I wonder if he has a brother named David????
Former Enron CEO Denies Wrongdoing
Dec. 22, 2001 15:29
WASHINGTON - Former Enron (NYSE:ENE) Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling, who abruptly resigned from the energy trading giant this summer after six months at the helm, denied and responsibility or wrongdoing in the company's massive collapse into bankruptcy, two newspapers reported on Saturday.
The New York Times and Houston Chronicle, in interviews conducted with Skilling, his attorneys and public relations staff in Washington, both reported the former Wall Street star's first detailed public comments since Enron spiraled into the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. history on Dec. 2.
``We're all trying to figure out what happened,'' Skilling told the Times. ``This was a tragedy. I had no idea the company was in anything but excellent shape.''
Skilling on Aug. 14 said he was leaving Enron for personal reasons, but speculation abounded that something was amiss at the energy trader. Its stock had steadily fallen during Skilling's term and he later admitted that had weighed on his mind when he decided to leave.
In both interviews, Skilling said that the off-balance sheet partnerships that are the subject of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation were not his idea, but rather ousted Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow's. Fastow was long Skilling's right-hand man and the whereabouts of both has been the subject of speculation since Enron's collapse.
Fastow has become the object of scrutiny since it was revealed that he served as managing partner of two off-balance sheet entities while he was Enron's top money man, which led to what Enron Chairman and CEO Ken Lay has called a conflict of interest.
Skilling told the Times he was stunned when he read an Enron regu latory filing made Nov. 8 that said Fastow had earned more than $30 million off the deals, and that several other Enron executives had been involved.
``I, along with a lot of people, were surprised when the 8-K was released,'' he told the paper.
Both Skilling and Fastow have spoken to the press in the company of their lawyers, but Fastow said nothing more than ''Hello. Happy Holiday season. Thank you for coming.'' That comment came at a packed press conference in the office of one of his lawyers, top-gun litigator David Boies, who prosecuted Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) on behalf of the U.S. Government and represented former Vice President Al Gore in his presidential election recount.