New York - ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal pleaded guilty Tuesday to securities and bank fraud charges, and did not implicate friend and investor Martha Stewart in the company’s insider trading scandal. Waksal did not have an agreement to cooperate with the Justice Department.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Martha Stewart acted on illegally obtained information about the Food and Drug Administration’s decision not to review ImClone’s experimental cancer drug, Erbitux. Stewart sold close to 4,000 ImClone shares on Dec. 27 - one day before the FDA’s announcement. Stewart has maintained her innocence.

(via The Associated Press)