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 Investigators Interviewed Dr. Bart Pasternak, A Friend of Martha Stewart's Who Sold 10,000 Shares of ImClone Sat Jun 22 2002 22:08:16 ET Sources close to the congressional investigation of Martha Stewart tell TIME that a new line of inquiry is focusing on a close friend of Stewart�s, Dr. Bart Pasternak, who sold 10,000 shares of ImClone at about the same time Stewart made her sale. The sale by Pasternak, a vascular surgeon who practices in Westport, Conn., came on Dec. 27 or 28, according to a source close to the congressional investigation. It was on Dec. 27 that Stewart sold her nearly 4,000 shares. TIME's Wall Street Editor Dan Kadlec writes, "What has caught the attention of investigators is that on Dec. 27, Stewart was traveling with Dr. Pasternak�s estranged wife, Mariana Pasternak, a real estate broker. While she and Stewart were on the ground in San Antonio en route to Mexico on Stewart�s private jet, Stewart phoned [Merrill Lynch broker Peter Bacanovic] to sell her shares and then tried to reach friend [Sam] Waksal, [the former ImClone CEO]. Investigators are trying to learn if Mariana Pasternak had contact that day with Dr. Pasternak, also a friend of Waksal. Neither of the Pasternaks returned calls." Investigators want to know who else Bacanovic spoke with that day, and they have sent a letter to Merrill asking for Bacanovic�s client list, phone log, e-mail and records of trades of ImClone. Dr. Pasternak held 100,000 shares at the time of his sale; he told investigators he sold his remaining 90,000 shares in January, a source said. Ken Johnson, spokesman for the House committee looking into the ImClone stock sales, confirmed that investigators have interviewed Dr. Pasternak, and said they are trying to set up a meeting with Mariana Pasternak. They were scheduled to question Bacanovic this week, but he is seeking new counsel. "As the coincidences pile up," Johnson tells TIME, "the possibility that no one knew anything goes way down." Stewart and Bacanovic have denied inside trading, saying they had an oral agreement to sell ImClone if it fell to $60; her shares were sold at $58, a source tells TIME. But Merrill has found no evidence to support claims of such an agreement. Stewart and her lawyers declined to comment on this development, and Bacanovic was unavailable. Bacanovic gave Merrill executives an undated printout of Stewart�s holdings with "$60" penciled in by the ImClone entry, but Merrill, according to one source, has evidence that something other than the price triggered the trade. Merrill reported its findings to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney. "In an odd twist," TIME reports, Stewart�s syndicated TV show on Thursday aired a rerun of an April 2000 episode featuring Stewart cooking gumbo with Representative Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who is leading the committee investigating her. Stewart�s office called Tauzin to be sure he knew the show was running. Stewart said the airing was "a matter of course." Her spokesperson said notifying Tauzin was "routine." Developing... |
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