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Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay has just died, just over a month after being convicted of fraud, and almost five years after his company's cataclysmic collapse. The common perception of Lay is that he and other Enron leaders brought about the company's fall because, eager to make money, they schemed to bilk investors. The ethical lesson, it is said, is that we must teach (or force) businessmen to curb their selfish, profit-seeking "impulses" before they turn criminal. But all this is wrong. Enron was not brought down by fraud; while the company committed fraud, its fraud was primarily an attempt...

With his death from a massive heart attack on Wednesday, Ken Lay cheated justice. And then some. Not only will the Enron founder not end his days in prison, but according to legal precedent, his entire case will be erased from the records.

cause of death unknown

by Mark Finkelstein July 5, 2006 Merely because someone has just died doesn't mean you can't use the article announcing his death to take a swipe at President Bush. If you're the Associated Press, that is. In this article, published only minutes after Lay's death, the AP somehow found it pertinent , after only three short paragraphs announcing the death, to report that Lay was "nicknamed 'Kenny Boy' by President Bush." The MSM has gotten more mileage than a Prius coasting downhill out of W's 'heck of a job, Brownie' to then-FEMA Director Michael Brown in the wake of Katrina....

Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay, who was convicted of helping perpetuate one of the most sprawling business frauds in U.S. history, has died of a heart attack in Colorado. He was 64. A secretary at his church and another secretary for his lead criminal lawyer, Michael Ramsey, both confirmed the death. Lay, who lived in Houston, frequently vacationed in Colorado. Lay, who faced life in prison, was scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 23. Nicknamed "Kenny Boy" by President Bush, Lay led Enron's meteoric rise from a staid natural gas pipeline company formed by a 1985 merger to an energy and...

Just on the News - Ken Lay convicted on all counts - Skilling convicted on most of the 28 counts against him. Quick jury verdict.

HOUSTON (AP) A federal jury has begun deliberations in the fraud and conspiracy trial of former Enron chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former Enron Corp. Chairman Ken Lay on Tuesday said he was the victim of a "wave of terror" by prosecutors and blamed his former chief financial officer for the energy company's spectacular downfall. In a preview of his defense at his criminal trial next month, Lay, in a speech to a Houston group, said he was only to blame for trusting Andrew Fastow, Enron's CFO, who has pleaded guilty to charges and will be the government's key witness against Lay and co-defendants. "We did trust Andy Fastow, and sadly, tragically, that trust turned out to be misplaced,"...