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Non-Tech : The ENRON Scandal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (3027)	2/23/2002 12:41:29 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5185

Enron Is Said to Be Negotiating With Andersen nytimes.com Enron Is Said to Be Negotiating With Andersen By MICHAEL BRICK OUSTON, Feb. 22 — Enron (news/quote) is negotiating with its former auditors, Arthur Andersen, about settling any claims that Andersen mishandled the company's accounts, according to a voice-mail message issued today to employees by Enron's interim chief executive, Stephen F. Cooper. Even though Enron has not sued Andersen, the company has discussed a possible settlement with Andersen intended to be "global, universal, and so we can at least get that behind us," Mr. Cooper said in the message. Any money awarded to Enron in a settlement would most likely go to its creditors. In Washington, Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, disclosed that Enron lobbyists and executives took part in 25 meetings and telephone calls with federal energy regulators as the government struggled with the sharp increase in energy prices that occurred in California from the summer of 2000 to the middle of 2001. The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Patrick H. Wood III, told Senator Boxer in a letter that despite the numerous contacts, he did "not think the Enron Corporation, or any of its subsidiaries, has had any undue influence on the decision-making process" at the commission. Mr. Wood, who was appointed to the commission by President Bush last June after serving as the chief utility regulator in Texas, said he had had no contacts with Enron officials since taking office. The indications of the talks between Andersen and Enron came as Andersen sought to put together a broad settlement intended to extract itself and its partners from all of the lawsuits accusing it of mishandling the accounting of Enron's books, lawyers involved in the negotiations said. The accounting firm is seeking to work out a deal that would keep any payments — which could well reach as much as $1 billion..... <Continues...>