Posted on 05/16/2006 8:39:27 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
HOUSTON - The government bore down on Enron Corp. as it would the Mafia, intimidating top lieutenants into pointing fingers at their bosses because someone had to pay for crimes that preceded the company's stunning collapse, the lawyer for former Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling said Tuesday.
"This was all manufactured after the fact," Daniel Petrocelli declared in an impassioned plea for jurors to acquit his client of all 28 fraud and conspiracy counts against him. "Because it's Enron. After all, somebody has to pay. It's Enron."
In a searing closing argument, Petrocelli sought to drive home the defense theme that neither Skilling nor Enron founder Kenneth Lay perpetuated an overarching fraud at the company because none existed.
But prosecutors, unable to dig up tangible proof, found mouthpieces in a string of ex-Enron executives "robbed of their free will," who pleaded guilty to crimes they didn't commit, Petrocelli said. He said fear of lengthy prison terms and expensive legal battles drove those witnesses to say whatever the government wanted them to in testimony against Lay and Skilling.
"That's how they take down Mob kingpins," Petrocelli said.
Skilling told reporters outside the courthouse he was "staggered" by the government's power to rack up cooperating witnesses, using the specter of prosecution. But when asked if he was confident of acquittal, he said, "I'm very confident. I'm innocent."
Lay lawyer Bruce Collins, the first of several attorneys on his legal team to address jurors, said his client has accepted "full responsibility" for Enron's failure — but Lay committed no crimes.
Collins said another judge presiding over numerous Enron-related lawsuits in another courtroom will decide whether Lay is liable for losses suffered by investors after the company sought bankruptcy protection in December 2001.
The current jury's job is to decide if he is guilty of the crimes alleged by the government.
"Today you decide if Ken Lay is locked in a cage for the rest of his life. Today you decide if Ken Lay is a criminal. Today you decide if Ken Lay committed any crimes," he said.
Tuesday's lengthy closing arguments were the last opportunities for the defendants' lawyers to address the eight-woman, four-man panel. Prosecutors who made their closing arguments on Monday get one more chance in a rebuttal argument on Wednesday. Then, jurors will begin deliberations in the case that began Jan. 30.
"I hope they (the jury) walked out of there today understanding that they learned a lot of facts and a lot of truth," Lay told reporters at day's end.
The trial is the premier case to emerge from the government's 4 1/2 year investigation into Enron's collapse in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history. More than $60 billion in market value, almost $2.1 billion in pension plans and 5,600 jobs were lost when the energy trading company failed.
George Secrest, another of Lay's lawyers who addressed the jury, urged jurors to think about Enron's failure and its aftermath, which he said "results in the compulsion that the men at the top need to be convicted at any and all costs."
The government alleges Lay and Skilling repeatedly lied to investors and employees, touting Enron's financial health when they knew accounting trickery hid failing ventures.
Speaking softly, Petrocelli started by telling jurors that he has "had Jeff's life in my hands" for two years since the ex-CEO was indicted. On Wednesday, "his fate's in your hands."
"Look into his eyes. Look into his soul. See if you see a criminal. See if you see a man with criminal intent," Petrocelli said.
Jurors listened intently, but most didn't laugh when Petrocelli made lighter comments. A female juror repeatedly looked at Skilling's three children — a daughter and two sons aged 22, 19 and 15. The daughter, seated near her mother and Skilling's first wife, Sue Lowe, at times sniffled and dabbed tears.
Petrocelli conceded on Tuesday that Skilling, during his six-month tenure as Enron CEO in 2001, made many mistakes, and said Skilling was far better at building the company in the years before that than he was at running it. But mistakes are not crimes, the lawyer said.
But Petrocelli's closing argument mostly attacked the way the government handled the Enron case. He turned a prosecutor's suggestion that the case was about "lies and choices" back onto the government itself.
Petrocelli accused federal prosecutors bent on winning convictions of criminalizing innocent comments, honest mistakes and normal business practices.
"They had their eye on the prize. The prize was Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay, and that's why we're here," Petrocelli said. "Documents don't lie. People do. So you create evidence."
Chip Lewis, yet another of Lay's lawyers who tag-teamed their closing argument, sought to further the argument that prosecutors presented unwarranted allegations.
"Don't come to Houston, Texas and lie to us," the former Texas A&M linebacker said as he leaned over prosecutor John Hueston, who secured the indictment against Lay. Skilling and a few members of Lay's family responded with a few muted claps.
Petrocelli also beseeched jurors not to broker any deals during deliberations, such as finding Skilling guilty of some counts and acquitting him of others. All other allegations of fraud, insider trading and making false statements to auditors stem from the single conspiracy count, and it's all or nothing, the attorney said.
"Do you have any hesitation at all about him? If you do, you must acquit him. Don't negotiate with his life. Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty — 28 times," Petrocelli urged.
Lead Lay lawyer Michael Ramsey, who was sidelined for several weeks for treatment of coronary problems, spoke to jurors in the final 12 minutes of Tuesday's arguments.
"If there's a moment of hesitation in your heart, you will vote not guilty, not guilty not guilty across the board," he urged. "There may be a jury that yields on popularity, but it's not this jury. There may come a day when an American jury yields to a media mob, but it's not this day. We're going to have a fair trial here and a fair verdict here."
Skilling faces 28 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors related to his activities from 1999 to August 2001. Lay faces six counts of fraud and conspiracy stemming mostly from the period after he resumed as CEO upon Skilling's departure.
On Thursday, Lay will be on trial again — before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, but without a jury — in a case related to his personal banking. In that case, the government contends he obtained $75 million in loans from three banks from 1999 through 2001 and reneged on agreements not to use the money to carry or buy margin stock. He is charged with one count of bank fraud and three counts of making false statements to banks in the case.
Lake plans to issue his verdict in the banking case, which is expected to last several days, after jurors in the larger conspiracy case render theirs.
Ken Lay and wife Linda arrive at Federal court in Houston, May 16, 2006. REUTERS/Richard Carson
Former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling, left, and his attorney Dan Petrocelli leave the courthouse for lunch Tuesday, May 16, 2006, in Houston after Petrocelli gave his closing arguments in the fraud and conspiracy trial of Skilling and Enron founder Kenneth Lay. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
"Your Honor, the defense enters a plea of not guilty by way of incompetence."
Oh, yeah, Linda and Ken think it's all just hunky-dory fun and games - laugh, laugh, laugh. They've been getting so many chuckles out of this little tea party that their inferiors are putting on. Who could take this silly thing seriously, dahlink?
Today, KennyBoyLay allowed as how he's gonna be exonerated because God's on his side. Uh huh.
Im not defending Lay, but the media loves to focus on white collar crimes instead of crimes like murder and rape, crimes that actually seriously affect the public. The media defends murderers and fights the death penalty. Yet is hawkish against white collar criminals.
The government spends too much money on incacerations. My solution, automatically execute every murderer in an expeditious fashion and fine white collar criminals rather than incarcerating them with tax payer dollars.
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