Ex-Qwest Executives Settle SEC Lawsuits

Two former Qwest Communications International Inc. executives agreed Monday to settle Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuits that accused them of helping cover up a 2001 revenue shortfall at the Denver telecom company, federal court documents showed.

Former Senior Vice President Augustine Cruciotti agreed to pay $150,000. Steven Haggerty, a former regional vice president, agreed to pay $30,000 to settle the lawsuits without admitting wrongdoing in the matter.

The SEC accused Cruciotti of aiding in the improper recognition of $26.6 million in revenue in early 2001. Haggerty was accused of aiding in the improper recognition of $11.5 million in revenue to help Qwest meet financial targets.

Federal prosecutors had made their investigation of Qwest executives a showcase of the government campaign against corporate misconduct.

But a Colorado jury in April failed to hand down a single guilty verdict in a criminal trial of four former executives that ended in a partial mistrial.

Cruciotti and Haggerty, who were not part of that trial, were executives of Qwestlink, Qwest’s unit responsible for building its U.S. fiber-optic network.