Enron

Anyone else think that the sentence for Andrew Fastow is really, really light? 10 years and 23.8 million is all? I know the intent is to go after others by giving him a lighter sentence in exchange for cooperation, but this seems way too light. Given what was done, it seems to me he should have gotten a tougher sentence, regardless of how helpful he can be in getting the other principals.

Oh yeah, and since the article doesn't mention "without parole" I bet this guy will serve less than 3 years.

Seems like Mr. & Mrs. Fastow should owe at least the $45 million they actually stole. As for the light prison sentence, if they're testifying against Skilling & Lay, I'm surprised they got any active jail, other than time served.

That said, what are the odds Skilling & Lay are already hiding in a country without an extradition agreement with the U.S.?

Not compared to only having to carry around a picture for manslaughter.

Seems like Mr. & Mrs. Fastow should owe at least the $45 million they actually stole.

Well, they haven't even begun to look at civil suits yet.

Oh yeah, and since the article doesn't mention "without parole" I bet this guy will serve less than 3 years.

From the article:
"As a result of that plea, Mr. Fastow is going to serve 10 years in jail without parole"

"As a result of that plea, Mr. Fastow is going to serve 10 years in jail without parole"

Yeah, I guess they made some changes to the article after I posted yesterday. It was modified at 6:54pm EST, a couple hours after I posted here.

Well, they haven't even begun to look at civil suits yet.

Yup, civil suits, particularly following the Fastow's admission of guilt, will easily bankrupt their family, if only in the costs of defending those suits. Meanwhile, the real action will come when Fastow starts testifying against his higher-ups. They're talking about charging Causey "soon", and then it's probably game over for Skilling and Lay.

Also, if you read the articles carefully, the Fastows have only plead guity to a small number of charges, but they haven't been let off the hook on others. That means that, if Fastow doesn't testify to the satisfaction of the prosecution, they can bring the other charges back on the table. According to the NY Times article, this may become a chief weapon of the defense, claiming that Fastow is making things up in the name of "cooperation" with the prosecution.

Ultimately, if they nail Skilling and Lay (and the Tyco president, Kozlowski), that might actually scare other executives into getting their act together.

Good point.

Am I wrong to feel gleeful at the thought of convicted white color criminals doing hard time? Wheeeeee!

"Hard time" may be wishful thinking. The article doesn't specify if a particular prison was negotiated, but I'm certain it would not be a high-security federal pen. In exchange for his nice plea and cooperation, he'll probably end up in a fairly cushy "Club Fed"-type facility.

--Dan.