If you’re gonna get caught stealing, steal big. From the Washington Post:
HOUSTON — Convicted ex-Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s more than 24-year prison sentence for his role in the once mighty energy giant’s collapse could be reduced by as many as 10 years if a federal judge approves an agreement reached Wednesday between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Under the agreement, which Justice Department officials say includes a previous court-ordered reduction of as much as nine years, Skilling’s original sentence will be reduced to somewhere between 14 and 17.5 years…
Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said the agreement will allow victims of Enron’s collapse to finally receive more than $40 million in restitution. The ongoing status of the case has so far prevented the government from distributing Skilling’s seized assets to victims, according to the agreement.
Skilling was convicted in 2006 on 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors for his role in the downfall of Houston-based Enron. The company collapsed into bankruptcy in 2001 under the weight of years of illicit business deals and accounting tricks…
The U.S. Supreme Court said in 2010 that one of Skilling’s convictions was flawed when it sharply curtailed the use of the “honest services” fraud law — a short addendum to the federal mail and wire fraud statute that makes it illegal to scheme to deprive investors of “the intangible right to honest services.”
The Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors can use the law only in cases where evidence shows the defendant accepted bribes or kickbacks and that because Skilling’s misconduct entailed no such things, he did not conspire to commit honest-services fraud…
Skilling, 59, was the highest-ranking executive to be punished for Enron’s downfall. Enron founder Kenneth Lay’s similar convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease less than two months after trial.
Enron’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered worthless $60 billion in Enron stock. Its aftershocks were felt across the city and the energy industry.
Imagine the kind of brain that can decide “Sure, he destroyed the company and wiped out thousands of peoples’ financial security, but none of his innumerable lies or deceptions amounted to a violation of honest services!”…
I know violence is never the answer, so I can only hope that Jeff Skilling never lives a day outside of prison when he isn’t confronted by one of his many victims… pointing out exactly how much misery he’s caused.
Crime Bureau: Jeff Skilling’s Mad Skillz RewardedPost + Comments (33)