This could be bad news for the Enron execs:
In a reversal that transforms the criminal case against Enron’s former top officers, the company’s former chief accounting officer has reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to violating federal law during his employment there, people briefed on the decision said yesterday.
The former accounting officer, Richard A. Causey, had been viewed by lawyers in the case as likely to strike a plea deal with prosecutors and possibly serve as a witness for the government in the coming trial of two former chief executives of Enron, Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling.
While Mr. Causey’s name is not widely known to those who have not been paying close attention to the Enron case, he has long been considered potentially one of the most important witnesses in the fraud cases against Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling. The three men had been scheduled to go on trial together, facing charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and other crimes, beginning Jan. 17.
Good. These folks need to pay.