counts at their closely watched criminal trial.

Bacanovic arrived in a white sedan for the probation meeting and also did not speak with reporters. He was accompanied by lawyer Richard Strassberg.

Jurors found the pair lied about why Stewart sold 3,298 shares of ImClone Systems stock on Dec. 27, 2001, just before it plunged on a negative report from government regulators.

Stewart was convicted of conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of justice. Bacanovic was convicted of conspiracy, false statements, obstruction and perjury -- but cleared of falsifying a document.

U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum, who oversaw the trial, will determine the final sentence for each. Prosecutors and defense lawyers will submit papers arguing for tougher or lighter sentences.

Both Stewart and the broker have vowed to appeal, but legal experts have predicted they will have a difficult time convincing the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn their convictions.

Separately:

There was no immediate word about the show's future from King World, the show's syndicator, but the Viacom-owned stations in major media markets were considered its most important customers, said Bill Carroll, an expert on syndication for Katz Television.

The board of directors was to discuss Stewart's fate, according to a source close to the company who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The stock had traded at about $19 a share before Stewart's name surfaced in the ImClone investigation. Stewart owns about 30 million shares of the company, an approximate 61 percent stake, meaning she has lost millions as the stock has fallen.