Reply #41: Houston Braces for Blow to Image as Enron Trial Looms

[UpInArms]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a_Gozl8pjs2w&refer=us

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Sandra Lord, owner of Discover Houston Tours, will introduce a tour called ``Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous'' as the trial of Enron Corp.'s two former top executives begins.

The circuit will take people past the homes of former Chairman Kenneth Lay and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling, whose trial on fraud and conspiracy charges is scheduled to start Jan. 30 in federal court in Houston.

``I want to offer the tour because it's timely,'' said Lord. ``It's a Houston story like Howard Hughes,'' who was born nearby and buried in the city.

Others are cringing, rather than capitalizing. Just months after the fourth-largest U.S. city and its 1.9 million residents gained notice for sheltering evacuees of Hurricane Katrina, the Lay and Skilling proceedings will bring national attention back to Enron. The Houston-based company's 2001 collapse wiped out more than 5,000 jobs and $68 billion in market value.

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Enron, once the world's largest energy trader, failed amid disclosures of secret partnerships and hidden debt. Its December 2001 bankruptcy was then the largest in U.S. history. Books and movies later detailed the company's spiral, including tales of executive greed and fraud.

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