The day in Enron: Deliberation, denials and underdogs

Two juries and a judge at work.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 24, 2006

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BANK FRAUD CASE: Prosecutors described Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay as a sophisticated hands-on investor who wanted to pry loans from banks so he could buy stock even though he knew federal rules banned him from using the money for that purpose. But Lay's lawyer, in closing arguments Tuesday at Lay's bank fraud trial, insisted he had no intention to defraud or mislead bankers eager to get his business and wasn't aware of the regulations because he was more focused on the big picture of running Enron and not closely managing his personal finances. The three-day case went to U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, who heard it without a jury.

BROADBAND CASE: Jurors in the fraud and conspiracy retrial of two former executives from Enron Corp.'s defunct broadband unit continued deliberations Tuesday, nearly a year after another jury was hung the first time they were tried. The jury received the case of former broadband unit finance chief Kevin Howard and in-house accountant Michael Krautz late Monday.

MAIN CASE: Jurors in the federal fraud and conspiracy trial of Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling ended a fourth day of deliberations without a verdict Tuesday.