[ladyjane]

I am so glad you posted that about Fastow. So many people think he was a minor player in all this.

Fastow and his wife cut a deal early in the scandal. In fact it was Fastow who was the mastermind of the intricacies of the various companies. Skilling was president for only a few months and then resigned. He probably realized what a hornet's nest he had got himself into. Lay was the PR guy who was always lobbying Washington.

Andy Fastow is a real snake. He ran to the prosecutor's office first and cut an incredible deal for himself and his wife. He is still sitting on the big fortune but don't look for it in any US bank.

[wideawake]

One of the things that are apparent from the events is that Lay didn't even seem to know how the scams Fastow ran worked, from an accounting perspective.

And few people realize that Fastow was a debt financier for a large failed S&L before he came to Enron.

[wideawake]

Oh, and I thought it was interesting that Fastow initially tried to get a deal where he and his wife would serve 5 and 3 years respectively and not concurrently.

I think she refused the deal her own husband put together and went to the Feds, who gave her one year and her husband 10.

What seedy people.