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Closing arguments on deck in Enron trial
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 15, 2006
HOUSTON - The jury in the federal fraud and conspiracy trial of Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling is about to stop listening and start talking. But before the panel retires to deliberate, lawyers on both sides of the trial that emerged from one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history have one last shot at persuading jurors to decide the case their way. In closing arguments that begin today, prosecutors and the defense teams have six hours each to boil down the highlights of 54 witnesses, mountains of documents and hours of video and audiotapes. Deliberations are to begin Wednesday. "For prosecutors, it's their chance to remind jurors what the case was all about and show them how this evidence was woven together to paint a damning portrait of the culture of corruption that lived inside Enron and how these defendants were part of that culture," said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor. "The defense is going to reinforce the theme they struck at the beginning - that while the government may have said their clients made bad decisions, they really did nothing more than any other CEO would have done under the same circumstances: make every effort to try to save the company they spent a substantial portion of their lives to build," he said. Sam Buell, a former prosecutor with the Justice Department's Enron Task Force, said that prosecutors will encourage jurors to see their case as a puzzle with pieces that must be viewed as a whole. The defense teams will seek to pick it apart, he said. The government contends Lay and Skilling repeatedly lied to employees and investors by spouting false optimism about Enron's financial health when they knew bad news was brewing and that unsustainable accounting tricks had crafted illusory success. The two men, who both testified, counter that no fraud occurred at Enron other than a few executives who skimmed millions from hidden scams.
[Last modified May 15, 2006, 08:16:43]
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