Gregory Casey's legal drama has one more chapter.

The former Qwest executive, who appeared in a Denver courtroom this week to testify in the trial of Joe Nacchio, was arrested March 18 in his hometown of Houston after his wife was pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving, police said.

Casey, 48, faces a misdemeanor charge for obstructing a police officer who was giving his wife a sobriety test, according to the Houston Police Department.

Laura Casey, 35, was charged with driving while intoxicated after running a red light near the 1700 block of Westheimer Road, a major artery in West Houston, police spokesman John Cannon said.

The couple, whose names land frequently in the society pages of the Houston Chronicle, was taken to a city jail and released on a $500 bond, according to the Harris County district attorney's office.

The Caseys' court hearing is scheduled for April 9.

The incident occurred just after midnight. The officer smelled alcohol on Laura Casey's breath and asked her to get out of the car, police said. That's when her husband also got out and started questioning the officer and yelling at his wife, "telling her what to do and what not to do," Cannon said.

Greg Casey repeatedly refused to get back in the car, police said.

Neither the Caseys nor their attorney in Houston could be reached for comment.

Casey, who resigned from Qwest in 2001, was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and paid $2.1 million to settle the case.

Testifying in the trial of the ex-Qwest CEO under an immunity deal with prosecutors, Casey was the latest witness to tell the jury about warnings Nacchio received in late 2000 and early 2001 that Qwest might not hit its financial targets.

The government contends Nacchio had that "insider" information when he sold more than $100 million of Qwest stock.

Lawyers brought up the Casey arrest during a sidebar discussion in the trial this week, according to a transcript. Defense attorney Jeffrey Speiser, citing the police report, said Casey told police "I live next door to the mayor" and questioned whether Casey lied to try to get out of trouble.

The judge, however, called the incident "collateral" and urged the lawyers to move on with Casey's testimony.

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2544