H
Hildegarda
Guest
This has been expected ever since Enron's infamous Ken Lay died a day pefore sentencing. What this means is basicaly thta his family gets to keep $40+ mln, and those whom he victimized get no compensation .
I am serisouly wondering if the man has staged his own death. It is just all fits together.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-10-17T233223Z_01_N17271643_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENRON-LAY.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C1-topNews-9
Convictions of dead Enron chief Ken Lay thrown out
By Bruce Nichols
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed the conspiracy and fraud convictions of Enron Corp. founder Ken Lay because he died before he could appeal.
Lay was convicted in Houston last May of crimes contributing to the collapse of the onetime energy trading giant in 2001, but he died in July before he could appeal.
"Lay died before sentencing, before a final judgment could be entered, and before a notice of appeal could be filed," U.S. District Judge Sim Lake wrote in his opinion.
Citing well-established law, Lake wrote that "Lay's conviction must be vacated and that this action against him must be dismissed," Lake wrote.
The decision came in response to a request from lawyers for Lay's estate and overruled objections from U.S. prosecutors and a man who said he was victimized by Enron's 2001 collapse.
Prosecutors issued a statement saying the ruling "does not change the fact that Mr. Lay was found guilty." They promised continued pursuit of restitution on behalf of Enron victims.
A lawyer for Russell Butler, a Maryland man who said he lost $8,000 in the Enron debacle, said she also planned an appeal.
A Houston jury convicted Lay and former Enron chief executive Jeff Skilling of multiple criminal counts for their part in Enron's spectacular collapse into bankruptcy.
Skilling is scheduled for sentencing Monday.
Lay also was convicted of personal banking violations in a separate proceeding before Judge Lake without a jury.
He dismissed all the counts.
Jurors found Lay and Skilling used accounting tricks to inflate profits and hide debt, leading Enron to phenomenal success in the late 1990s and a sudden spiral into bankruptcy in 2001.
The collapse caused investors to lose billions of dollars and cost thousands of workers their jobs and retirement savings.
Six weeks after he was convicted, Lay died of an apparent heart attack on July 5 while vacationing in Colorado.
The family is "pleased with the opinion and glad that the criminal case against Mr. Lay is at an end," said Sam Buffone, lawyer for Lay's estate.
In opposing dismissal of Lay's case, prosecutors argued that Lay's estate would be unjustly enriched by abating the convictions.
Lay's wealth once was estimated at $400 million, but he lost much of it in Enron's collapse.
Final disposition of his estate is pending in Harris County Probate Court. His widow, Linda, still lives in the couple's $10 million high-rise condominium.
Prosecutors also asked the judge to delay ruling until Congress could consider changing the law applying to Lay's situation. U.S. Congress never took up the request, Buffone said.
Butler's lawyer, Keli Luther, argued voiding Lay's convictions violated his right to restitution under a federal victims' rights law.
I am serisouly wondering if the man has staged his own death. It is just all fits together.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-10-17T233223Z_01_N17271643_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENRON-LAY.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C1-topNews-9
Convictions of dead Enron chief Ken Lay thrown out
By Bruce Nichols
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed the conspiracy and fraud convictions of Enron Corp. founder Ken Lay because he died before he could appeal.
Lay was convicted in Houston last May of crimes contributing to the collapse of the onetime energy trading giant in 2001, but he died in July before he could appeal.
"Lay died before sentencing, before a final judgment could be entered, and before a notice of appeal could be filed," U.S. District Judge Sim Lake wrote in his opinion.
Citing well-established law, Lake wrote that "Lay's conviction must be vacated and that this action against him must be dismissed," Lake wrote.
The decision came in response to a request from lawyers for Lay's estate and overruled objections from U.S. prosecutors and a man who said he was victimized by Enron's 2001 collapse.
Prosecutors issued a statement saying the ruling "does not change the fact that Mr. Lay was found guilty." They promised continued pursuit of restitution on behalf of Enron victims.
A lawyer for Russell Butler, a Maryland man who said he lost $8,000 in the Enron debacle, said she also planned an appeal.
A Houston jury convicted Lay and former Enron chief executive Jeff Skilling of multiple criminal counts for their part in Enron's spectacular collapse into bankruptcy.
Skilling is scheduled for sentencing Monday.
Lay also was convicted of personal banking violations in a separate proceeding before Judge Lake without a jury.
He dismissed all the counts.
Jurors found Lay and Skilling used accounting tricks to inflate profits and hide debt, leading Enron to phenomenal success in the late 1990s and a sudden spiral into bankruptcy in 2001.
The collapse caused investors to lose billions of dollars and cost thousands of workers their jobs and retirement savings.
Six weeks after he was convicted, Lay died of an apparent heart attack on July 5 while vacationing in Colorado.
The family is "pleased with the opinion and glad that the criminal case against Mr. Lay is at an end," said Sam Buffone, lawyer for Lay's estate.
In opposing dismissal of Lay's case, prosecutors argued that Lay's estate would be unjustly enriched by abating the convictions.
Lay's wealth once was estimated at $400 million, but he lost much of it in Enron's collapse.
Final disposition of his estate is pending in Harris County Probate Court. His widow, Linda, still lives in the couple's $10 million high-rise condominium.
Prosecutors also asked the judge to delay ruling until Congress could consider changing the law applying to Lay's situation. U.S. Congress never took up the request, Buffone said.
Butler's lawyer, Keli Luther, argued voiding Lay's convictions violated his right to restitution under a federal victims' rights law.
