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Kenneth Lee Lay


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Third-Party Descriptions

September 2008: "Flash forward 20 years to the corporate scandals that exploded during the summer of 2002. Deregulatory fervor had enabled thieving executives at Enron Corp. -- supposedly the very model of the modern enterprise and the symbol of privatization -- to swindle stockholders, drive up electricity costs and forestall any action by government to protect the public. As the company plunged toward insolvency and ruin, taking thousands of innocent employees with it, Kenneth Lay, free-market exponent and donor to dozens of right-wing organizations, tried to get his cronies in the Bush White House and Treasury Department to save him. But while they had done plenty of favors for him, they did not dare step forward at that point."

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/09/19/market/index.html

August 2006: "Kenneth Lee "Ken" Lay (April 15, 1942 – July 5, 2006), was an American businessman, best known for his role in the widely-reported corruption scandal that led to the downfall of Enron Corporation. Lay and Enron became synonymous with corporate abuse and accounting fraud when the scandal broke in 2001. Lay was the CEO and chairman of Enron from 1986 until his resignation on January 23, 2002, except for a few months in 2001 when he was chairman and Jeffrey Skilling was CEO."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Lay - 55k - Aug 16, 2006

August 2006: Federal prosecutors say Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former Enron chief executive, is liable not only for his own ill-gotten gains but also for those of the late Kenneth L. Lay.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/business/businessspecial3/15enron.html

July 2006: Centuries of jurisprudence and a key court ruling in Texas two years ago will make it hard for prosecutors to overcome the bedrock legal principle that will likely erase the fraud conviction of former Enron CEO Ken Lay, who died Wednesday.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-07-06-parsons-lay-usat_x.htm?csp=34

January 2002: former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Enron, major contributor to President George W. Bush's campaigns for Texas governor and president.

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Enron Corp. Organization
Financial Supporter of (past or present) Friend (past or present) President George W. Bush Person Aug 17, 2006
Supervisor of (past or present) Andrew S. Fastow Person Sep 8, 2006
Supervisor of (past or present) Jeffrey K. Skilling Person Aug 17, 2006

Articles and Resources

37 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 17]

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Sep 19, 2008 The corporate financiers are wrong. Would they please shut up about the wonders of an unfettered free market? It's taxpayers who are paying the price for their greed -- again.

QUOTE: It was a jackpot for the crooks who took over the thrifts, milked their assets and drove them into bankruptcy -- and for the political cronies of the Republicans who eventually swept up the remains in profitable work-out deals with the government. It was not a jackpot for the taxpayers, who ate the trillion-dollar bill for cleaning up the fiasco and taking over the bad debts because ... well, because someone had to pay the price.

 Salon
Jan 28, 2008 The Ethics of Office Gambling

QUOTE: It doesn't matter who you're rooting for in the Super Bowl. It's a bad bet to gamble in the workplace.

 BusinessWeek
Aug 28, 2006 An Enron twist: convicted but not guilty? A legal precedent could clear Ken Lay, the firm's late founder, making it hard for the US to tap his estate.

QUOTE: If someone is convicted of a crime and dies before exhausting all his appeals, is he innocent?...A legal precedent could clear the record of Enron founder Kenneth Lay, even though he was found guilty of six counts of conspiracy and fraud, because of his sudden death last month. The move could also make tens of millions of dollars in his estate off-limits to creditors.

 Christian Science Monitor
Aug 22, 2006 What Organizations Don’t Want to Know Can Hurt

QUOTE: The leaders of corporations and other institutions, it turns out, are not always hungry for more information. Investigations can be costly. They can assign blame. They can uncover things that might give ammunition for lawsuits.

 New York Times
Aug 15, 2006 U.S. Wants Ex-Enron Chief to Pay Lay's Share, Too

QUOTE: Federal prosecutors say Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former Enron chief executive, is liable not only for his own ill-gotten gains but also for those of the late Kenneth L. Lay...But some lawyers called the government’s request for a money judgment against Mr. Skilling controversial because it was based on racketeering statutes.

 New York Times
Jul 09, 2006 Death by Wikipedia: The Kenneth Lay Chronicles

QUOTE: Lay's death on Wednesday illustrates the problem, as chronicled by the Reuters news service, which watched the Wikipedia article on Lay evolve with alarming speed and wildly inaccurate reporting.

 Washington Post
Jul 07, 2006 Legal doctrine stacks up to erase Lay's conviction

QUOTE: Centuries of jurisprudence and a key court ruling in Texas two years ago will make it hard for prosecutors to overcome the bedrock legal principle that will likely erase the fraud conviction of former Enron CEO Ken Lay, who died Wednesday.

 USA TODAY
Jun 14, 2006 A Crackdown on 'Perfect' Timing: SEC to Clarify Rules on Lucrative -- and Potentially Abusive -- Backdating of Options

QUOTE: The Securities and Exchange Commission is to issue a statement, possibly as early as next month, clarifying the agency's view of when current law allows backdating of stock options -- picking a date when the stock was at a low point to be the date of the award, thereby immediately guaranteeing a profit.

 Washington Post
May 26, 2006 Many who lost savings, jobs pleased

QUOTE: News that former Enron CEOs Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay were guilty on nearly all counts left him ecstatic, a feeling shared by others who lost jobs, retirement money or both in the collapse...Many of the former employees are involved in shareholder lawsuits that seek some redress for their losses. But most don't expect to see much of their savings back.

 USA TODAY
Apr 25, 2006 Lay: No 'simple answer' on failure

QUOTE: Prosecutors allege that after resuming as CEO, Lay was informed of the many problems which lurked beneath Enron's income statements and balance sheet.

 USA TODAY
Apr 23, 2006 Whistle-Stop Campaigns: Some Firms Are Trying to Limit Protection Of Workers Who Expose Wrongdoing

QUOTE: the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act...included sweeping provisions to encourage employees to blow the whistle on corporate wrongdoing...Now those provisions are being tested, with attempts underway to narrow the scope of the act. This is troubling to the bill's supporters, who view whistle-blowers as a first line of defense for investors, fellow employees, retirees and ultimately the public at large...

 Washington Post
Dec 16, 2005 Enron Prosecutors Seek Gag Order After Speech

QUOTE: Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to impose a gag order that would prohibit them and former Enron Corp. leaders Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling from speaking outside the courtroom in advance of their January fraud trial.

 Washington Post
Jun 18, 2005 Ex-Tyco Executives Convicted: In Retrial, Former CEO, CFO Found Guilty of Stealing Millions

QUOTE: "A Manhattan jury on Friday convicted former Tyco International Ltd. chief executive L. Dennis Kozlowski and former chief financial officer Mark H. Swartz on multiple counts of looting the company, handing prosecutors a big win in their crackdown on corporate crime and concluding a legal drama that stretched across two trials and three years."

 Washington Post
May 16, 2004 Pioneers Fill War Chest, Then Capitalize

QUOTE: Of the 246 fundraisers [for Bush] identified by The Post as Pioneers in the 2000 campaign, 104 -- or slightly more than 40 percent -- ended up in a job or an appointment.

 Washington Post
Jan 26, 2004 Business and the Courts Martha Stewart Case-- Sideshow to Wall Street Crime?

QUOTE: If it was [Martha] Stewart's lying about the sale ("obstruction of justice") [Prosecutor] Comey is most concerned about, why single her out?

 San Francisco Chronicle
Sep 15, 2002 Corporate Scandals Tainting Donations

QUOTE: ...a moral dilemma for universities, museums, charities and politicians wondering whether they have been the inadvertent beneficiaries of ill-gotten dollars....Under law, gifts traceable to the proceeds of a crime are in most cases subject to forfeiture.

 Washington Post
Jul 26, 2002 Hill Set to Toughen Bankruptcy Law

QUOTE: Senate and House negotiators last night cleared the way for final passage of an industry-backed bill to overhaul bankruptcy law by making it harder for consumers to wipe out debt...

 Washington Post
Jul 12, 2002 Homes Remain Rogue Executives' Castles Under Loophole

QUOTE: Known as the unlimited homestead exemption, [a] loophole allows bankrupt debtors in six states...to shield unlimited amounts of equity in luxurious estates.

 Washington Post
Jun 18, 2002 Before Enron's Collapse, a Windfall for Officials

QUOTE: In the year before the Enron Corporation collapsed last December, about 100 executives and energy traders collected more than $300 million in cash payments...

 New York Times
Jun 10, 2002 A Worm at the Core of Capitalism

QUOTE: ...bosses did well not because they served consumer needs, but because accountants lied about their records.

 Washington Post

37 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 17]