CEO of Enron, Kenneth Lay shakes hand of President George Bush (Sn) picture by Eric Gay/Associated Press

   

Letting Enron CEO Kenneth Lay chew his words

   
Nipawin - Monday, January 21, 2002 - by: Mario deSantis
   

truth

"The truth is that key institutions that underpin our economic system have been corrupted. The only question that remains is how far and how high the corruption extends"--Paul Krugman, Corrupt System, NYT January 18-2002
   

criminal

In the course of my experiences with the Corporatism behaviour of Saskatchewan health care I have learned the fundamental lesson that the only way to cope with an autocratic leadership is to let this same leadership chew their own words. So today I want to show the potential criminal behaviour of Kenneth Lay, Chairman of Enron Corporation, and of his Enron's business and political friends, who while pocketing US $181.8 million in the year preceding Enron's bankruptcy on December 5, 2002 was saying to the employees:
 
 

robust

our performance has never been stronger; our business model has never been more robust; and our growth has never been more certain (E-mail of August 14, 2001 from Ken Lay to Enron Employees Worldwide)
 
 

four
to
sixfold

I would guess 10 years from now our net income will be four- to sixfold what it is today and our market cap will be eight to 10 times what it is today... I have strongly encouraged our... officers to buy additional Enron stock. Some, including myself, have done so over the last couple of months and others will probably do so in the future (Web chat of Ken Lay with his employees, September 26, 2001)
   
-----------------References:
  Letter from Rep. Waxman (D - Ca.) to Enron Chairman and C.E.O. Kenneth Lay (Jan. 15, 2002) http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/enron/wxmn2lay011502ltr.pdf

 

 

 

Enron stock touted, despite warning. `An incredible bargain,' CEO told employees, From Herald Wire Services, January 19, 2002 http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/national/digdocs/052582.htm