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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (488611)	11/6/2003 9:28:14 PM
From: jackhach	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 769670

The DEMS understand the South -- cuz' its actually quite simple. The Southern whites don't like the idea of supporting/cheering for the same person politically as that of the blacks. This is counterintuitive and violates the whole Confederate heritage "thing". Why, as a poor or lower middle class white guy from the South, would I want to align myself politically with the blacks who support the Democrats overwhelmingly? This is tantamount to selling your "heritage" out to the new world. This is the HEART of the issue -- and many whites don't even realize this themselves. Dixiecrats are what they are -- and they want to think of themselves differently then that -- but it still holds true. Also, the wealthy, big-biz, elite GOP use the MORALITY card to suck/draw them in and make-up for the GOPs genuine lack of concern for the little guy on domestic issues. -JH

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (488611)	11/6/2003 9:39:01 PM
From: SecularBull	Respond to of 769670

Lea Fastow negotiating plea bargain for 5-month sentence By MARY FLOOD Houston Chronicle Lea Fastow, the wife of ex-Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, is in negotiations with prosecutors for a plea bargain that could send her to federal prison for five or more months. She could appear in court as early as next week to agree to, and possibly begin, a prison term, sources said. But the deal being discussed could still dissolve. Enron Task Force prosecutors, Lea Fastow and U.S. District Judge David Hittner all have to be in agreement for a plea to be consummated. "People who don't understand the charges involved here will probably be horrified if she goes to prison," said an attorney involved in another Enron-related case. "But people who really understand the cases might think five months is too low." Lea Fastow, a 41-year-old former assistant treasurer at Enron, is charged with six criminal counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and four counts of making false tax returns. Her trial is scheduled for February in Hittner's court and she has previously pleaded not guilty to all counts. If she were to accept a plea bargain of five months in prison and be immediately incarcerated, she could be home around the time her husband Andrew Fastow's trial begins April 20, 2004. Andrew Fastow, who has pleaded not guilty to nearly 100 charges, has asked that his trial be moved out of state because of the prejudice of the jury pool in Texas and especially in Houston. The couple have two small children and a family friend said Lea Fastow is willing to consider pleading guilty and forgoing a chance to tell her side to a jury because it would be better for her children and could insure they would not be without a parent at home. "It's a matter of willing to risk less when its for her children than she would risk if it were just for herself," the friend said. It is customary in all but the most heinous death penalty cases for prosecutors and defense attorneys to see if there is common ground for a plea arrangement. Lea Fastow's lead attorney Mike DeGeurin would not comment for this story. Enron Task Force Director Leslie Caldwell could not be reached for comment today. In the past, Lea Fastow's attorneys have alleged she was only charged with crimes in order to squeeze her husband into pleading guilty and cooperating with the government, perhaps to help prosecutors charge those above him on the corporate ladder -- ex-Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling and former Chairman Ken Lay. Attorneys involved or closely watching the case said Thursday that the plea bargain is probably being offered either because prosecutors believe the squeeze play did not work, or, conversely, because it did work and Andrew Fastow is will hammer out a plea bargain as well. Should Lea Fastow agree to go to prison immediately, she would be the second former Enron employee to do so. Former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan Jr. was sentenced to five years in federal prison September 10, becoming the highest-level company official to plead guilty and the first executive to be incarcerated. Glisan did not agree to cooperate with prosecutors and it is possible Lea Fastow would also not cooperate. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt followed the agreement between Glisan and prosecutors, accepting Glisan 's guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and security fraud. His 5-year term was the maximum penalty for the crime he admitted he committed. He was originally indicted on 24 charges. If prosecutors are true to form, Lea Fastow would also be offered the option of pleading guilty to only one charge. But five months or even a few more months is not the maximum penalty for any of her charges. The lowest maximum prison term for any of her charges is three years in prison plus fines for each of the tax charges. In addition to his prison term, Glisan faces three years of supervision after his release and forfeited any claim to more than $900,000 the government has already seized, plus $412,000 in taxes he has paid on that money. Glisan also agreed not to make any money off his story. Conditions like that are also likely to be involved should Lea Fastow enter into a deal with prosecutors. Lea Fastow is a member of the Weingarten family, which founded a supermarket chain that dominated the Houston grocery business for decades before being sold to a competitor in 1980. Like her husband, Lea Fastow has a degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She worked at Continental Bank in Chicago and joined Enron in 1990. She left in 1997 after rising to assistant treasurer. She also helped Enron acquire a stunning art collection during its heyday. In her indictment, the government accused Lea Fastow of conspiring with her husband and Michael Kopper, who has already pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities, to create a scheme involving the RADR wind farm transaction. First, they allegedly provided cloaked funding to RADR's supposed equity investors, then deliberately failed to report as income their proceeds from the investment. They hid a $62,850 profit by dividing it into smaller amounts and doling it out to the Fastows and their children. The indictment also alleges Lea Fastow caused her father to file a false tax return that disguised the fact that she and her husband had tried to use him as an investor in an Enron-related business. And the indictment alleges that the Fastows jointly failed to report as income the $67,224 in kickbacks they received from payments made by Enron to another SPE known as Chewco It is unlikely Lea Fastow would be cooperating to help the government convict her husband. But the law states that if discussions between husband and wife are part of a crime, such as a conspiracy to commit fraud, the couple does not have the protection of marital privilege for communication about the conspiracy. In a situation where both participated in a conspiracy, even if only one spouse is charged, the other, if given immunity, might choose to testify even about marital communication.