Imclone chief admits corruption - finally

The former chief executive of drugs firm ImClone Systems yesterday pleaded guilty to insider trading charges, allowing US prosecutors to notch up another victory in their war on Wall Street corruption.

Sam Waksal, the founder of the former stock market star, reversed a previous plea of not guilty on six of 13 counts laid out in an indictment two months ago. In a statement to reporters outside the courtroom he confessed to making "some terrible mistakes".

He is accused of tipping off family members that a key cancer-fighting drug, Erbitux, was about to be rejected by regulators, allowing them to sell shares in the company ahead of the announcement. His father Jack and daughter Aliza sold $10m of shares.

Waksal's plea could bring further pressure to bear on his friend, the celebrity business woman Martha Stewart, who sold $230,000 of shares in ImClone the day before the drug was rejected, last December. Prosecutors said they were still investigating the sale of $30m of ImClone shares in the days before Erbitux's rejection.

Waksal, 55, pleaded guilty on six counts: securities fraud, perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice by asking family members to lie, obstruction of justice and bank fraud for forging the signature of ImClone's gen eral counsel to persuade Bank of America to loan him millions of dollars.

He said: "This has been a difficult time and a sad time for me, my family and my friends. I've made some terrible mistakes and I deeply regret what has happened. I was wrong. I regret more than anything else having involved my daughter Aliza, who has done nothing wrong and has suffered so much as a result of my actions."

He has not pleaded guilty to conspiring with his daughter to trade on inside information, providing her with the defence that she had no idea why he had told her to sell. He could still go to trial on the other seven counts in the indictment.

Waksal urged investors not to allow his actions to detract from the company, now run by his brother. "The media attention brought about because of me has cast a shadow on ImClone, a wonderful company with talented and dedicated scientists and employees. These are people developing great drugs for the future. Most importantly, focus has been taken away from Erbitux."

Waksal will be sentenced in January, and could face between seven and 65 years.

The assistant to Ms Stewart's broker at Merrill Lynch has already admitted to a misdemeanor in return for giving evidence against the domestic doyen - who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.