HOUSTON, United States (AFP) - Former Enron chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling faced spending the rest of their lives in prison after a jury found them guilty of fraud and conspiracy in the collapse of the energy giant.
The verdicts delivered Thursday at the end of a 108-day trial drew a line under an era of corporate mega scandals in which Enron, Worldcom and Tyco collapsed under tens of billions of dollars of debt.
Prosecutors accused Lay, 64, and Skilling, 52, of setting up an elaborate scheme to deceive investors over Enron's crumbling finances prior to what was then the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history.
Skilling was found guilty of 19 of 28 counts of fraud and conspiracy and faces a maximum penalty of 185 years in jail.
Lay, 64, a prominent Republican fund raiser, was found guilty of six fraud and conspiracy charges, and federal bank fraud charges in a separate trial. He faces a maximum of 165 years in jail.
They will be sentenced on September 11.
I'm sure it's just a "coincidence" that Lay and Skilling will be sentenced on 9/11/2006, the five year anniversary of 9-11.
Some other coincidences of note:
1) Halliburton has made a shit load of money with their Ex-CEO in the White House.
2) Diebold machines that had errors usually had errors in George Bush's favor.
3) George Bush Sr. was meeting with Osama bin Laden's brother, Shafig bin Laden, in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Washington, on the morning of 9/11.
4) The RNC convention was held just miles from Ground Zero.
