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....the obvious question arises: If Enron were such an effective price-gouger and ruthless pirate,
how is it that the company went belly-up less than a year away from the scene of the crime?.......

Dumb question. Enron wore several hats all at the same time. Enron's collapse was the sum of its parts.
The day of reckoning came when Enron couldn't explain away its accounting gymnastics, like hiding its
colossal debt offshore - the cynical, maybe criminal, idea of CFO Fastow. Enron had many balls in the air.
It stepped out of its original role as an energy trader to start other trading ventures, ending in bad schemes.

...Enron couldn't explain away its accounting gymnastics, like hiding its colossal debt offshore

The reason why corporations incorporate offshore is not to "hide" things, it's because of taxes.

There is an article in today's IBD reporting that Stanley Toolworks is incorporating in Bermuda [same as Enron], because doing so will save them $30 million per year in taxes.

The democRATS are in a rage that "during this time of war, Stanley has chosen profit over patriotism"

IBD asked if they should stay so they could be "taxed at punitive rates so that [the Democrats] can hand out costly favors to their voters."

I may post the full editorial if I feel like keying it in...