Sounds good. Now maybe I can find a few more naive suckers, my Christmas shopping will be that much easier this year.
I’m sure he sold on the way down – indeed, I’ve read articles indicating that during the collapse Lay was subject to multiple margin calls, meaning he had to sell.
I also note that this employee lock-in thing gets talked about as though it is broader than it actually was. My understanding is that employee contributions to retirement plans could be matched with Enron stock, and it was only that matching stock that was restricted from sale. The portion of each employee’s contribution could be sold freely. Indeed, I have little sympathy for the executives (who should be more saavy than secretaries and the like) who were foolish enough to not have diversified their retirement portfolios – their contributions should have been immediately sold and reinvested in other vehicles every time they made a contribution to their retirement accounts, leaving only the employer match wholly invested in Enron stock.
Again, I feel no sympathy for Lay, who is responsible for his own situation. Indeed, I’m more than a bit angry at the whole Enron debacle, seeing how it in part contributed to my own employment woes. That doesn’t mean we can’t cooly dissect the case or calmly discuss Lay’s actual financial situation.
Actually, Milken’s a saint compared to Lay. Milken, at worst, only hurt investors in the most abstract way, and has in any event more than paid for his crime. Even the guy who prosecuted him – one Rudolph Giuliani – wants to see him pardoned. In my view, Clinton’s real sin in the pardoning process wasn’t pardoning Marc Rich, but rather his declining to pardon Milken.
The Smoking Gun has some nice correspondence between GWB and Kenny-Boy Lay. The guy GWB might have seen at some meeting or other.
BTW, Finagle, I think I found the article you meant to link to earlier regarding Lay’s trust planning.
And after further Googling, Finagle, I see that I was totally wrong in my earlier post – I was looking in the Property Code when I should have been looking in the Insurance Code. Here is the relevant section. Annuities such as you describe are indeed wholly insulated in bankruptcy in the state of Texas. Color me surprised.
Another good page dealing with Texas asset protection. Interesting stuff.
In a letter of roughly 60 words, “friend” (or variant) is used 4 times. “Old” (or variant) is also used 4 times. Subtract the proper nouns, common conjunctions, and thoroughly pedestrian articles, and there’s hardly anything left.
I’ve had conversations with people who were stoned out of their minds on weed in which more extensive vocabulary was utilized in less space.
Wow! That is really, uh…
I am looking forward to lay’s trial…I think his testimony (about how the corrupt ENRON corporation did business) will shock most people. Basically, they manipulayed the energy market…and about the same time politicians were pushing “energy deregulation”!
What this meant: ENRON could buy up contracts for electric power very cheaply, then panic utilities into repurchasing power from them at a HUGE markup! This explains why my electric bill went UP 56% after electric power was “deregulated” in Massachusetts! These goddam thieves (ENRON) profited enormously from this rigged market…and all of the politicians who told us that “deregulation” would lower our electric rates!
Seems to me a few US congressmen should be indicted as well…a friend of mine (who lives in a local town that has its own town-owned generating plant) saw his bill DROP in the same period…not only that, but he got a DIVIDEND as well!
Goddam thieves ought to be shot! :dubious:
I thought they kept it in big bags with dollar signs printed on the outside. 
Prepare yourself for disappointment. I seriously doubt that Lay’s attorneys will have him take the witness stand.
Prepare yourself for disappointment. I seriously doubt that Lay’s attorneys will have him take the witness stand.
Heh. If they can keep him off the stand. Not only did he have an impromptu press conference after his indictment (my computer’s too wonky right now to get the Bloomberg story about how stupid that was, but his lawyer said something to the effect of ‘I’ve never seen it before and I don’t wanna do it now, but he really wants to get his story out.’), he got chatty with cellmates during processing and had a sit-down interview with the Houston Chronicle.
Maybe he’s trying to make his lawyers believe their own story when they try to convince the jury that he’s a dumbass who didn’t understand what was going on?[sup]1[/sup] 
[sup]1[/sup]: Probably not. More likely, he’s convinced that the case against him has been so publicized and he so demonized that he can’t possibly make things worse. He’s wrong.
I still wager against. Taking the stand requires that Lay submit to the unpleasantry of cross-examination by the prosecution. And unlike media interviews, he can’t call off the questioning if they don’t throw softballs. His media appearances are probably dumb, but facing off with U.S. Attorneys is even dumber.
Or he really does have, or thinks he has, reason to believe he’s going to be pardoned, or at least have a soft plea-bargain in the works?
It’s simple: The man’s an egomaniacal fuckwad. He seems to believe that somehow speaking to the public, giving his side of the story, will make them come around; it will make them see that, you know, it’s all been a big misunderstanding, he was completely out of the loop, loves Houston, feels simply horribly about the poor Enron empolyees whose finances were ruined, etc.
What a fucking bastard.
I’m convinced the guy is a sociopath. How can anyone pretend to be sorry, and speak such self-serving dishonest rubbish in front of millions of his fellow citizens, and yet seem to be so confident, so unpurturbed, so sincere? Really, has this man no remorse whatsoever?
I suppose he’s hoping John Q. Public is dimwitted, gullible, and ready to dole out Christian forgivenesss to man who’s only crime is ignorance. Who knows, maybe he’s making a good bet.
I hope not, though. I hope he just poisons the jury pool more with his transparent duplicity. C’mon Texas: This man needs to spend the rest of his sorry-ass life in prison.
Is it likely that civil suits will be forthcoming against Lay, Fastow and/or Skilling?
So can I put you down for $100?
It’s possible, although given the generous nature of Texas law regarding the protection of an indvidual’s assets, such suits may not be economically worth pursuing.
Just thought that should be highlighted.
I don’t (at this point) think that Bush would be stupid enough to pardon Lay. If I end up being wrong, do, though, allow me to cackle w/glee uncontrollably, won’t you?
(and I also agree that Lay won’t take the stand. IIRC, it is legally up to the client - however I think they’d be able to convince him that it would not be in his best interest to do so. Low ball questions vs. hardball etc.)