Stewart sentencing pushed back

NEW YORK — A federal judge has delayed the sentencing of Martha Stewart until next month, giving lawyers for the celebrity homemaker time to prepare new legal papers aimed at winning her a new trial.

Sentencing for Stewart and former stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, originally set for June 17, was rescheduled for July 8. The decision, made by the judge Friday, was confirmed Monday by prosecutors and defense lawyers.

Lawyers for Stewart asked for the three-week delay so they could draw up a motion arguing for a new trial after a prosecution ink expert was charged last month with lying on the witness stand.

In a message posted on her Web site, Stewart said the delay would enable the court to “consider a motion my lawyers will make for a new trial based on the improper behavior of a key government witness.”

Federal prosecutors declined to comment.

Stewart and Bacanovic were convicted March 5 of lying to investigators about why Stewart sold 3,928 shares of ImClone Systems Inc. stock in December 2001, just before the price plunged on a negative government report.

They are expected to be sentenced to 10 to 16 months in prison.

Last month, federal prosecutors charged Larry Stewart, a Secret Service ink expert who is not related to Martha Stewart, with lying eight times during his testimony as a government witness.

Still, legal experts say Stewart and Bacanovic face uphill battles in arguing for a new trial based on the perjury charges against Larry Stewart.

Larry Stewart’s testimony mainly concerned a charge of falsifying documents against Bacanovic — a count on which the jury found the former broker not guilty.