From The Washington Post, 10/17/06:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/17/AR2006101700808.html
Kenneth Lay's Conviction Erased From Record
Ruling Worries Employees and Investors Who Lost Billions
By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
A federal judge in Houston this afternoon wiped away the fraud and
conspiracy conviction of Kenneth L. Lay, the Enron Corp. founder who
died of heart disease in July, bowing to decades of legal precedent
but frustrating government attempts to seize nearly $44 million from
his estate.
The ruling worried employees and investors who lost billions of
dollars when the Houston energy trading company filed for bankruptcy
protection in December 2001.
It also came weeks after Congress recessed for the November elections
without acting on a last-ditch Justice Department proposal that would
have changed the law to allow prosecutors to seize millions in
investments and other assets that Lay controlled.
With the judge's order, Lay's conviction on 10 criminal charges will
be erased from the record.
"The indictment against Kenneth L. Lay is dismissed," U.S. District
Judge Simeon T. Lake III wrote in a spare, 13-page order.
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I get a strong feeling that the judge didn't do it on his own.
Harry
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