The decline and fall of the Enron empire

[devilgrrl]

Ooohhhhhh, this is a beauty!

The decline and fall of the Enron empire

The company's e-mail archive captures everything: Ken Lay's livin'-large heyday, the political schemes of his minions, and hate mail that employees sent their CEO when the company collapsed.

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By Tim Grieve

Oct. 14, 2003  |  When the Wall Street Journal reported last week that nearly 1.5 million Enron e-mail messages were posted on the Web, waiting for the world to read, the newspaper pointed out that many of the e-mails contained the private ramblings of Enron employees who didn't deserve to have their dirty laundry put on public display.

Fair enough. While the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says the public has a right to know the facts upon which the Enron investigation was based, it's hard to see the public value of releasing messages in which Enron employees chat about their lunch plans, complain about the weather, and joke about visiting strip clubs and their own right hands when their girlfriends and wives are away.

But what the Journal didn't mention is that the Enron e-mail library posted on FERC's Web site also contains a remarkable glimpse into the culture of Enron -- how the family of Ken Lay lived large in the glory days, how Tom DeLay and other members of Congress used the company as a veritable ATM for campaign contributions, how Enron plotted to place employees in the Bush-Cheney administration, how company executives almost obsessively followed the investigation into price gouging during California's energy crisis, and ultimately how Enron employees suffered when the company collapsed.

Amid a sea of dick jokes, spam and Internet porn, the e-mails offer a window into the soul, such as it was, of Enron: from the high-flying days when the company decorated its top executive office suites in holiday themes -- according to a 2000 e-mail, Ken Lay's office was done up in honor of St. Lucia, Jeff Skilling's had Kwanzaa, and Andrew Fastow's was lit up for Hanukkah -- to the end, when things had gone so far south that members of the Lay family began to fear they'd be kidnapped.

<more> http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/10/14/enron/index.html

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[Stephanie]

1. o/t question devilgrrl

You wouldn't happen to have saved the original source for that * pic, would you? A friend wants to use it but needs to credit the photog. I had saved it from Yahoo, I think it's from last Sept/Oct, probably AP or Reuters, but don't have the original link anymore to source it. Got any clues?

[burrowowl]

2. Unfortunately

the empire fell but the emperors are still living high off the hog and it doesn't seem like they will prosecuted.

[Clete]

3. Ha ha, great title.

Great content too. :thumbsup:

[frank frankly]

4. so great!

welcome back, Kenny. time for jail!

[bluestateguy]

5. Ken Lay deserves the death penalty

I support the death penalty for economic terrorists like Lay.

[Wapsie B]

6. Me too.

Let's see if capital punishment is REALLY a deterrant.