Enron trials to put human faces on scandal

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Boston.com Business
Focus shifts to former executives of disgraced firm
By Kristen Hays, Associated Press | January 2, 2005

HOUSTON -- It was one of the more spectacular corporate bankruptcies ever: Enron Corp., once the seventh-largest company in the country, felled by intricate and illegal accounting tricks.


But as the disgraced company limped toward Chapter 11 closure in 2004, the second-largest bankruptcy in history behind WorldCom Inc. seemed almost secondary -- the public's focus shifted to criminal proceedings against Enron founder Kenneth Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling. Both were indicted last year, pleading innocent to charges that include conspiracy and fraud, and are awaiting trial.

The bankruptcy case reduced the former energy trading conglomerate first to an operator of pipelines and power plants, and ultimately to a holding company responsible for paying off debts.

"Shareholders are gone, and the company is different. What people associate with Enron now is Lay and Skilling," said David Skeel, a University of Pennsylvania bankruptcy law expert.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/01/02/enron_trials_to_put_human_faces_on_scandal/