The former chief executive of Qwest Communications International Ltd., Joseph Nacchio, was convicted of insider trading, capping a five-year federal crackdown on corporate crime after the collapse of Enron Corp.

A jury in Denver yesterday found Nacchio guilty of selling stock based on private warnings from top lieutenants that the company would miss revenue targets. Prosecutors said he made $101 million by illegally trading on inside information he withheld from investors.

“The term ‘convicted felon Joe Nacchio’ has a very nice ring to it,” said Colorado U.S. Attorney Troy Eid outside the courthouse following the verdict. “Make no mistake my friends, this is an overwhelming determination of guilt.”

The jury found Nacchio guilty on 19 counts of insider trading for trades totaling $52 million. He was found not guilty of 23 counts relating to earlier trades totaling $49 million. Facing a maximum 10-year term and $1 million fine on each count, Nacchio, 57, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

The conviction is the latest in American corporate fraud offensive that began when Enron filed bankruptcy in 2001. Hundreds of executives have been convicted, including three ex-CEOs, Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling, WorldCom Inc.’s Bernard Ebbers, and the founder of Adelphia Communications Corp., John Rigas.

Nacchio, who built Qwest into the fourth-largest American phone company and presided over a $100 billion drop in market value, left the courthouse with his wife Anne without commenting. The jury of eight men and four women convicted him after six days of deliberations.

U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham set his sentencing date for July 27. The judge refused a request by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cliff Stricklin to increase Nacchio’s bail from $2 million to $5 million. Mr. Nottingham said Nacchio posed no risk of flight, and he saw no reason to modify his terms of bail.

Nacchio, who was CEO from 1997 to 2002, didn’t testify in his own defense at the four-week trial.