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Ex-Qwest Executive Hall Pleads Guilty: Page 3 of 4

The four were accused of conspiring to inflate Qwest revenue through the sale of computer equipment to link Arizona schools to the Internet as part of a $100 million deal in 2001. Each faced 11 charges that could have resulted in decades in prison.

The investigations ultimately led the company to erase $2.5 billion in revenue and prompted former CEO Joseph Nacchio to quit in 2002.

Nacchio has denied wrongdoing.

Under the plea agreement, Hall admitted to signing a June 29, 2001, letter to the Arizona School Facilities Board thanking it for its request to accelerate the equipment sale to allow Qwest to report revenue for the quarter ending the next day. The letter also outlined terms of the accelerated deal. In fact, the board had reluctantly agreed to Qwest's proposal to speed up the equipment sale only if Qwest would agree to terms that violated accounting standards, prosecutors said.

A federal civil lawsuit stemming from the Arizona deal is pending against the four former executives and four other former Qwest officials.