[richlevy]

Enron Executive Agrees to Plea Deal

Prosecutors Gain Witness Against Lay, Skilling

By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 28, 2005; Page A01

Enron Corp.'s former chief accountant agreed to plead guilty today to criminal conduct that preceded the company's collapse into bankruptcy, according to sources familiar with the negotiations, sealing a deal that gives prosecutors another key witness against former chief executives Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling on the eve of their fraud trial.

Richard A. Causey, 45, who is facing more than two dozen criminal charges, is scheduled to appear in a Houston courtroom at 3 p.m. Eastern time today, according to court records. He reported directly to Skilling for years and participated with Lay on conference calls and analyst meetings in the weeks before Enron fell apart.

All three men had been scheduled to face trial Jan. 17, and the trio long had presented a united front. But eleventh hour negotiations with the Justice Department's Enron Task Force -- and the prospect of spending decades behind bars if he gambled at trial and lost -- ultimately proved persuasive for Causey, who had rejected previous government offers, the sources said. They spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the impending trial.

It doesn't look good for Skilling and Lay. Now Lay's lawyers will probably convince him is to play dumb and say it was all Skilling's fault. He might find some believers.

It really doesn't matter anyway. All he has to do is drag the trial out for two years and walk away with a presidential pardon when GWB leaves office.