Hello, Mrs Peel,
IMO, It's impossible for Mrs. Lay not to have known about her husband's lifelong habit of misrepresentations, even lies, given his documented history. We here in Omaha remember how first in the mid 80s we became aware of his devoted non-attachment to truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Michael Kelly, one of our most respected journalists here in Omaha, wrote in the Omaha World Herald on December 2, 2001, an opinion that reflects the views of most here in Omaha. Kenneth Lay was then a liar, is now a liar and, in future, will be a liar.
Perhaps he is the kind of liar that can even fool his own wife and family all during that time.
As my dear 'ol dad used to say, "A leopard cannot change his spots."
Jerry in Omaha
Houston, we have a problem: Enron
by Michael Kelly -- Omaha World Herald -- December 2, 2001
The Kenneth Lay who is looking at what could be the largest bankruptcy in history? Yeah, that's the same Ken Lay.
Fifteen years ago, Lay said there were "no plans now" for Enron Corp. to move corporate headquarters from Omaha to Houston -- and then made the move a month later.
In 1986, the company took about 2,000 top jobs to Lay's hometown, Houston. For Omaha, it was a disaster.
The New York Times, recounting the departure late last week, said Lay left behind "some hard feelings in Omaha."
No kidding.
The memory of Enron, a great corporate citizen before Lay's coup, haunted us for years. When false rumors circulated that other companies were leaving town, the gossip was attributed to an "Enron syndrome."
Largely as a result of the Enron experience, the State Legislature passed tax-incentive laws that enticed companies to stay.
Omaha got better and prospered, and we thought we had gotten over our heart-rending breakup with Enron. Now it's worse. Retirees and other stockholders in Omaha and elsewhere have seen their Enron stock wiped out. People are crying, financially ruined.
Omaha and the rest of the Midlands pride themselves on ethical business dealings. Somewhere along the line in Texas, the company's leadership lost its bearings.
Houston, we have a problem, and its name is Enron.
Enron had expanded like crazy. It began trading gas futures like they were ag commodities, like winter wheat. But the company was hiding billions in debt and exaggerating years of profit. It lied.
Recently, everything unraveled. Stock that once had sold for about $80 a share closed Friday at 25 cents -- a quarter.
A crummy two bits.
Lay, the chairman and CEO, apparently had been unloading his stock. A year and a half ago, he owned 5.3 million shares. A Sept. 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed he owned about 2.9 million shares.
On Oct. 16, Enron surprised the stock market by taking a billion-dollar accounting charge to get out of bad investments. The next day, Enron employees were told they couldn't make trades in their 401(k) plan, a "lockdown" that lasted for about a month.
Enron, which boasted last year that it was named one of the 25 best companies to work for, said the October lockdown was because the company was "changing plan administrators."
That's some company to work for. Lawsuits have been filed.
The Associated Press last week sent out a "history of Enron," starting in 1985. But for Omaha, it started in 1930 as Northern Natural Gas Co., which became InterNorth.
When Lay entered the corporation through a merger with a much smaller company in Houston, he hired a consultant who came up with the name "Enteron." That caused guffaws because "enteron" is the name for the alimentary canal -- mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, anus. After the laughter, the name was shortened to Enron.
No one is laughing now. Many are weeping.
Lots of good Omaha people had to move to Houston 15 years ago, and we've missed their civic contributions. Some, though, have said in recent interviews that they left the company back then because of questionable ethics of new Houston executives.
Enron got greedy. What happened is sickening. Retirees and widows who didn't diversify are wiped out. Said an Omaha stockbroker: This just makes me want to throw up."
Except for probable bankruptcy filing, Ken Lay apparently has "no plans now." |
