Ex-Qwest Exec Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

A former top executive of Qwest Communications International Inc. pleaded guilty to wire fraud, avoiding a five-week trial that had been set to start next week.

Former Qwest Executive Vice President Marc Weisberg, 48, is among seven former Qwest executives charged since 2003 as part of a three-year probe by federal prosecutors in Denver, which led to the indictment last week of former Qwest Chief Executive Joseph Nacchio on charges of insider trading.

Weisberg entered his plea in U.S. District Court as part of a plea bargain in which he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and may serve as a witness in the case involving his former boss, Nacchio, who pleaded not guilty.