Category Archives: Enronarama

The Enron movie that I mentioned in August is set to air on CBS on January 5. Whether the movies are any good remains to be seen, but the scandal certainly has the stuff of which a great movie can … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Missed this yesterday: Federal prosecutors have brought testimony before the grand jury about Lea Fastow, wife of indicted exec Andy Fastow. They have also interrogated Ken Lay’s adult children, though only about Kenny Boy himself. There had been speculation for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

My buddy Binkley points to this story about Enron Broadband Services copping to a charge of avoiding over $1 million in taxes. A Harris County grand jury indicted Enron Broadband Services on Monday for claiming that a North Shepherd warehouse … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There’s a trifecta of Enron-related stories in the Chron today. In the first, we see a law firm’s memo written in October, 2000, where Enron was told that its strategies to manipulate the California energy market were illegal. What did … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I just know you’re all on pins and needles at the news that there’s gonna be a buttload of Enron-related books published in the next few months, to go along with the half-dozen or so titles already in print. What … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The glittering “Disco E” was the highlight of Day 2 of the current Enron auction: The glitziest of Enron’s signs, the “disco E,” was sold for $33,000 at auction Wednesday to a man who declined to give his name and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

No big crowds this time at Round Two of the Enron auction. One of the marquee crooked E’s went for a mere ten large to a guy whose wife wants to use it as a coffee table. Is there any … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just a reminder that another Enron auction begins today. Go here for the webcast. Aeron chairs, Enron socks, and a seven-foot lighted, twirling “disco E” are among the items available. Continue reading →

Missed this one yesterday, but apparently some yutz tried to burn down the mansion that was once owned by Andrew Fastow. Doesn’t look like there’s any connection to Enron, but feel free to put on those tinfoil hats and spin … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A former Enron employee named Lawrence Lawyer has pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges stemming from his involvement with Michael Kopper in fradulent business deals. Lawyer, a 34-year-old banker, admitted before Houston-based U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt that he failed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Get ready, there’s gonna be another online auction of Enron memorabilia, from December 3-5: A sleek black Lincoln Navigator that transported former Enron Corp. chairman Kenneth Lay a few blocks to Dynegy Inc. about a year ago to announce the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

UBS Warburg, which bought out Enron Online for a share of future profits, is closing down its Houston office and letting go of most of the 380 people employed there. This closes out another chapter in Enron’s history. Continue reading →

Sherron Watkins, the Enron vice president who wrote the infamous memo to Ken Lay in August of 2001 warning of her fear that the company was about to “collapse in a wave of accounting scandals”, has resigned her position with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In addition to all of the federal indictment-chasing, the West Coast states are also pursuing legal action against Enron and its evildoers. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is especially gung-ho: The effort by the office of state Attorney General Bill … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, at least now with the election over we can get back to what’s really important, which is watching former Enron bigwigs do the perp walk while former employees of other Enron-like companies get nekkid. Towards that end, Andy Fastow … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Not much new in the story, which is hot off the presses. I just like the sound of “78-count indictment”. Give your throat a nice spritz, bubbe. It’s time to start singing. Continue reading →

From today’s Chron: The Houston federal grand jury investigating Enron has heard from several witnesses this week about the personal finances of former Chairman Ken Lay. The witnesses are the first indication the grand jury is considering the possibility Lay … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Sometimes snarkiness is no substitute for the actual text of a newspaper story: The River Oaks mansion of former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow has sold for $3.9 million to another local energy company CFO. Thomas Hook, the CFO … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Former Enron energy trader Tim Belden, who just pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, is preparing to give prosecuters an earful regarding the company’s malfeasance and general naughtiness during the California energy crisis last year. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Timonty Belden, former head of trading in Enron’s Portland, Oregon office, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As with Michael Kopper, he may have a deal in the works for his future testimony. Belden … Continue reading → Continue reading →

More speculation today that the arrest and indictment of Andrew Fastow will lead to more big fish, as the plea bargain with Michael Kopper helped lead to Fastow. While Fastow is charged with stealing money from Enron investors to personally … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Breaking news from the Chron: Former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew S. Fastow was arraigned in a packed, downtown courtrooom about 11:20 a.m., on charges of securities, wire and mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. Fastow, one of the top … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Former Enron evildoer Andrew Fastow is expected to turn himself in next week for arrest on fraud charges. As with David Kopper, the government appears to be aiming for a quick plea bargain: The charges will probably come in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The crooked “E” that was for sale at the Enron auction sold for $44,000 to a buyer who was told to get it at any cost: Jimmy Luu, sent by his boss to buy the sign, said he was given … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I wandered over to the Radisson Astrodome during my lunchtime to check out the Enron assets auction, but as you can see, I never made it in the door. (Sorry, Scott.) There were two lines stretching out the door, with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There will be a big auction of surplus Enron items this Wednesday at the Radisson Astrodome, which is quite near where I work. All sorts of interesting this will be available: The nearly 5-foot tilted E being auctioned by Enron … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The feds’ investigation of Enron Broadband Services is a hint that former CEOs Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling are firmly in their crosshairs: EBS is only one part of the multifaceted investigation, which includes such areas as improper power trades … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I had only skimmed the story when it appeared, so I hadn’t realized that the AFL-CIO played a significant role in the recent severance payment agreement for some 4200 ex-Enron employees. I don’t really expect organized labor to get much … Continue reading → Continue reading →

For all the bashing I give the Chron, I have to admit that they could be worse. They could be like the NY Post, for example, who has given us such immortal headlines as HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR. I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Chron society columnist Shelby Hodge has the scoop: You loved Mike Farrell as Dr. B.J. Hunnicut on TV’s M*A*S*H, but will you love him as Ken Lay in the CBS-TV movie The Crooked E? The lanky Farrell with the hangdog … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One year ago this week, Jeff Skilling resigned as Enron CEO, and Sherron Watkins sat down to write a memo that would make her a household name. Time flies. Continue reading →

To all those who have come by lately looking for pictures of the Women of Enron or Shari Daugherty, I have one question: You do know that Playboy has, like, a web page, right? Just checking. Continue reading →

First Enron indictments Three former British bankers who stole over $7 million from Enron via secret investments in an Enron partner company have been indicted for wire fraud. Next up on the Justice Department’s shopping list: Fastow and Skilling: The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron uses its whimsical puns quotient in this front page story on the Women of Enron, then gets all metaphorical on the editorial pages: It’s blushingly appropriate for the times, some would say, that on the same day WorldCom … Continue reading → Continue reading →