Martha probe moves to phone calls

PHONE records of the broker used by Martha Stewart, chief executive of Martha Stewart Living and the darling of middle America, are to be examined by authorities probing alleged insider dealing in ImClone Systems shares.

A US House of Representatives panel has subpoenaed Peter Bacanovic, who works for Merrill Lynch, ordering him to supply all his phone records since December.

The panel is examining whether Stewart had inside information when she sold nearly 4,000 ImClone shares on 27 December, a day before US regulators refused to review its cancer drug Erbitux. The shares plummeted when the decision was made public. A Panel spokesman said: 'We gave Peter Bacanovic every opportunity to provide these records voluntarily but we continue to get the runaround from his attorneys.' Bacanovic's lawyer refused to comment.

Stewart, a one-woman branded industry, is seen as the embodiment of home baking and wholesome values. She has said that she and Bacanovic had agreed to sell her shares if they fell below $60. She received $230,000 (£151,000) for them.