| jgrove24@hotmail.com 2007-04-20, 10:33 pm |
| The only thing I could think of to say was, 'That clown's going to
jail,' " said Ticha, who retired from Qwest in 2001. "I just hope he's
incarcerated for a long time. I would have been absolutely devastated
if he was acquitted, honest to God. I think it would have broken my
heart."
The Loveland resident started her 27-year phone company career in
Illinois before moving to Colorado to work for Mountain Bell, U S West
and then Qwest.
The 62-year-old Ticha estimates she lost about $65,000 in retirement
savings when the company's stock collapsed.
Mary Lopez was more fortunate. She rolled much of her Qwest stock into
other investments after retiring at 50 from a 26-year career at the
company.
That didn't change her view about what she thought Nacchio deserved.
"There's hope for justice yet," said Lopez, reacting to the multiple
guilty counts by phone from her home in Denver.
Lopez soon began worrying about whether Nacchio would serve a lengthy
jail sentence.
"If they don't hang this dude out to dry, something is really, really
wrong with society," she said. "They need to sell all his assets and
put it back in the retirement fund."
But the outcome far exceeded the expectation of the head of the
association representing U S West retirees.
"We were going to be happy if he got a guilty on just one count," said
Mimi Hull, president of the Association of U S West Retirees. "He just
epitomizes corporate greed and arrogance. I would love to have seen
the look on his face when they read the guilty verdict."
In her long tenure with the company, Hull managed everyone from
telephone operators to male engineers. More recently, she's spent her
time trying to stem losses in benefits for retired workers.
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