NEW YORK Stewart resigns from top positions with her company

Stewart ran a full page newspaper ad Wednesday proclaiming her innocence.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Martha Stewart stepped down as head of the company she built on her vision of gracious living -- a media empire now scarred by an indictment that could send its founder to prison.
Stewart resigned late Wednesday as chairwoman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which has made her a fortune and stamped her style on everything from magazines and TV screens to bed linens and bath towels. She plans to stay on as creative chief and a member of the board.
Stewart's resignation came hours after federal prosecutors in New York charged her with obstruction of justice, conspiracy, securities fraud and lying to investigators.
She pleaded innocent on all counts before a federal judge, saying "not guilty" in a calm, deliberate tone and with little expression on her face.
Background
The indictment stems from Stewart's sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems on Dec. 27, 2001 -- the day before a disappointing Food and Drug Administration report that sent the biotech company's stock price tumbling.
Also indicted was Peter Bacanovic, Stewart's former broker at Merrill Lynch, who prosecutors say illegally sent word to Stewart that the family of ImClone founder Samuel Waksal was planning to unload shares.
Bacanovic also pleaded innocent to all counts against him, including perjury and obstruction of justice.
In an open letter published as a full-page ad today in USA Today, Stewart said, "I want you to know that I am innocent -- and that I will fight to clear my name."
"I simply returned a call from my stockbroker," Stewart wrote. "Based in large part on prior discussions with my broker about price, I authorized a sale of my remaining shares in a biotech company called ImClone. I later denied any wrongdoing in public statements and voluntary interviews with prosecutors. The government's attempt to criminalize these actions makes no sense to me."
The letter was also published on a Web site -- marthatalks.com -- where Stewart said she would post information about the case.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $2 million fine for Stewart, and 25 years and $1.25 million for Bacanovic. Any sentences would likely be much lighter under federal guidelines.
Following the indictment, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint seeking to ban Stewart, 61, from ever leading a public company and to limit her activity as officer of a public company.
Regulators also want the court to force Stewart and Bacanovic to pay more than $45,000 -- the losses they say Stewart avoided by unloading ImClone stock before Wall Street learned legally that the FDA had declined to review ImClone's application for approval of its cancer drug Erbitux.
At a news conference, Manhattan U.S. Attorney James Comey told reporters the case was about Stewart's alleged lies -- to the SEC, the FBI and to her own investors.
"Martha Stewart is being prosecuted not because of who she is but because of what she did," he said.
Here's the question
Her attorney said Stewart was being unfairly targeted -- perhaps because of her extraordinarily high profile.
Attorney Robert Morvillo also asked: "Is it because she is a woman who has successfully competed in a man's business world by virtue of her talent, hard work and demanding standards?"
At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum, Stewart was released without bail until her next court appearance June 19. Stewart ignored reporters and camera crews as she entered and left the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan.
The indictment does not allege Stewart had specific knowledge of the FDA decision -- only that the Waksals were about to dump shares. She was not charged with insider trading, a more difficult charge to prove than fraud.