Disgraced Enron bosses go on trial

Disgraced Enron bosses go on trial

The former CEOs of Enron Corp. Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling will face the federal jury that will adjudicate whether they were party to the fraud that led to the downfall of the company.

The tainted chiefs are going on trial four years after the company filed for bankruptcy following a multi-million dollar financial fraud. Before the collapse, Enron was among the top seven American companies in terms of size and was enjoying a good reputation.

It was however found that the company had not mentioned huge debts and stealthy partnerships in its account statements. Not only did the shareholders lose huge sums of money but hundreds of workers were also rendered jobless and without pensions.

Sixty-three year old Lay, the founder of the company who was also the CEO for 15 years before Skilling took over, has been accused of fraud and conspiracy - a total of seven charges. Skilling, who was the CEO when the scam took place, has been indicted of as many as 31 charges. Both Skilling and Lay are pleading not guilty.

Lay is quite positive about the trial. “We're going to have a long trial and a tough trial but we're going to be fine”, he said. The Department of Justice has been able to get 16 Enron personnel to plead guilty and five have already been convicted of illicit dealings.

The defense is concerned that the jury is already prejudiced against the accused. “If we get 12 people who haven't made up their minds, we like our chances,” said Skilling's lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli. In addition, there are apprehensions whether the jurors will be able to arbitrate objectively in a case that has already received so much public condemnation.

“These cases are not about books, movies and blogs. You have two corporate executives who are basically putting their lives in the hands of these jurors,” said Jacob Frenkel, a former public prosecutor.