Free Republic

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Government star witness Andrew Fastow repeatedly admitted during cross-examination on Thursday he was a liar and a cheat as the defense tried to refute his testimony that former Enron Corp. chief executives Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay covered up their company's crumbling finances. He said he had no written documents to back up his allegations against his former bosses, but said they were part of a broad conspiracy among Enron executives to mislead investors while enriching themselves. "I was suggesting the senior management at Enron, not only Mr. Skilling, engaged in a pattern of actions that painted...

Fake Crimes Paul Craig Roberts Thursday, Feb. 5, 2004 Studies show Americans are close to being the worst educated and least aware population among First World countries. Americans easily stumble into war and give up their rights because of exaggerated fears of terrorists and criminals. Americans have been losing accountable government, liberty and justice for a long time. At some point, these values become irretrievable. Consider justice. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world and imprisons 6 to 10 times as many people as any other industrialized country. Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. population...

As Governor Gray Davis begins his 2nd term, he faces a host of problems. One in particular that is likely to be among his greatest challenges - yet to date has received limited attention -- is reform of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). CalPERS is the nation's largest pension fund. In keeping with what Smart Money described as "the nation's most formidable force in shareholder activism," it has a reputation of being an international corporate governance watchdog, using its weighty economic clout to impose its will on large and small companies alike. Yet due to the Davis...

Fastow's former mansion burns Fire investigated at home that ex-Enron CFO sold to executive 12/02/2002 Associated Press HOUSTON - The Houston Fire Department is investigating a fire at the three-story, 11,493-square-foot River Oaks mansion that former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow once owned. The house, which was sold to another energy company official for $3.9 million in October, caught fire early Sunday. "It is under investigation," said Houston Fire Department spokesman Jay Evans. "That is all we are going to say about it at this time." Firefighters received the call about 3 a.m. Mr. Evans described the fire...