Charges against Lea Fastow scaled back

[Gothmog]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory/2539663 Lea Fastow, wife of ex-Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, was charged with a misdemeanor tax count today and is scheduled to be arraigned on this lesser charge and to plead guilty next Thursday, avoiding a June trial date in Brownsville.

Previously accused of six felony charges, the Enron Task Force superseded her indictment today with one count of wilfully delivering a joint 2000 tax form to the Internal Revenue Service through she knew it to be fraudulent. This action, an unusual step for prosecutors, greatly reduces Lea Fastow's exposure to a longer prison term.

The maximum sentence for the misdemeanor is 12 months in prison, though it is likely that the government will ask U.S. District Judge David Hittner to sentence Lea Fastow to something less than that.

[acmavm]

1. No surprises here. Just don't understand why they didn't let her off the

hook a long time ago. Sheesh, why should a crooked lying embezzler go to jail. Just because they ruined a bunch of lives, looted the retirement of how many? Hell, just treat it like shoplifting. That's what I expect them to do anyway.

[bahrbearian]

2. Ya , we all ready got the Ring Leader,, Martha,,