MARTHA STEWART CASE Expert witness is charged with perjury

Two counts of perjury carry up to 10 years in prison.
NEW YORK (AP) -- A Secret Service ink expert who testified for the government at the Martha Stewart trial was charged Friday with lying repeatedly on the stand. Lawyers for a stockbroker convicted with Stewart called for a new trial.
Stewart's attorneys said the perjury charges cast new doubt on the government's case against the domestic entrepreneur. Prosecutors insisted the charges did not undermine the convictions of Martha Stewart or her former broker, Peter Bacanovic.
The expert, Larry F. Stewart, was called as an expert witness by the government to discuss ink used on a worksheet prepared by Bacanovic listing stocks in Martha Stewart's portfolio.
Accusation
Prosecutors had accused Bacanovic of doctoring the worksheet to back up a cover story for why Martha Stewart sold ImClone Systems Inc. stock. Bacanovic was cleared on that charge, but convicted on four other counts.
Larry Stewart, who is not related to Martha Stewart, testified that he had worked on two ink-analysis examinations of the worksheet, in August 2002 and January 2004. Prosecutors said the Secret Service informed them last week that Stewart, the laboratory director at the Secret Service, did not work on those tests.
In addition, Stewart falsely testified that he was familiar with a proposal for a scientific textbook on ink analysis that had been submitted by two of his subordinates, Manhattan U.S. Attorney David Kelley said.
Larry Stewart, 46, of Bethesda, Md., was taken into custody by federal agents. At a brief court appearance Friday, Stewart was released on $50,000 bail and a preliminary hearing was set for June 10. He did not enter a plea.
Larry Stewart's lawyer, Lawrence Feld, said he hadn't had an opportunity to discuss the charges with his client.
The two counts of perjury -- based on eight statements made by Larry Stewart during his testimony on Feb. 19 and Feb. 25 -- carry up to 10 years in prison.
Convictions
Martha Stewart and Bacanovic were convicted March 5 of lying to federal authorities about why Stewart sold 3,928 shares of ImClone in December 2001, just before it plunged on a negative government report. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 17, and faces 10 to 16 months in prison.
Lawyers for Martha Stewart and Bacanovic quickly issued statements saying the perjury charges called the validity of the convictions into question.
"We believe that the perjury of a key government witness undermines any integrity there was in the jury's verdict and will require a new trial, and we will pursue one," Bacanovic lawyer Richard Strassberg said.
Martha Stewart's lead lawyers, Robert Morvillo and John J. Tigue, said the new information "further undermines the integrity of the prosecution of Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic."