Lay turns to God and family (and a pardon from Bush) after guilty verdict

[NNN0LHI]

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-05-25T183224Z_01_N25186270_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENRON-TRIAL-REACTION.xml

HOUSTON (Reuters) - When the guilty verdicts came down, former Enron chief Ken Lay turned to God and family.

Lay, the son of a preacher who has long maintained his innocence to fraud and conspiracy charges in the energy giant's collapse, was convicted on Thursday along with former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling of concealing the energy' giant's crumbling finances as it spiraled toward bankruptcy in 2001. snip

Lay then bowed his head, eyes closed, and appeared to pray as the eight-woman, four-man jury entered the courtroom to deliver the verdicts that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Lay, 64, slumped and shook his head, his sobbing wife Linda clutching his arm tightly, as U.S. District Judge Sim Lake read off the jury's decision. snip

"God's got another plan right now," Lay could be heard telling each of his five children and other family members.

[Octafish]

1. While you're at it: Say a prayer for Cliff Baxter, Kenny Boy.

Things could be worse for Kenny Boy and his Boy Turd, Smirko:

The strange and convenient death of J. Clifford Baxter—Enron executive found shot to death

By Patrick Martin
28 January 2002

Without anything that can be called a serious investigation, local authorities in a wealthy Houston suburb have whitewashed the death of former Enron vice chairman J. Clifford Baxter, calling it a suicide. Baxter, 43, was found shot to death in his Mercedes Benz in the early hours of Friday morning, January 25, near his home in Sugar Land.

Baxter’s body was discovered inside his Mercedes Benz, which was parked in a turnaround on a street near his home. Officials in Sugar Land moved swiftly to label Baxter’s death a suicide. Local Justice of the Peace Jim Richard initially declared that Baxter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and no further inquiry was required. But within hours he reversed himself, citing the intense public interest in the death, and ordered an autopsy.

Harris County Medical Examiner Joye Carter conducted the autopsy and found the cause of death to be suicide by a “penetrating gunshot to the head.” The weapon was a .38 caliber revolver which was found in Baxter’s car, next to his body.

Neither the perfunctory official probe nor the media coverage has addressed the obvious suspicions aroused by the death of a critically important witness in the investigation into the criminal activities at Enron, the biggest corporate fraud in American history. Baxter quit as vice chairman of the company last May, after reportedly come into conflict with other top executives over the phony accounting gimmicks used to plunder billions of dollars.

The most disturbing account of Baxter’s last days comes from a former business associate who spoke to the New York Times but was not identified by the newspaper. This person spoke with the former Enron vice chairman two days before his death and congratulated him “for being named among those people who complained about Enron.”

According to the Times account, the unnamed associate added that Baxter “was talking about perhaps needing a bodyguard, though I’m not sure where that idea came from.”

CONTINUED...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jan2002/enro-j28.shtml

MURDERMONKEY

[Minnesota_Lib]

2. "God's got another plan right now." It's called a Presidential pardon.

[Fridays Child]

3. A relative was snagging his passport?

From the article:

"Lay then took a phone call from another family member who was trying to retrieve his passport, explaining how to open the apparently stuck cabinet where it was kept and urging patience."

How thoughtful that his relative would save Kenny the trouble of having to get his passport and turn it over to authorities.

Isn't that nice?

Uh huh.

[MADem]

11. Poorly written, that--the RELATIVE's passport, or KennyBoy's?

Who's fleeing the country? The relative, with wads of ill-gotten cash to be placed in safekeeping, or Kenny himself?

Guess the relative didn't want to damage the cabinet, so Linda could sell it on EBay!!! Her stupid little shop where she sold her crap has been sold: http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/003851.html

[Hubert Flottz]

4. Preying is an everyday thing for the Enron Crew...

"Before the 2000 election, Enron employees pondered the possibilities of a Bush win.

"It'd be great. I'd love to see Ken Lay Secretary of Energy," says one Enron worker.

That didn't happen, but they were sure President Bush would fight any limits on sky-high energy prices.

"When this election comes Bush will f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/01/eveningnews/main620626.shtml

[Gregorian]

5. He will only get a taste of the justice he deserves!

As if this guy will ever see justice. We have people like Mumia who have sat on death row for decades.

I might be wrong. Maybe he'll escape pardoning. Or a successful appeal.

[progressivebydesign]

6. THIS is why I'm an athiest!

I just hate that shit! :grr:

[Gregorian]

8. All is not what it appears on the surface.

There is a war going on here that we cannot see with our eyes. It makes more sense, to me at least, to see it that way. Otherwise, god is a real piece of shit.

[efhmc]

7. But, but *bush doesn't KNOW Kennie Boy so how can he pardon him?

[skypilot]

9. Yeah, yeah, yeah...

""We'll all come through this stronger and more reliant on God," Lay told his supporters. "God will answer prayers."

He sure answered mine.

The thought of this ass-clown standing in a prayer circle with his supporters is enough to make me sick.

[Dora]

10. "God's got another plan right now": On your knees, boy.

That plan is for you to set free those dark angels of greed that have possessed your soul and your heart.

That plan is for you to stand up in the swirling winds of corruption to confess your crimes and unmask the crimes of others.

That plan is for you to get on your knees and touch your head to American soil to say, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," to each and all the victims of your craven, venal avarice.

God's plan for you is to tell the truth, Ken. Get down, get down and unfork thy tongue.

[Xeric]

12. The Colson Effect

After you've been caught and convicted, then start with the religious bullshit. You've got nothing else. Maybe someone will take pity on you. There are no atheists or guilty people in prison. Just godly Christians and Innocents that have been wronged. Sure.

[Roland99]

13. Yeah, and God's plan involves some MAJOR amounts of anal sex, Kenny Boy!!!

:rofl:

[Virginia Dare]

14. Funny how fast people get religion...

when they've got the prospect jail time staring them in the face. :eyes:

[johnnie]

15. Yup

I was gonna say the same thing. Where was his God in his life while he was ruining thousands of people's lives and trying to cover up all his illegal activity? Maybe Lay's God does have another plan for him, to make him pay for the sins he committed.

[bobthedrummer]

16. He used to put his faith in McKinsey and Company

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content?020722fa_fact

Here's some background on "The Firm"-McKinsey & Company
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKinsey

[underpants]

17. Sounds to me like God ANSWERED a lot of prayers today

I'm just saying.

O8)

[maxsolomon]

18. appeal, delay, appeal, delay

anything to get to 2009.

then all debts will be repaid with a pardon.

[NI4NI]

19. God's got another plan right now"

Does that plan include a sex starved muscle bound cell-mate named Brutus?