New York Times Editorial - And justice for all
New York Times Editorial - And justice for all
Copyright by The New York Times
FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2006
Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executives of Enron, had their day in court. Both had high- priced legal talent to defend them and the chance to take the stand and tell their side of the story to the jury. On Thursday, that jury found both guilty of criminal conduct for their part in the spectacular collapse of Enron, the first in a series of corporate scandals that shook America's faith in its business leaders.
Lay was convicted on six counts of fraud and conspiracy and four counts of bank fraud. The jury, which acquitted Skilling on nine counts of insider trading, convicted him on 18 counts of fraud and conspiracy and one count of insider trading. These one-time corporate superstars could very well end up dying behind bars. The thought of aging men withering away in jail cells is a sad one, but no sadder in this case than in any other.
We as a society have a destructive tendency to think of crimes like holding up a convenience store or selling drugs as very serious and destructive to the social fabric, while looking more tolerantly at corporate malfeasance as simply businessmen being a little overzealous.
Just because there isn't a gun doesn't mean there isn't a crime.
It is easy to see Enron as a symbol of an era of corporate lying, cheating and stealing. From the company's implausible rise to its cozy political connections to its crooked E logo, the energy giant and its cast of colorful characters always appeared to be the stuff of theater. But this was no morality play. This was about the real costs for normal people who suffered because of the machinations in the executive suites at Enron.
For one example, think of the employees at Portland General Electric, an Oregon utility company acquired by Enron four years before it went bankrupt. Many long-standing employees there lost huge chunks of their retirement funds and still face an uncertain old age. All because their business was snatched up by a company with a rotten core.
We hope the jury's verdict deters other corporate kingpins from breaking the rules. As Paul McNulty, deputy attorney general, put it in a news conference shortly after the verdict was announced, "No one, including the heads of Fortune 500 companies, is above the law." At the same time, white-collar criminal cases can be difficult, paper intensive and hard to explain to juries. We expect the verdict in the Enron case to encourage prosecutors to pursue them.
Copyright by The New York Times
FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2006
Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executives of Enron, had their day in court. Both had high- priced legal talent to defend them and the chance to take the stand and tell their side of the story to the jury. On Thursday, that jury found both guilty of criminal conduct for their part in the spectacular collapse of Enron, the first in a series of corporate scandals that shook America's faith in its business leaders.
Lay was convicted on six counts of fraud and conspiracy and four counts of bank fraud. The jury, which acquitted Skilling on nine counts of insider trading, convicted him on 18 counts of fraud and conspiracy and one count of insider trading. These one-time corporate superstars could very well end up dying behind bars. The thought of aging men withering away in jail cells is a sad one, but no sadder in this case than in any other.
We as a society have a destructive tendency to think of crimes like holding up a convenience store or selling drugs as very serious and destructive to the social fabric, while looking more tolerantly at corporate malfeasance as simply businessmen being a little overzealous.
Just because there isn't a gun doesn't mean there isn't a crime.
It is easy to see Enron as a symbol of an era of corporate lying, cheating and stealing. From the company's implausible rise to its cozy political connections to its crooked E logo, the energy giant and its cast of colorful characters always appeared to be the stuff of theater. But this was no morality play. This was about the real costs for normal people who suffered because of the machinations in the executive suites at Enron.
For one example, think of the employees at Portland General Electric, an Oregon utility company acquired by Enron four years before it went bankrupt. Many long-standing employees there lost huge chunks of their retirement funds and still face an uncertain old age. All because their business was snatched up by a company with a rotten core.
We hope the jury's verdict deters other corporate kingpins from breaking the rules. As Paul McNulty, deputy attorney general, put it in a news conference shortly after the verdict was announced, "No one, including the heads of Fortune 500 companies, is above the law." At the same time, white-collar criminal cases can be difficult, paper intensive and hard to explain to juries. We expect the verdict in the Enron case to encourage prosecutors to pursue them.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 7:14 AM
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