Ex-Enron Accountant Strikes Plea Deal (agrees to testify against Lay)

[ProSense]

Ex-Enron Accountant Strikes Plea Deal
By KRISTEN HAYS, AP Business Writer
29 minutes ago


HOUSTON - A prime defendant in the Enron Corp. criminal trial has struck a plea deal with prosecutors, potentially bolstering the government's case against company founder Kenneth Lay and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

Richard Causey was expected to plead guilty Wednesday afternoon to one or more of the 34 criminal charges pending against him, this person told The Associated Press Tuesday on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the discussions.

Causey agreed to testify against his former bosses in exchange for a leaner prison sentence than he would have received if convicted on all counts. The trial is scheduled to begin next month, but a delay is likely to give defense attorneys more time to prepare for the new witness.

snip...

U.S. District Judge Sim Lake scheduled a change-of-plea hearing for Wednesday afternoon. Causey pleaded not guilty to the charges against him when he was indicted in January 2004.

Lay's lead attorney, Michael Ramsey, didn't respond to a request for comment, nor did one of Causey's lawyers, Reid Weingarten.


more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051228/ap_on_bi_ge/enron_causey

[babylonsister]

1. This is a BIG deal here in Houston. I will never

forget all the 'For Sale' signs I saw in the neighborhoods near where I live when the excrement hit the fan. Many people lost everything, including their retirement dreams. :-(

[ProSense]

3. What a crime and tragedy!

Thousands of people on the verge of retirement lost everything they owned.

[GregW]

2. I SOOOO much want to see Skilling go down

I was sitting in the audience of this conference when he made his infamous California and Titanic joke. I was no more than 20 feet from him at the podium. The dumb fuck just didn't realize that the company hosting him (ours) was California-based and were suffering from the blackouts unequivocally caused by his company. I can't wait to see him and Kenny-boy in orange jumpsuits.

[AtomicKitten]

4. I'll bet GWB pardons Kenny-boy.

[ProSense]

5. Done deal, pleads guilty

Ex-Enron chief accountant says to plead guilty
By Jeff Franks
8 minutes ago


HOUSTON (Reuters) - Enron Corp.'s former chief accountant, Richard Causey, on Wednesday said he would plead guilty to securities fraud in exchange for a possible seven-year jail sentence for his role in the 2001 collapse of the power-trading giant.

Causey had been scheduled to face trial next month with former Enron chief executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, but now is likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors against his former bosses as part of his plea bargain.

Causey told a judge he would plead guilty to count 19 of the superseding indictment in the case. In the indictment, counts 14 through 20 charge Causey and Skilling with securities fraud in relation to the filing of financial statements. Count 19 specifically deals with the filing of the company's quarterly report for the first quarter of 2001.


snip...

The scandal opened a window on corporate accounting misdeeds and abuses generally that led to a toughening of federal security laws. It also tainted the Bush administration because Lay had been a close ally of the Bush family for years and one of its biggest political donors.

The hearing was continuing Wednesday afternoon and Causey's formal plea had not yet been entered.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051228/us_nm/enron_causey_plea_dc_3

[gratuitous]

6. Causey should keep in mind

That if he doesn't paint himself yellow and sing to the prosecutors' satisfaction, the plea deal goes up in smoke, and he could be back on the hook for everything they've charged him with and more.

Ken Lay should probably check one of his four remaining houses and see if he can't find his passport. Oh, and shove his wife back out on national television to cry about how tough life is when you're down to your last four houses.