The smoking gun in the case against Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart and her broker socialite Peter Bacanovic were both indicted based on the following evidence that proved that Bacanovic and Stewart had both lied about having an existing understanding to sell the stock when it hit a fixed price according to this Reuters story:
"On or about Dec. 21, 2001, Peter Bacanovic printed a 'worksheet' that listed each of the stocks held by Martha Stewart," the nine-count indictment said. "Bacanovic made no notes on the worksheet regarding any purported decision to sell Stewart's ImClone shares at $60 per share."
It was sometime after Stewart's Dec. 27 sale that Bacanovic added the notation "(at) 60" next to the entry for ImClone, the government said, adding the ink was blue ballpoint but "scientifically distinguishable from the ink used elsewhere on the worksheet."