BDx13
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too bad he went so soon - Enron founder Kenneth Lay dies at 64
By KRISTEN HAYS, AP Business Writer 15 minutes ago
HOUSTON - Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay, who was convicted of helping perpetuate one of the most sprawling business frauds in U.S. history, died
Wednesday of a heart attack in Colorado. He was 64.
The Pitkin, Colo., Sheriff's Department said officers were called to Lay's house in Old Snowmass, Colo., shortly after 1 a.m. Mountain time. He was
taken to Aspen Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:11 a.m. Lay, who lived in Houston, frequently vacationed in Colorado.
Family spokeswoman Kelly L. Kimberly issued a statement saying, "Ken Lay passed away early this morning in Aspen. The Lays have a very large family
with whom they need to communicate. And out of respect for the family, we will release further details at a later time."
Pastor Steve Wende of First United Methodist Church of Houston, said in a statement that church member Lay died unexpectedly of a "massive coronary."
Wende said Lay and his wife, Linda, were in Colorado for the week "and his death was totally unexpected. Apparently, his heart simply gave out."
Lay was scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 23. He faced decades in prison.
Lay led Enron's meteoric rise from a staid natural gas pipeline company formed by a 1985 merger to an energy and trading conglomerate that reached No.
7 on the Fortune 500 in 2000 and claimed $101 billion in annual revenues. He traveled in the highest business and political circles.
For many years, his corporation was the single biggest contributor to President Bush, who nicknamed him "Kenny Boy."
Lay was convicted May 25 along with former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling of defrauding investors and employees by repeatedly lying about Enron's
financial strength in the months before the company plummeted into bankruptcy protection in December 2001. Lay was also convicted in a separate
non-jury trial of bank fraud and making false statements to banks, charges related to his personal finances.
Skilling, reached by telephone at his home in Houston, told The Associated Press that he was aware of Lay's death, but declined further comment.
Prosecutors in Lay's trial declined comment Wednesday, both on his unexpected death and what may become of the government's effort to seek a $43.5
million judgment from Lay that they say he pocketed as part of the conspiracy.
Burt Palmer, the church's executive pastor, told The Associated Press that the Lays attended church in Houston on Sunday. "The church continues to
love them and help them walk through this difficult time."
Pat Worcester, executive assistant to CEO at Aspen Valley Hospital, said Lay was admitted into the emergency room at 3:10 a.m. Wednesday. She said the
hospital would release a statement later.
Lay had built Enron into a high-profile, widely admired company, the seventh-largest publicly traded in the country. But Enron collapsed after it was
revealed the company's finances were based on a web of fraudulent partnerships and schemes, not the profits that it reported to investors and the
public.
When Lay and Skilling went on trial in U.S. District Court Jan. 30, it had been expected that Lay, who enjoyed great popularity throughout Houston as
chairman of the energy company, might be able to charm the jury. But during his testimony, Lay ended up coming across as irritable and combative.
He also sounded arrogant, defending his extravagant lifestyle, including a $200,000 yacht for wife Linda's birthday party, despite $100 million in
personal debt and saying "it was difficult to turn off that lifestyle like a spigot."
Both he and Skilling maintained that there had been no wrongdoing at Enron, and that the company had been brought down by negative publicity that
undermined investors' confidence.
His defense didn't help his case with jurors.
"I wanted very badly to believe what they were saying," juror Wendy Vaughan said after the verdicts were announced. "There were places in the
testimony I felt their character was questionable."
Lay was born in Tyrone, Mo. and spent his childhood helping his family make ends meet. His father ran a general store and sold stoves until he became
a minister. Lay delivered newspapers and mowed lawns to pitch in. He attended the University of Missouri, found his calling in economics, and went to
work at Exxon Mobil Corp. predecessor Humble Oil & Refining upon graduation.
He joined the Navy, served his time at the Pentagon, and then served as undersecretary for the Department of the Interior before he returned to
business. He became an executive at Florida Gas, then Transco Energy in Houston, and later became CEO of Houston Natural Gas. In 1985, HNG merged with
InterNorth in Omaha, Neb. to form Enron, and Lay became chairman and CEO of the combined company the next year.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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DAK
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The prick could have died earlier and saved the government lots of money on a trial.
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upyerbum
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His heart didn't give out cuz he didn't fuckin' have one. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Well, its this place where nobody works, and the pigs don\'t give you any shit. Everyone smokes weed and gets drunk all day. Its a place where
cunts like me and you can truly take it easy and relax. Know what I mean?
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clevohardcore
* Kick\'n ass on the wild side *
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I think he is still alive. This was a smokescreen.
Each aspect of the soul has it's own part to play, but the ideal is harmonious agreement with reason and control.
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defstarsteve
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| Quote: | Originally posted by clevohardcore
I think he is still alive. This was a smokescreen. |
he had more then enough money to fake his own death....
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Six66Mike
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| Quote: | Originally posted by clevohardcore
I think he is still alive. This was a smokescreen. |
Haha first fucking thing I thought this morning when I saw it on the news!!! Show us his body like they showed Saddam's kids & Al-Zarqawi!! Lay was
just as fucking evil if not moreso.
Plaster his corpse on the front page news & I'll believe it, or better yet show his cremation.
Bet he's still alove and laughing his ass off.
A lot of people ask me what kind of music I like. I love "soul music". My "soul music" isn’t a style, genre or niche. It’s music that is genuine. It’s
a painful lyric, a dirty bassline, it’s a harrowing vocal, it’s feedback, it’s an anthem, it’s a love song, it’s anarchy. I’ve got my personal
favourites but in the end it doesn’t matter who or where it comes from... so long as it’s good and it's real.
- Paul Morris, music director at 97.7 HTZ-FM
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Kid Ugly
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Oops. I gotta learn to pay more attention...
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joemaconmovies
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well, it's either he died before jail or died in jail. he wasn't gonna get out of jail alive. facing decades...he was gonna die in prison. he might
as well have been serving a life sentence. fucking rich ass prick.
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tireironsaint
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My first thought upon hearing this news earlier today was that he offed himself because he was scared to go to jail. Honestly, I hope he did and I
hope it hurt a lot before he died.
Veritas odium parit
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newbreedbrian
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piece of human trash. he got off way too easy.
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, ?You know, I want to set those people over there on
fire, but I?m just not close enough to get the job done.? George Carlin
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BDx13
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yeah, i was really looking forward to spending the next few decades thinking about this prick rotting in jail.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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