Forensic Expert Charged With Lying in Martha Stewart Case

A government expert lied about his role in examining a spreadsheet used in the insider trading trial of Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic, federal prosecutors charged Friday. Officials don't believe the allegations will affect the pair's convictions.

Larry Stewart, the chief forensic scientist for the Secret Service, wasn't present at an initial examination of the spreadsheet in August 2002, despite testifying that he was involved in each forensic inspection of the document, the government alleged. He is charged with two counts of perjury in a complaint released Friday afternoon.

Martha Stewart and Bacanovic, her former Merrill Lynch broker, were convicted March 5 of lying to the government about Stewart's well-timed sale of about 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems(IMCL Quote) in December 2001. Both are awaiting sentencing next month. ...