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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (61852)	3/24/2006 4:55:23 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 362779

Glisan maintains Lay chuckled _____________________________________________________ by Claire Poole in Houston TheDeal.com 24, Mar 2006 Former Enron Corp. treasurer Ben Glisan maintained Thursday that then-chairman Kenneth Lay may have "chuckled with delight" rather than "giggled" when presented with a plan to hide the company’s losses, but he certainly laughed about the plan. Testifying in the federal fraud trial of Lay and his former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, Glisan has described Lay snickering when presented with the Raptors off-the-books financing vehicle that would help the company meet earnings targets. Under cross examination by Lay attorney Bruce Collins of Carrington Coleman Sloman & Blumenthal LLP, Glisan on Thursday wouldn't concede that Lay may have been laughing about something another executive said during his presentation to the board. ``They approved the transaction and liked it a lot,’’ Glisan said. `That's why he `chuckled’." Glisan said he was "proud" that the presentation had gone so well but "worried about the accounting risk, which was being pushed to Causey," referring to chief accounting office Rick Causey. Like Skilling’s defense attorney, Daniel Petrocelli of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Collins was able to get Glisan to admit that he didn't have any notes or emails from his meetings with Lay, including an offsite meeting at the Woodlands, Tex., and another regarding Enron's goodwill issues. "Do you have any calendar entries?" Collins asked, to which Glisan replied, "I haven't looked through them." "My client is accused of fraud and you haven't taken the time to look through your calendar?" Collins asked angrily, which was objected to by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Ruemmler. "Not with that intent," Glisan replied. Collins also had Glisan compare his notes from a board meeting Oct. 22 with those of corporate secretary Paula Rieker, which showed that Glisan had identified about $5 billion worth of liquidity possibilities for the company and said "there are no near-term liquidity problems" and the "fundamentals of the business are strong." That contradicted Glisan’s previous testimony. "There were no near-term problems?" Collins asked Glisan, who said that's what Enron "told the market." Collins also showed a transcript from an analyst call Oct. 16 in which Lay used the word "uncertainty" regarding Enron's prospects. "Lay used the 'u' word? The market hates it? It makes their hair stand up?" Collins asked. Glisan replied "yes" to each question. Collins also said Glisan sounded upbeat when he told the board about the company's discussions with the credit rating agencies, saying Standard & Poor's was "helpful" and Moody's had a "rational response" to its troubles. "You're going optimistic?" Collins asked, but Glisan disagreed. "Moody's putting a downgrade on us was hardly upbeat," he said. Collins is expected to finish his cross examination Monday, when the trial enters its ninth week. The jury is off on Fridays. Before U.S. District Judge Simeon Lake III dismissed the jury for the day, he said he was entitled to give them a raise from $40 to $50 per day since they had passed the 30-day mark in the trial. Sean Berkowitz, head of the Justice Department's Enron Task Force, said the government expects to call three witnesses next week — including an insider trading expert who will address 10 counts against Skilling - and then rest. Judge Lake said he would allow a day off from court after that so defense attorneys can prepare their case, which should begin April 3 and last a month. Skilling and Lay are both expected to testify. Skilling has pleaded not guilty to 31 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors, and Lay has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the company's implosion in 2001. Both could serve decades in prison if convicted.