Pivotal Enron plea talks ongoing - potentially devastating witness

Pivotal Enron plea talks ongoing
Mon, December 26, 2005

By KRISTEN HAYS, AP

HOUSTON -- Prosecutors and attorneys for Enron Corp.'s former chief accounting officer, Richard Causey, are in negotiations on a plea bargain on the eve of trial for founder Kenneth Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling, according to people familiar with the discussions.

If Causey agrees to a deal to plead guilty, his co-operation could prove enormously helpful to the government's case against Lay and Skilling. All three face trial next month.

There is no guarantee of any agreement in ongoing discussions, two people familiar with the discussions said, confirming recent published reports. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the talks. The process could still crumble before the fraud and conspiracy trial begins with jury selection Jan. 17.

Any deal with Causey, 45, could provide prosecutors a potentially devastating witness against Lay and Skilling -- even more so than assistance from former finance chief Andrew Fastow, who pleaded guilty in January 2004 to two counts of conspiracy.