Danville_Wrestling 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 Enron founder Kenneth Lay dies at 64 By KRISTEN HAYS, AP Business Writer 16 minutes ago Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay, who was convicted of helping perpetuate one of the most sprawling business frauds in U.S. history, has died of a heart attack in Colorado. He was 64. A secretary at his church and another secretary for his lead criminal lawyer, Michael Ramsey, both confirmed the death. Lay, who lived in Houston, frequently vacationed in Colorado. Lay, who faced life in prison, was scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 23. Nicknamed "Kenny Boy" by President Bush, 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 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. 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. I can't help but chuckle at this one. The guy cheats the shareholders of his company and then dies before sentencing. Interesting timing also because I was watching an LA County jail special on MSNBC last night and kept thinking how Ken Lay was going to live in a federal prison. Guess he doesn't have to now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NYankees Report post Posted July 5, 2006 He is just burning in hell right now for his actions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
River City Rocker 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 Anyone else want to take bets that Jeffrey Skilling somehow dies before his sentencing? That's what I think just might happen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 They should stick his corpse in jail anyway just because. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Floyd 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 I'm a bit disappointed. He deserved more years of public derision and humiliation, but dies instead. Damnit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 No! Not Kennyboy! Bluh fluh! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vyce 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 Anyone else want to take bets that Jeffrey Skilling somehow dies before his sentencing? That's what I think just might happen. You're in good company with the crazy fringe out there, who are already formulating conspiracy theories around his death. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 Hopefully he will be buried and not cremated, so at least people he screwed over can come and piss on his grave. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted July 6, 2006 Hopefully he will be buried and not cremated, so at least people he screwed over can come and piss on his grave. They weren't screwed. They got "layed". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Zaius 0 Report post Posted July 6, 2006 That was the worst joke I think I've ever read. What the hell's wrong with you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vampiro69 0 Report post Posted July 6, 2006 Oh my God! Someone killed Kenny!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Gogo. Report post Posted July 8, 2006 That was the worst joke I think I've ever read. What the hell's wrong with you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLAGIARISM! 0 Report post Posted July 8, 2006 Good stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0 Report post Posted July 8, 2006 Oh my God! Someone killed Kenny!!! You bastard! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest InuYasha Report post Posted July 8, 2006 Anyone else want to take bets that Jeffrey Skilling somehow dies before his sentencing? That's what I think just might happen. You're in good company with the crazy fringe out there, who are already formulating conspiracy theories around his death. It'll probably make the news every few weeks for the next year or so, and then slowly die off. If people think he got off easy, Lay's having to answer to a "Higher Authority" right now. I'm fairly sure it ain't pretty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted July 11, 2006 That was the worst joke I think I've ever read. What the hell's wrong with you? I was ignored by my parents as a child, and basically use the internet to make up for it by getting attention for myself (negative or positive) from complete strangers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Zaius 0 Report post Posted July 11, 2006 That was the worst joke I think I've ever read. What the hell's wrong with you? I was ignored by my parents as a child, and basically use the internet to make up for it by getting attention for myself (negative or positive) from complete strangers. He's not kidding, is he? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted July 11, 2006 More people should follow Ma and Pa Jerk's lead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2006 Do you really want more people like me out there? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
